Every school leader drifts, even the strongest ones.

Drift is not burnout, not laziness, and not a leadership flaw. It is one of the quietest, most human forces in leadership. And it shows up long before leaders ever realize they’re off course.

In this powerful episode, Chanie unpacks the two forms of leadership drift, Calm Drift and Chaos Drift,  and reveals why both are inevitable, expected, and deeply human. More importantly, she explains the one skill every school leader needs:

The ability to return.

Because leadership strength isn’t measured by how perfectly you stay on track.

Leadership strength is your capacity to return to your anchors, your rhythms, your clarity, and your truth.

Inside this episode, you’ll discover:

What Drift Really Is (and What It Isn’t)

• Drift is not burnout — burnout is depletion.
• Drift is not laziness — laziness is apathy.
• Drift is the slow, subtle loss of connection to the rhythms that steady you.

The Two Types of Drift

1. Calm Drift:

The most dangerous form — when enrollment is strong, your team is stable, and systems are flowing. This comfort lulls leaders into relaxing their anchors, easing up on rhythms, and slipping into complacency without even noticing.

2. Chaos Drift:

When overwhelm, grief, or nonstop crisis slowly erode your routines, boundaries, health, and identity. It’s not dramatic at first — it’s the slow, quiet unraveling of “just one more thing.”

Why Drift Happens to Every Leader

Because leadership is human work.

And humans will always drift out of alignment through pressure, success, grief, or comfort.

The Path Back: Return

You don’t need a fresh start, a January reset, another software, or a new checklist.

You need to return.

Return to the rhythms that keep you anchored.

Return to the small practices that restore clarity.

Return to the version of you that leads with presence, steadiness, and grounded confidence.

Key School Leadership Themes You’ll Hear

• Why systems require perfection — but rhythms allow humanity
• How calm seasons can create complacency and drift
• Why chaos drift drains your identity slowly and quietly
• How rhythms become your “way home” in every season
• Why consistency is not perfection — it is the willingness to return
• How your anchors carry you through both storms and success
• Why leaders don’t need more systems — they need sustainable rhythms

If you've been feeling off, foggy, tired, or disconnected — this episode will feel like a deep breath and a gentle nudge back to yourself.

If today’s episode made you realize you’ve drifted, whether in calm or chaos, start by identifying which part of your school’s foundation needs attention. 

Take the 5 Gear Diagnostic at schoolsofexcellence.com/diagnostic

It’s the fastest way to see which gear is sticking and what rhythm to return to next.

Leadership in early childhood has long been treated like an “extra,” a bonus you get after the fires are out and the classrooms are staffed.

But here’s the truth:

Leadership development isn’t a perk.

It’s the job.

Because calm doesn’t grow you, discomfort does.

In this episode, Chanie names a trap many school owners fall into: waiting for life to “settle down” before investing in their own growth. But settled never comes. Systems will always need refining, enrollment will always ebb and flow, team members will always cycle — and your center needs a leader who is growing while leading, not after everything is perfect.

Inside this conversation, Chanie breaks down:

What You’ll Learn

• Why comfort creates complacency, but discomfort builds capacity
• The cycle school leaders get stuck in: conditional growth (“once things calm down…”)
• How one owner shifted from task-completion to capacity-building, transforming her entire leadership team’s culture
• Why professional development is oxygen, not dessert
• The difference between intensity bursts and predictable development rhythms
• How your growth becomes the ceiling, or the expansion, of your team
• Why sustainable leadership is built on consistency, not perfection

Chanie also shares real examples from the field, the predictable patterns that show up in every school’s culture, and the practical rhythm shifts that move leaders out of survival mode and into mastery.

If you want to grow your school, you must grow you.

Because your team will not outgrow you, they grow through you.

Resources Mentioned

✔️ Take the Money Leaks Diagnostic

Identify where your school is unintentionally losing profit and begin building the rhythms that stabilize your financial health.

👉 schoolsofexcellence.com/moneyleaks

You can’t call in tired when you’re the leader.

Even on the days when your body aches, your brain is foggy, and every text feels like one more demand — leadership still needs you. Parents still email. Licensing still calls. Staff still need direction.

And in that fatigue, it’s easy to believe the lie: I just need a break. I just need a new system. I just need to get through this week.

But energy isn’t something you find. It’s something you create.

In this deeply personal episode, Chanie unpacks what it means to create energy on demand — not from caffeine or quiet, but from rhythm, breath, and emotional containment. She shares how leaders can shift from guarding what’s left to generating what’s needed, and how to stop being the emotional battery for everyone around you.

