Schools of Excellence: The No. 1 ECE & Private School Leadership Podcast

Recently, I was speaking with an owner who was opening a second location.

Despite this being an exciting time for her school, she was drowning in shame.

“Chanie, I keep starting and stopping, starting and stopping,” she told me.

I asked her what she meant.

She told me she felt ashamed that she couldn’t be consistent with her decisions. “I keep creating policies, implementing them, then getting pushback, and changing the policy again. I feel like I’m always backing out of my commitments.”

First of all, there’s wisdom in flexibility, and sometimes updating a policy is the right step.

But in this owner’s case, she needed to build her self-trust so she could banish the shame.

And she was taking the perfect next step by exposing her difficult emotions in a conversation with me.

Shame thrives in the dark, but it withers in the light.

When you share your shame with a trusted mentor or community, it doesn’t seem so insurmountable anymore. This is what it means to win in the dark when it comes to shame.

Join me in the podcast this week for a conversation about:

• Why shame and anger are common emotions for school leaders
• What promotes the growth of shame and anger, and conversely, what loosens their grip
• What your anger is telling you and to what extent you should listen
• How to win in the dark by finding constructive ways to proceed around your anger
• Real-life examples of how school leaders have overcome shame and anger, and managed to cultivate community and collaboration

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/ 

Don’t let shame thrive in the dark. Shine a light on it by joining a genuinely supportive community. You’ll loosen shame’s grip on your heart as you learning it’s safe to be vulnerable with like-minded school leaders who truly get it. Please apply for our Owner's HQ and Director's Inner Circle membership programs, where you'll gain access to tools, resources, coaching, and community that will help you as you work toward building a school of excellence.

 If you want the guidance of a caring, experienced mentor as you navigate challenging emotions, I welcome you to work with Schools of Excellence through a Leadership Day Intensive. You'll get a full day of on-demand, in-school training and discussions with me, plus various accountability check-ins, to help you and your team build a stronger, healthier center. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/leadership/

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life. 

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

Comparisonitis is so common for school leaders.

I used to compare myself to others constantly.

It’s only natural in the face of successful-looking influencers and mountains of social media content.

But two and a half years ago, I got super honest with myself. 

What was actually important to me? Was it accolades and endless business growth?

No. What truly mattered was these two things: my faith and my family.

So I committed to maintaining my business programs, revenue, and profit margins for 24 months, giving me the chance to focus on my deeply-held values.

This is when I began recording The Schools of Excellence Podcast.

Every week, I’d go into my windowless office, record a high-quality episode, and put it out into the world.

No one thanked me for the content. There was no overnight explosion of growth. 

But I stuck with it because it would allow me to attract the right-fit clients while being home with my family.

My podcast is an example of winning in the dark. I’m working in private, with no accolades waiting for me, so that I can eventually achieve my desired outcome.

In a world where everyone wants instant gratification, I encourage you to win in the dark.

Not only will winning in the dark help you create a true school of excellence… it will help you dispel comparisonitis.

That’s because comparison requires looking outward, but you build confidence and self-trust when you keep the promises you make to yourself in private.

Join me in the podcast this week for a conversation about:

• Where comparison comes from
• How to know if you’re experiencing comparisonitis, with symptoms like second-guessing yourself
• Long-term, damaging consequences of falling into the comparison trap
• How school leaders can adopt a self-assured approach to their work instead
• Incentives to winning in the dark, when you can’t rely on public accolades

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/ 

Spoiler alert: One of the key strategies for building self-trust and worthiness is to join a supportive community. By sharing your wins with like-minded school leaders who truly get it, you’ll find the quiet recognition you crave. I encourage you to apply for our Owner's HQ and Director's Inner Circle membership programs. As a member, you'll gain access to tools, resources, coaching, and community that will help you as you work toward building a school of excellence.

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life. 

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

My client, Jaycee, was doing something truly amazing. She’d worked hard and put in extra hours to build a culture of teacher collaboration.

As a result, there was unity within the staff, and children’s learning and engagement soared.

She was really pleased with the outcome.

…But no one else seemed to notice.

She brought the question to the Schools of Excellence community for owners and directors. 

She kept reassuring us, “I am happy! This is exactly what I wanted.” 

And then she’d add, “I just wish other people knew.”

