When previously hiring a new principal for one of their schools, Oklahoma’s Norman Public Schools did what many districts do: they sent district staff to the school to meet with teachers and ask what qualities were important in their new leader. “In those kinds of settings, the most vocal person gets their input in and then maybe not everyone agrees with them—but those people don’t speak up,” explains Dr. Shirley Simmons, Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services at Norman. Dr. Simmons and the Norman team saw an opportunity to make their principal searches more inclusive and effective by using Thoughtexchange to give all staff a chance to share what mattered most in their new leader. “We were able to get thoughts from all of the teachers, even the ones that wouldn’t speak u

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