If you’ve ever said “I’m just so tired,” this episode will help you see that your exhaustion isn’t from doing too much — it’s from holding too much.

You’ll Learn

• Why you’re not one vacation or system away from feeling alive
• The truth about emotional fatigue and over-holding
• How to reframe your story and create energy in the middle of chaos
• The science of energy creation and how your body chemistry responds to posture and language
• How to install transition rhythms between work and home
• Why “protecting your energy” keeps you in survival mode — and how to shift to creation mode
• Simple morning, end-of-day, and transition rhythms that restore peace and focus

Key Insights

• “You’re not exhausted because you’re doing too much. You’re exhausted because you’re holding too much.”
• “Energy isn’t found in quiet. It’s created through rhythm.”
• “You don’t need rest to be restored — you need rhythm to be renewed.”
• “You are not a battery pack to be drained. You are a lighthouse — a generator of light and calm.”

Memorable Quotes

“Waiting for energy is like waiting for clarity — it never comes until you take action.”

“You don’t protect energy. You create it.”

“You close your laptop not because the work is done — but because the day is.”

“Leadership still needs you when you’re tired, but you’re not powerless. You can create energy, on demand.”

Reflection Prompts

1. Where are you still acting as the emotional battery for others?
2. What transition rhythm would help you leave work restored instead of depleted?
3. How can you practice creating energy through breath, posture, or language this week?

Episode Resources

• Pre-order Chanie’s new book This Can’t Be Normal — coming soon
• Take the 5 Gear Diagnostic to identify which area of your leadership is most drained — Enrollment, Staff Culture, Parent Engagement, Financial Health, or Strategic Growth. schoolsofexcellence.com/diagnostic

If your brain feels like a filing cabinet that never closes, you’re not alone.

For many school leaders, memory becomes the hidden system — the thing holding birthdays, licensing dates, parent notes, staff needs, and the million invisible details that make your school run. But here’s the truth: your brain was never meant to be the system.

In this powerful, personal episode, Chanie shares how her once-reliable memory began to fail — and how that moment became the turning point for her leadership. Forgetting wasn’t a crisis; it was clarity. It revealed that her business had outgrown her brain and was ready for real systems and rhythms that could carry the weight sustainably.

If you’ve ever said, “I just have to remember to…” — this episode will help you see why forgetting is not failure. It’s a signal that your leadership is evolving.

You’ll Learn

• Why memory-based leadership leads to burnout and anxiety
• How your brain becomes a false “system” when trust in processes is low
• Why stress pokes holes in memory — and what to build instead
• How rhythms create psychological safety and operational stability
• How to shift from mental management to systemized leadership
• Practical examples of where you may be leading from memory (and how to stop)
• How to trust your systems and rhythms — even when it feels uncomfortable

Key Insights

• “Your brain and your memory are not the system. Systems and rhythms hold excellence at scale.”
• “The brain is for having ideas, not holding them.”
• “Forgetting isn’t failure — it’s feedback that your leadership is ready to evolve.”
• “When you lead from rhythm instead of recall, you build peace into your operations.”

Memorable Quotes

“My memory made me feel safe. But safety doesn’t come from remembering — it comes from trusting the rhythm.”

“Your leadership isn’t breaking down. It’s breaking open — to a simpler, more sustainable way to lead.”

“Forgetting wasn’t the problem. It was the most generous wake-up call from God.”

“The brain is for having ideas, not holding them. Systems are what keep those ideas alive.”

Reflection Prompts

1. Where in your leadership are you still using your memory as a safety net?
2. What’s one area where you could install a rhythm to replace recall?
3. How does over-reliance on your brain create invisible weight in your day?
4. What would it look like to trust your systems — even when your instinct is to double-check?

Episode Resources

• Learn more about Chanie’s upcoming book This Can’t Be Normal, where she unpacks how rhythms replace over-functioning and burnout.
• Take the 5 Gear Diagnostic to identify which area of your leadership carries the most invisible weight — Enrollment, Staff Culture, Parent Engagement, Financial Health, or Strategic Growth. schoolsofexcellence.com/diagnostic

In early childhood education, it’s easy to feel like marketing changes faster than you can keep up. But the truth is, while tactics evolve, the fundamentals of trust, rhythm, and authenticity never go out of style.

In this episode, Chanie sits down with longtime friend and industry leader Nick Williams, CEO of Childcare Business Growth, to discuss the timeless marketing strategies that stand the test of time.