However, the experience of sharing her unseen efforts and the endurance it required to lead with impact (but without acknowledgment), was enough.

She discovered she didn’t need accolades from teachers or parents because she had a safe community and because the end result was intrinsically rewarding.

I want to go deeper into the topic of winning in the dark—the phenomenon of discreetly or invisibly achieving success and overcoming challenges.

This week, I’m unveiling the first episode of a three-part series on the Schools of Excellence Podcast about winning in the dark.

In this week's podcast episode, I’m beginning the discussion with an exploration of the concepts of enoughness and worthiness.

It’s common to hinge your self-worth on what praise and acknowledgment you receive. 

If you achieve your goal, but no one notices, are you still satisfied? Do you try to fill the void by going on to the next project before you take a few weeks or months to appreciate what you’ve accomplished?

If this sounds like you, you may have an opportunity to build up your sense of enoughness and worthiness.

Join me in the podcast this week for a conversation about:

• How to discern whether you are struggling with enoughness
• Common external pressures that can impact how worthy you feel
• Why winning in the dark is especially challenging in the age of social media
• The gap between intellectually and emotionally knowing you’re enough
• Strategies for how to become unshakeable in your self-trust

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/ 

Spoiler alert: One of the key strategies for building self-trust and worthiness is to join a supportive community. By sharing your wins with like-minded school leaders who truly get it, you’ll find the quiet recognition you crave. I encourage you to apply for our Owner's HQ and Director's Inner Circle membership programs. As a member, you'll gain access to tools, resources, coaching, and community that will help you as you work toward building a school of excellence.

Having an engaged and insightful mentor is a great way to guide you through the quiet obstacles that eventually lead to winning in the darkness. Work through your current biggest challenge with a Schools of Excellence Leadership Day Intensive. You'll get a full day of on-demand, in-school training with me, plus various accountability check-ins, to help you and your team build a stronger, healthier center. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/leadership/

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life. 

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

I’m one of the few people who actually enjoys public speaking.

Walking onto a stage excites me, and I gain a lot of energy from interacting with a crowd.

But I know I’m an outlier.

Most people panic when they’re asked to give a thought-provoking response in front of the whole staff with no advanced warning.

You can avoid this reaction in your staff meetings while creating a more thoughtful gathering. My suggestion is to prepare a handful of teachers ahead to be called on—and let them know the question early.

This is one of the tips I provide in my latest podcast episode about leading a productive, curated final staff meeting of the school year.

Join me for a conversation about how to:

• Discern what needs to be discussed in a meeting versus in an email
• Empower your team to learn from their frustrations and embrace innovation
• Navigate challenges without relying on auto-pilot and “the way we’ve always done it”
• Collaborate to bring future aspirations into reality as the next year gets underway
• Co-create tangible reminders of positive memories from the school year

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/ 

As you reflect on the 2023-2024 school year, you may wish you’d had more like-minded community or personalized support. If so, I encourage you to start the next year on the right foot by applying now for the Schools of Excellence Director’s Inner Circle or Owner’s HQ membership program. Inside, you’ll receive ongoing tools, coaching, and an engaged community that will help you work toward building a school of excellence.

Every school is unique, which is why I also offer an option for short-term super-individualized support for you and your school. During your Leadership Day Intensive, you'll get a full day of on-demand, in-school training with me, plus various accountability check-ins, to help you and your center thrive. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/leadership/

Purchase Reflective Questions for Teachers here: https://discovered.thrivecart.com/reflective-questions-for-teachers/

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life. 

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

In January, the internet was full of cute memes about going back to the gym, eating salads, and recommitting to your health.

At the end of the calendar year, school leaders often take a look at fiscal performance and next year’s goals.

But right now, as the school year comes to a close, we tend to focus on the next thing. 

Our brains are already in summer mode. We are entering a new season for our lives and our schools.

But what if, before jumping head-first into what’s next, we took a moment to breathe?

What if we paused for self-reflection?

The quality of your life is determined, in large part, by the quality of the questions you ask yourself.

This week on the podcast, I want to invite you to self-reflect with some thought-provoking questions you won’t hear anywhere else.

