When was the last time you felt truly seen?

 

I’m talking about the type of connection where you feel heard, validated, and unafraid of being judged—where you feel safe enough to be fully vulnerable.

 

For me, it was when I met up with my friend from high school during a conference in Dallas. We rented an Airbnb, ordered takeout, and hung out just like the old days.

 

We spent 18 hours in that Airbnb, but only 5 of them were spent sleeping. For the other 13, we connected on a level that had me opening up about things I hadn’t talked about in more than a decade.

 

Why? Because I trusted that not only could I be honest with her, but she would also be honest with me.

 

Having relationships that are mutually vulnerable is essential to developing self-awareness, which is a core component of building schools of excellence.

 

In this week’s bonus podcast episode, I offer a series of tactical tips for building self-awareness for yourself and your staff. 

 

These are the same strategies I use with members inside my Director's Inner Circle & Owner's HQ, where school leaders learn how to support their staff and build cultures of excellence. 

 

In addition to the impact of genuine friendships, this episode covers:

 

• The importance of knowing your priorities
• Why you should get comfortable with receiving feedback
• Self-awareness as a skill (that takes lots and lots of practice!)

 

When you increase your capacity for looking inward, you create a ripple effect of change outward. And that is the mark of an effective school leader.

 

Resources and links mentioned in this episode:

While self-awareness is an important aspect of school leadership, it’s not the only one! Check out our Time Management and Accountability Bundle to improve your time management skills and learn how to hold staff and parents accountable.

 

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.