They explore how to create authentic content, follow up with confidence, and use AI and systems to reclaim your time — all while staying true to your school’s values and mission.

If you’ve ever felt like your marketing is a moving target, this episode will help you return to the anchors that actually drive enrollment.

You’ll Learn

• Why authenticity always outperforms the latest trend
• How to position yourself as the local expert families trust
• The power of consistent follow-up rhythms in enrollment
• How to centralize communication without losing personal connection
• The role of AI in buying back time and simplifying marketing systems
• How to track baselines and lead sources to make smarter decisions
• Why clarity on your values attracts your ideal families
• How to stay ahead of change without losing your focus

Key Insights

• “Sales is service. You’re not pushing — you’re inviting families into something that matters.”
• “If you want consistent enrollment, follow up on the platforms your parents actually use.”
• “There’s no money in being neutral. Your values are your magnet.”
• “AI should help you work smarter, not harder. Use it to reclaim time for leadership.”

Memorable Quotes

“Marketing doesn’t need to be frantic — it needs to be rhythmic.” — Chanie Wilschanski

“Be authentic. Be visible. Be the local expert. That’s timeless marketing.” — Nick Williams

“The best marketing strategy isn’t about chasing trends — it’s about building systems that keep working while you lead.” — Chanie Wilschanski

Reflection Prompts

1. Which part of your marketing is built on rhythm — and which still feels reactive?
2. Are your systems making your brand more human or more complicated?
3. What would it look like to be known as the trusted local expert in your community?

Episode Resources

• Explore Nick’s work at childcarebusinessgrowthlive.com

Take the Schools of Excellence 5 Gear Diagnostic to identify your biggest growth opportunity in:

Enrollment, Staff Culture, Parent Engagement, Financial Health, or Strategic Growth 👉 schoolsofexcellence.com/diagnostic

Leadership is heavy in ways no one talks about.

We expect long hours, enrollment pressure, staff turnover, and parent demands — but the invisible weight of leadership isn’t in the spreadsheets. It’s in the emotions, expectations, and energy you absorb every day.

In this powerful conversation, Chanie redefines burnout and exposes why the “fix-it-fast” advice doesn’t work. Because burnout doesn’t come from working too hard, it comes from becoming the system.

If you’ve been the leader who holds everyone else’s fear, absorbs everyone’s disappointment, and smiles while suffocating inside, this episode is your permission to stop.

Learn how to trade survival for sustainability by building rhythms that distribute the weight, not systems that keep you holding it all.

Join the live workshop, Delegation Isn’t the Finish Line: Ownership Is to learn how to build rhythms that hold you steady.

Register at: schoolsofexcellence.com/delegation

What You’ll Learn

• Why traditional definitions of burnout miss the real cause
• The difference between working hard and becoming the system
• Why “fix-it-fast” solutions (like pizza parties) don’t actually work
• How to identify invisible labor,  and stop carrying what’s not yours
• The power of rhythms to distribute emotional and operational weight
• What it means to be an “all-seasons leader” — not just calm-weather leadership

Key Insights

• Burnout doesn’t chase weakness — it preys on competence.
• The body keeps score when you carry what’s not yours to hold.
• You don’t need to get stronger — you need to be held.
• Systems alone can’t save you; rhythms sustain you.
• Calm isn’t forever. Leadership is who you are under pressure.

Memorable Quotes

“Burnout isn’t working too hard, it’s becoming the system.”

“If burnout can find you because you’re extraordinary, then rhythms can hold you because you’re extraordinary.”

“You don’t need to get stronger. You need to be held.”

“Leadership isn’t what happens in the calm. It’s who you are when the pressure knocks.”

Reflection Prompts

1. Where are you holding what isn’t yours to hold?
2. What invisible weight are you carrying for your team or school?
3. What would change if your leadership wasn’t a solo sport?

Next Step

Take the Schools of Excellence 5 Gear Diagnostic to identify your biggest growth opportunity in: Enrollment, Staff Culture, Parent Engagement, Financial Health, or Strategic Growth 👉 schoolsofexcellence.com/diagnostic

When Irene Gomez stepped into her role as director at the J Center for Early Learning in El Paso, Texas, she carried what so many new leaders do: hyper-responsibility, people-pleasing, and the pressure to be the “hero” in every situation.

In this episode, Irene shares her journey inside the Schools of Excellence coaching program and the transformation that followed—from chasing fires and working late nights, to leading with clarity, boundaries, and trust.

