All Episodes
Episodes
Episode 159: The Emotional Price Tag Of Suspending Or Expelling A Student
I was a private school leader for 33 years.
When I think back on some of my favorite things about my job, a few things immediately come to mind:
Spirit Days and seeing all the kids dressed up and having fun
Home...
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Episode 158: Handle Problem Parents By Being More "Teflon Skillet" And Less "Saturated Sponge"
I want you to use your imagination.
Â
Imagine that you are a stick figure. Now imagine that this stick figure has a sponge for a heart.
You go through your day and your sponge keeps absorbing other people’s emotions....
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Episode 157: This 1 Framework Will Make You A More Effective AND Happier Leader
What do the following four things have in common?
A meatloaf recipe
The 2nd grade math curriculum
The NFL rulebook
A grading rubricÂ
They are all examples of frameworks.
Frameworks give us structure. They give us a...
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Episode 156: How to Handle a Veteran Teacher Who’s Resisting Change
Has this ever happened to you?
You are standing in front of your faculty about to introduce a new initiative, policy or school-wide roll out of some sort. Before you even open your mouth, you notice one of your...
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Episode 155: Your 4 Biggest Blind Spots: How To See Them And Avoid Them
About 5 years ago, one of my daughters bought a 2018 Hyundai Sonata.
Before buying this car, she did a ton of research because she was looking for one very specific feature. It wasn’t the stereo system or heated...
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Episode 154: Are You Running Your School Or Leading Your School?
It was Field Day 2005 and I was just trying to be helpful. I arrived at the field early and asked Mrs. Ankney if there was anything that I could do.
She asked me to use the manual line painter and paint the finish...
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Episode 153: When A Parent Says, "If you don't _______________, then I'm going to pull my kid out of the school."
Several years ago, I was meeting with the mom of a 6th Grade boy. She looked me in the eye and said, "If you don't put my son into Pre-Algebra 6, then I'm going to pull both of my kids out of the school."
Immediately,...
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Episode 152: Private School Leadership Does NOT Have To Be Death By 10,000 Paper Cuts
Just a heads up that the next few sentences are going to be gross.
We have all heard the phrase, “death by 1,000 cuts.” This phrase actually comes from an ancient Chinese form of execution called Lingchi, which...
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Episode 151: 5 Strategies To Overcome Feelings Of Loneliness And Isolation
Has this ever happened to you?
You are at school or at an event and you are surrounded by parents, teachers and students. You are surrounded by hundreds of people, but you feel totally isolated and profoundly alone.
I...
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Episode 150: "So, are you saying that you have no idea where my child is right now?"
12 years ago, Leo’s mom asked me a question. To this day, her words still send a chill down my spine.Â
"So, are you saying that you have no idea where my child is right now?"
And I had to say, “That’s correct.”
It was...
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Episode 149: Are Your Boundaries Written In Pencil Or Sharpie?
On May 21, 2018, 19 year old Cedella Roman, a French citizen, was visiting her mother in White Rock, British Columbia. Cedella decided to go for a run on the beach and she headed south.
After running for about 30...
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Episode 148: Navigating "The Age Of Outrage" With The Parents At Your School
Is it just me or does it seem like more people are getting more angry, more quickly?
I am seeing people go from 0-100 in 2.2 seconds over things that didn’t used to be that big of a deal, like:
An overcooked steak at...
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