LET QSI Chengdu 2026

Essential Question: What conditions do teams need to work interdependently, and how do I establish them?

This module explores how teams move through predictable stages of development, what research tells us about high-performing teams, and why teams often talk past each other even when they think they're communicating clearly. You'll learn how to recognize these patterns and establish actionable team norms that create the conditions for effective collaboration.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand how teams develop through stages and what your role is at each stage
• Explore what research reveals about the conditions that enable high-performing teams
• Recognize how teams build different interpretations of the same situation and talk past one another
• Establish actionable team norms that foster psychological safety and accountability

Essential Question: How can I adapt my communication style to work effectively with different team members and use this understanding to design meetings that actually matter?

To be influential and capable of motivating diverse team members, middle leaders must understand how to adapt their leadership style to accommodate different beliefs and behavioral patterns. You'll use your DiSC results to understand your own work style, recognize the styles of others, and learn how this awareness shapes the way you design and facilitate meetings.
Meetings are one of the best opportunities for collaboration, yet they often become routine obligations rather than meaningful discussions. This module will teach you how to design purpose-driven meetings informed by your understanding of how different people engage and contribute.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand your DiSC work style and how to recognize and adapt to other styles on your team
• Learn the Why/What/How meeting framework to design meetings with clear purpose and appropriate structure
• Apply your understanding of different work styles to create more inclusive and effective meeting design

Essential Question: How can I give feedback and navigate difficult conversations in ways that move the team forward?

As middle leaders, we often come up against situations where difficult topics must be addressed. Many leaders avoid these conversations, telling themselves they're waiting for the right moment or don't want to escalate the situation. But avoidance isn't kindness, it's often self-protection.
This module helps you understand why feedback triggers resistance (even when it's accurate), recognize patterns in how conversations escalate or shut down, and practice staying engaged rather than retreating. You'll work through case studies drawn from real middle leadership contexts to build your capacity to navigate these moments effectively.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand different types of feedback and when each is appropriate
• Recognize what triggers people experience when receiving feedback and how to work with them
• Understand the dynamics of difficult conversations: when people escalate versus when they withdraw, and how to stay engaged in both

Essential Question: What is the one thing I need to focus on this year that will make the biggest difference for my team?

Early-career middle leaders often feel pulled in multiple directions: senior leadership expectations, team needs, student outcomes, and their own development. Without a clear focus, it's easy to become reactive rather than strategic.
This module helps you move from setting vague goals to developing a focused leadership inquiry; a question that guides your decisions and helps you stay oriented when competing demands arise. Rather than trying to solve everything at once, you'll identify the core challenge or opportunity in your context and develop an inquiry-based approach to leading your team through it.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify the core challenge or opportunity you want to focus on in your leadership role this year
• Understand goal-setting as inquiry: how questions guide better leadership than statements
• Craft a focused leadership inquiry that directs your attention and decision-making
• Develop an initial action plan with accountability for pursuing your inquiry