You’ll hear how a calendar became her leadership lifeline, how gratitude reshaped her staff culture, and how self-trust shifted her from over-functioning into a confident leader who now builds sustainable rhythms for her team and balance for her family.

This isn’t just a story of better systems. It’s a story of reclaiming identity, building trust, and choosing to lead without sacrificing health or home.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• Why boundaries start with the leader, not with the staff
• How shifting from “hero” to CEO changes your school culture
• The role of one-on-one meetings in building trust and career growth for teachers
• Why specific gratitude builds safety and resilience in teams
• How leadership growth impacts marriage, parenting, and personal life
• Why coaching is never “one more thing”—it’s the foundation of sustainable leadership

Key Insights

• Boundaries are for you first. Without them, you’ll always default to rescuing instead of leading.
• Culture starts with trust. One-on-ones and specific gratitude create safety for real conversations.
• You can’t hustle your way to sustainability. Systems and rhythms—not over-functioning—are what hold schools together.
• Personal growth multiplies. When leaders evolve, staff mirror that same growth in respect, empowerment, and culture.

Memorable Quotes

• “The boundaries weren’t just for others—they were for me.” – Irene Gomez
• “True success is having a strong team that wants to stay forever.” – Irene Gomez
• “Enough isn’t about getting ahead. It’s about trusting that what you did today was enough.” – Chanie Wilschanski

Why This Matters for School Leaders

• Ends the cycle of firefighting and hyper-responsibility
• Builds cultures of trust where staff thrive and turnover decreases
• Protects leaders’ health, marriage, and family time
• Shows how leadership coaching transforms not just schools, but lives

Resources & Next Steps

• Reflect: Where in your leadership are you holding on to hyper-responsibility?
• Audit your staff culture: Are you building trust, or chasing harmony?
• Share this episode with a fellow leader who feels stuck in people-pleasing

Ready to stop holding everything together alone? Book your Leadership Reset Consultation—a 90-minute strategy session that gives you a 30-day roadmap to build rhythms your team will actually own. Learn more here.

If you’ve ever thought, “It’s just easier if I do it myself,” or found yourself ready to “burn it all down” after one too many hand-holding moments—this episode is for you.

In this solo episode, Chanie Wilschanski exposes the false binary so many school leaders get trapped in: over-functioning or giving up entirely. Through real client stories, she unpacks how these extremes are both driven by the same craving for instant relief—and how true leadership means learning to live in the messy middle.

You’ll hear how one owner, “Sarah,” learned to hold her team accountable without lowering standards, what happens when you trade to-do lists for calendars, and why grace never means abandoning expectations.

This conversation is packed with practical wisdom for leaders who are tired of doing it all, frustrated that delegation still feels heavy, and ready to build rhythms of ownership instead of cycles of exhaustion.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• The real reason leaders oscillate between over-functioning and firing everyone
• Why to-do lists create comfort but calendars create clarity and accountability
• How to show grace without lowering your standards
• The difference between outsourcing and ownership
• Why “getting ahead” is often avoidance disguised as productivity
• How to right-size the load while keeping standards visible

Key Insights

• Comfort isn’t clarity. A private to-do list may feel safe—but a calendar makes priorities visible, reviewable, and real.
• Grace ≠ lowered standards. True grace adjusts the load, not the expectation.
• Instant relief leads to instability. Sustainable leadership requires tolerating discomfort while building systems and rhythms.
• Outsourcing is temporary relief; ownership is transformation.

Memorable Quotes

“Comfort over clarity is not leadership—it’s avoidance.” – Chanie Wilschanski

“Grace never means lowering the standard. You right-size the load while keeping the standard visible.” – Chanie Wilschanski

“Outsourcing brings relief. Ownership builds leadership.” – Chanie Wilschanski

“When you complain about doing something, it just means you need more reps.” – Chanie Wilschanski

Why This Matters for School Leaders

• Helps leaders recognize and break the over-functioning vs. burnout cycle
• Teaches practical ways to build accountability without micromanaging
• Reinforces the connection between standards, systems, and sustainable leadership
• Empowers leaders to replace chaos with structure—and delegation with ownership

Resources & Next Steps

• Audit your leadership rhythms: Where are you over-functioning or lowering standards?
• Define your school’s standards—what’s visible, measurable, and consistent?
• Replace your team’s to-do lists with a shared calendar rhythm this week.

Ready to delegate without burning out? Join Chanie’s Delegation Workshop to learn the exact scripts, standards, and systems that make it work:

👉 schools of excellence.com/delegation

Scaling is glorified in our culture. In early childhood education, that often means opening more schools, adding more classrooms, and constantly chasing “what’s next.” But is that the only way to define success?