Join me for a conversation about:

• Significance: What gives your work significance? Is that changing as you grow as a leader? Is there anything you need to let go of?
• Impact: What is the effect of your leadership, decisions, and actions on your school and its stakeholders?
• Relationships: How well do you understand the needs of your team members and the families at your school? How well do you meet those needs?
• Vision: At your current breakneck pace, will your 70th birthday be the first time you have a chance to think about the legacy you’re creating through your work?
• Personal Growth: How are you being intentional about growing as a leader? After all, the world keeps changing, and so do we.

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/ 

Ready to define your own metrics of success within a supportive environment of like-minded school leaders? Apply for the Schools of Excellence Director’s Inner Circle or Owner’s HQ membership program. Inside, you’ll receive tools, coaching, and an engaged community that will help you build a school of excellence.

With individualized coaching, you can learn even more ways to evaluate success. For personalized support for you and your school, let’s work together in a Leadership Day Intensive. You'll get a full day of on-demand, in-school training with me, plus various accountability check-ins, to help you and your center thrive. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/leadership/

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life. 

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

In 2020, everyone’s world turned upside-down 

Sioux Falls school owner Cayla Rush knew there was too much on her plate as the pandemic began, but she didn’t see an alternative. 

She felt it was her responsibility to make countless decisions that could impact the health and well-being of her staff, herself, and the families she served.

“My self-trust was shaken,” she told me. “Before 2020, I felt like I could trust myself to make decisions. But then that went out the window.”

That’s when we met. 

Instead of allowing herself to remain stuck, Cayla joined the Schools of Excellence Owner’s HQ. I’ve had the privilege of watching her grow into a transformed leader over the years.

Today, she is confident, resilient, and discerning.

She’s hired a great leadership team, pursues big dreams, and has learned how to coach her colleagues.

She even got a beautiful tattoo of the word “Breathe” to remind her of a big takeaway from the Schools of Excellence community. When she takes a deep breath and sits in the silence and discomfort, she hears her inner voice.

In this week's podcast episode, I sit down for a conversation with Cayla about her leadership journey.

Join us to learn more about:

• Quick wins Cayla achieved when she first joined the community
• How she turned her impostor syndrome into a deep sense of belonging
• The impact of personalized coaching on her school’s growth and her personal growth as a leader
• Steps she has taken to reject hustle culture in favor of resilience and wisdom

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/ 

 If you want to overcome self-doubt, impostor syndrome, and hustle culture within a supportive environment, apply for the Schools of Excellence Director’s Inner Circle or Owner’s HQ membership program. Inside, you’ll receive tools, coaching, and a like-minded community of school leaders to help build a school of excellence.

If Cayla’s story sounds like your autobiography, I invite you to work with me through a Leadership Day Intensive. You'll get a full day of on-demand, highly personalized, in-school training with me, plus various accountability check-ins, to help you and your center thrive. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/leadership/

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life. 

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

Have you seen Forbes’ 30 Under 30 and 40 Under 40 lists?

They feature the brightest, shiniest, hardest-working entrepreneurs. These individuals embody hustle, grind, and achievement.

It would be exciting to get on one of those lists, right?

Let’s step back for a moment.

When you’re 40 years old, or even 50, 60, 70, or 80, your school will still be there. You have your whole life to be an owner or director. As I like to say, “I’m playing the decades game.”

So who says you have to hit a certain level of success before a particular age?

Running your school may not be a finite opportunity, but being present for your current season of life is.

If you’re raising young kids, caring for an aging parent, planning a wedding, or anything else that’s important to you, you will only be in this season of life for so long.

Once the door on your current season of life closes, it will never open again. 

Treasure the season of life you’re in.

Meanwhile, the school will still be there. It’s a constant in your life.

Now, don’t misunderstand me; I’m not saying you shouldn’t have big ambitions. 

In fact, this is an extremely common misconception among school leaders. 

They think that schools with a slower pace will achieve less. So they eat lunch at their desks, burn the midnight oil, and run themselves to exhaustion in order to meet their goals.

What they don’t realize is that rest, calm, and peace give you the breathing room you need to take stock, make intentional decisions, and take more meaningful actions.

Simply put, you can accomplish more, at a more sustainable pace, when you do less.

Last week on the Schools of Excellence Podcast, I talked about what causes a culture of urgency in schools.

In this week’s episode, I’m discussing how you can create calm and banish the urgency once and for all.

