ABOUT ME
Dr. Tawana L. Wiggins
The outcome matters. But so do people.
I have spent almost 30 years of my life in roles where people and outcomes both mattered. As a parent, teacher, principal, district leader, and advisor, I have had to address what was not working and produce changed outcomes.
I have been successful in producing significant outcomes, and I know success is not just in the metrics. It is also in how you care for the people in the middle of the work.
I think about how people feel when they leave our presence. Even when something has to be addressed, can they leave feeling valued, supported, and understood?
I do not believe most people wake up wanting conflict, chaos, or disconnection. I believe there is usually more to understand. That is why I teach. I want people to look again, consider what may be underneath what they see, and make a wiser decision about what comes next.
What is your goal?
Don’t you want
it to work?
I want people to do well. And I care about whether the people, systems, and support around them are actually making that possible.
My faith is at the center of that. I care about people remaining connected while still being able to address what is not working. Truth matters. Accountability matters. Growth matters. And so does how we treat one another while we get there.
When we investigate the why, the pieces between expectation and outcome begin to fit differently. We can address the root instead of only reacting to the manifestation.
Understanding gives us a better chance of responding to the right thing instead of reacting to the most visible thing. And accountability can be assigned and addressed more appropriately.
LIVED EXPERIENCE
Bridging the Gap Between Expectation and Experience
I grew up understanding punishment as discipline. If a child misbehaved, you punished the behavior.
Parenting a daughter with ADHD made me question that understanding in a much deeper way.
When my youngest was diagnosed, there were times I felt like I did not know what I was doing. I am a teacher, so part of me thought I could teach it out of her. If I explained it better, corrected it enough, or gave her the right tools, maybe she would just do what I knew she was capable of doing.
But she was struggling, and so was I. I di not know much about ADHD. And in the process of learning what I needed to do to support my daughter, I learned that my two adult children also live with ADHD.
And God reminded me of what was already in me because of who He had given me: my children, my students, my staff, and others I have helped move from expectation to outcomes.
I just needed to keep doing what I had been doing: approaching people, decisions, relationships, and change with greater clarity before deciding what comes next.
Behavior is information.
Understanding helps us respond to the right thing.
WORKSHOPS
More time with the message.
SPEAKING
Perspective with practical application
people can carry beyond the room.
IN THE ROOM
Sometimes the room needs a message.
Sometimes it needs more time with the message.
Every room gathers for a reason. What is your goal? A keynote can interrupt an assumption, put language around something people have been experiencing, and open a different way of seeing what happens between us. Sometimes that moment is enough to change the next conversation, decision, or response.
Other rooms need time to stay with the idea, talk through how it shows up in real life, and decide what needs to happen next.
What is your goal?What might people need to understand differently to move toward it?
Every room gathers for a reason. Maybe the goal is deeper understanding, a needed conversation, stronger leadership, healthier relationships, or helping people move forward together.
The right perspective can interrupt an assumption, make room for another understanding, and change how people decide what happens next.
If that is what your room needs, let’s start there.