In this episode of the Schools of Excellence Podcast, Chanie Wilschanski sits down with Latrice Galloway, known as The Child Care Chick, to talk about the overlooked power of scaling with one location. Latrice shares how she built Kidsville Learning Academy into a multimillion-dollar school that has sustained for 18 years without expanding into multiple sites.

This conversation dives into the foundation of sustainable leadership: mindset, systems, culture, and defining what’s truly “enough.” You’ll hear Latrice’s powerful story of burnout and breakthrough, how she shifted from operator to CEO, and why her definition of success is rooted in peace, values, and sustainability.

If you’ve ever felt the pressure to open “just one more” location, or you’re struggling to sustain the school you already have, this episode will show you another path to growth—one rooted in clarity, culture, and deep alignment.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• Why scaling doesn’t have to mean opening more schools
• The foundation school leaders often skip—and why it leads to burnout
• The mindset shift from operator to CEO
• How to invest in your team so they sustain without you holding everything
• Why defining “enough” is critical to long-term success
• How to filter opportunities through your values and vision

Key Insights

• Sustainability is scale. Long-term thriving in one school can build wealth, culture, and community impact.
• Foundations matter. Hustle and charisma cannot replace systems, rhythms, and leadership infrastructure.
• Enough is a filter. Defining what is “enough” keeps you aligned when opportunities (and distractions) come knocking.
• Your health and peace are part of the equation. Burnout is not the price of success.

Memorable Quotes

• “Scaling isn’t about adding more schools—it’s about sustaining the one you already have.” – Latrice Galloway
• “Enough is not a finish line. It’s a feeling of integrity.” – Chanie Wilschanski
• “Don’t fear if your staff leave after you invest in them. Fear what happens if they stay and you never do.” – Latrice Galloway

Why This Matters for School Leaders

• Helps leaders redefine success beyond growth at all costs
• Protects culture, peace, and sustainability by focusing on depth, not constant expansion
• Empowers leaders to filter opportunities through values instead of external pressure
• Provides a model for scaling to millions with one school

Resources & Next Steps

• Define your personal and leadership definition of “enough”
• Audit your school’s foundations: Are you building on systems, or on hustle?
• Share this episode with a fellow school leader wrestling with pressure to expand

Ready to stop holding everything together alone? Book your Leadership Reset Consultation—a 90-minute strategy session that gives you a 30-day roadmap to build rhythms your team will actually own. Learn more here.

Leadership doesn’t pause for grief, betrayal, or personal storms. In this deeply vulnerable conversation, Chanie sits down with Beth Cannon to talk about what it means to lead when life unravels. From walking through the terminal illness of a loved one, to staff exits and leadership mistakes, Beth shares her “discomfort zone” season and the messy middle of showing up for her people while falling apart inside.

This episode is not about perfection, it’s about presence. It’s about choosing honesty over image, showing up when you don’t have it all together, and finding systems and rhythms that carry your school (and your soul) through seasons of chaos.

• Why “waiting until everything is perfect” is leadership avoidance
• How to keep showing up when grief and business crises collide
• The difference between accountability and ownership in staff leadership
• Why leaders must choose honesty over image if they want trust and culture to hold
• How to find outer-circle people who can lead you through your own fo

• Culture isn’t built on polish. It’s built on consistency, clarity, and shared standards.
• Grief and leadership can coexist. You can hold heartbreak in one hand and still lead with purpose in the other.
• Leadership is a mirror. Staff accountability gaps often expose where owners haven’t built the right rhythms.
• You don’t wait for perfect conditions. Growth happens in the middle of the storm, not after it passes.

• “I wasn’t replacing a role. I was reacting to a wound.” – Beth Cannon
• “You have to choose honesty over image, because the day when everything is perfect doesn’t exist.” – Beth Cannon
• “Schools don’t need leaders who wait for the fog to clear. They need leaders who keep walking.” – Chanie Wilschanski

• Stops the cycle of waiting for perfect conditions before leading
• Models vulnerability without abdicating responsibility
• Builds staff trust through honesty and accountability, not polish
• Anchors leaders in rhythms that hold during grief, betrayal, or transition

• Reflect: Where are you waiting for things to “settle” before you lead?
• Revisit your staff accountability systems: Are they true ownership, or excuses and follow-up cycles?
• Connect with Beth Cannon: bethcannonspeaks.com | Instagram & Facebook: @bethcannonspeaks