Join me for a conversation about:

• Why calmness is the key to meaningful progress
• Vital characteristics leaders need to adopt a culture of calm
• Techniques you can implement in your school to cultivate well-being
• Mindset shifts you can begin to embody today that will make a difference
• How a culture of calm opens you up to incredible opportunities

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/ 

Creating the calm in your school won’t happen overnight. If you could use support, book a Leadership Day Intensive. You'll get a full day of on-demand, in-school training with me, plus various accountability check-ins, to help you and your center thrive during your transformation. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/leadership/

If you’re looking for ongoing, personalized support as you shift your school’s culture, apply for the Schools of Excellence Director’s Inner Circle or Owner’s HQ membership program. Inside, you’ll receive tools, coaching, resources, and access to a thriving community that will help you work towards building a school of excellence. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/leadership/

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life. 

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

Leaders have lots of amazing ideas. 

And sometimes, those ideas can turn into multiple priorities. This is absolutely normal. 

But when there’s a new idea, a new priority, every month, week, or day, it’s exhausting and confusing for the whole school.

As the focus shifts constantly from one urgent matter to the next, everything becomes a priority. In a culture like this, the team learns that when everything is a priority, nothing is actually a priority.

They may delay starting a project or put in low effort in the beginning, because they know the leader is apt to chang their mind.

Not only can this result in low morale and frustration on the part of both leadership and the team, it poaches employees’ buy-in, ownership, and innovation.

Short-term focus and inconsistent prioritization are two symptoms of a culture of urgency in a school.

Operating within a culture of urgency is such a difficult and stifling experience, so I’m dedicating the next two Schools of Excellence Podcast episodes to the topic.

This week, I’m discussing how you can recognize the patterns of a culture of urgency within your own school.

Join me for a conversation about:

• Three key symptoms to help you diagnose a culture of urgency
• Ten ways a culture of urgency negatively impacts a school and its leaders, staff, and families
• One critical skill for leaders to learn that can help create a sense of deliberateness and calm
• A valuable tool for understanding the core tension within your center

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/ 

 P.S. When you’re facing dozens of competing priorities, an outside perspective can help you focus on the next best steps to move you closer to your goals. Let’s work together in a Leadership Day Intensive. You'll get a full day of on-demand, in-school training with me, plus various accountability check-ins, to help you and your center thrive during this busy time. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/leadership/

If your school is experiencing high turnover, burnout, and stress, you may have a culture of urgency. The Schools of Excellence Director’s Inner Circle or Owner’s HQ membership program provides proven, ongoing support as you get to the root of the problem. Inside, you’ll receive tools, coaching, resources, and access to a thriving community that will help you work towards building a school of excellence. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life. 

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

Summer is coming, faster than we could have anticipated. 

Have you figured out what you and your family are doing for the break?

“What are your summer plans?” It sounds like a simple question—one you’ll probably get asked a bunch over the coming weeks—but the reality is anything but easy.

If you’re feeling panic or irritation at having to make yet another decision about summer break (or even what's for dinner), that’s because there is a whole world of invisible labor that goes into every single choice. 

My friend, you are experiencing some very real decision fatigue.

In this week's podcast episode, I’m discussing the mountains of invisible labor that go into decision-making, so you can better protect your energy for the decisions that really matter.

Join me for a conversation about:

• Five steps of decision-making you may not realize you’re already experiencing
• Three types of invisible, draining labor that go into making choices
• Why decision fatigue, emotional factors, and information overload compound the difficulty of choices
• Concrete ways you can reduce your mental load and make decisions more judiciously

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/ 

A common frustration I see in school leaders is overwhelm when they are making multiple large decisions at once. For instance, they might be onboarding a lot of new parents while also changing software or switching curriculum. If this sounds like you, let’s talk during a Leadership Day Intensive. You'll get a full day of on-demand, in-school training with me, plus various accountability check-ins, to help you and your center thrive during this busy time. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/leadership/

If you’re feeling completely overwhelmed by decisions and wish you could have regular heart-to-hearts with like-minded school leaders about the challenges inherent in your work, apply for the Schools of Excellence Director’s Inner Circle or Owner’s HQ membership program. Inside, you’ll receive tools, coaching, resources, and access to a thriving community that will help you work towards building a school of excellence. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life. 

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/ 

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life. 

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.