All Episodes
Episodes
Episode 27: Use These 6 Strategies To Overcome Imposter Syndrome
When I was a kid, I loved to Trick or Treat on Halloween.
I loved dressing up like Darth Vader, walking around my neighborhood and filling up my pillowcase with free candy. The only thing that I didn’t like was the...
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Episode 26: How To Handle The 5% Of Parents That Are Trying To Destroy Your School
5% is a pretty small number.
If you lived in a place where it was cloudy only 5% of the year that sounds pretty good, right? What if I told you that your favorite team would only lose 5% of their games? You’d sign up...
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Episode 25: Having Clear Expectations For Your Teachers Is WAY More Important Than You Think
A 2015 Gallup poll revealed that 50% of all employees are unclear about the expectations for their jobs. That’s 50% of Americans showing up to work every day and crossing their fingers, hoping that they are doing the...
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Episode 24: The 8 Ways To Avoid Toxic Positivity By Displaying Hopeful Optimism
I have a rule for myself when I engage with social media. Never read the comments!
I usually follow this rule, but every once in a while I get sucked down that rabbit hole of negativity. It seems like everyone on...
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Episode 23: My 5 Biggest Leadership Mistakes And How To Avoid Them
I believe that not all mistakes are created equal.
There is the “I got home from the store and forgot to buy milk” kind of mistake and then there is the “Ronald Wayne” kind of mistake. Who is Ronald Wayne? I’m glad...
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Episode 22: How To Respond To The Death Of A Student
I got the phone call that every school leader dreads.
One of my students had died. It was a Wednesday night in September, 1998. I got a call that one of my 9th Grade students, a 14 year old boy, had died. We will call...
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Episode 21: Your Teachers Have Emotional Bank Accounts And You Are The Banker
You know how this works.
You earn money, it gets deposited in your bank account and then you use that money to buy groceries, pay bills or eat out at a restaurant. You make deposits. You make withdrawals. You also...
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Episode 20: Use The Power Of Storytelling To Increase Student Retention And Recruitment
About once a week, I ask my wife the same question, “Hey do you wanna know what song is stuck in my head?”
She always says, “not really” and then I tell her anyway. It is usually some 80’s pop song unless it is the...
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Episode 19: Do You Treat Your Car Better Than You Treat Yourself?
The longest year of my life was between my 15th birthday and my 16th birthday.
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It was only 365 days, but it felt like 5 years. I couldn’t wait to get my driver’s license. My first car was a 1977 Dodge Volare Station...
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Episode 18: How To Have A Successful Meeting With An Upset Parent
Every school has them.
The teachers discuss them, but do everything they can to avoid them.
Administrators cringe when they walk through the front door or call them on the phone.
Of course, I am talking about...
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Episode 17: 9 Ways To Avoid The "False Productivity Trap"
I want you to use your imagination.
It is the end of the day, you’re getting ready to leave school and you are sitting at your desk. You look back on your day. You feel good about everything that you accomplished. You...
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Episode 16: When Your Children Attend The School That You Lead
One of the most embarrassing moments of my life happened on a Thursday afternoon in the fall of 1999. I was driving home from school and my cell phone rang. It was my Administrative Assistant and I will never forget...
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