Surviving to Thriving Leadership

Every Action Must Be Intentional: I met with the inspiring Jim Wichman recently for a conversation that left me with more energy than when I started! Jim is a longtime administrator with a strong track record of success in schools. Make sure you check out his website to see what he might be able to offer your school or district: https://linktr.ee/inspirededification We talked about many things, but I always narrow it down to three key takeaways. 

Teachers’ Emotional Wellness Impacts the Classroom: I met with Dr. Rana Razzaque for an awesome conversation about mindfulness and its impact on our educational system. This was a different conversation than my normal leadership focus, but I was so interested in the topic that I wanted to learn as much as I could during our time together! We talked about many things, but I always narrow it down to three key takeaways. 

Journey to Your Own Brand of Excellence: I met with Matt Dixon, founder of Purple Patch Fitness. He has been extremely successful as a professional triathlete coach and as a business owner. He has written multiple books and hosts a weekly podcast as well. Check out his website: https://www.purplepatchfitness.com/. I cannot recommend highly enough his podcast and his book The Fast Track Triathlete. Even if you have no interest in triathlons, I believe what he teaches is applicable in just about any area of life - Podcast Episode 251 Lesson from Leaders comes to mind. This was really tough, but I always narrow it down to three key takeaways. 

Listen: https://t.ly/ad7a 

Check out the article for more detail on each takeaway.

Thank you for your time and advice!

Never Lose the Capacity for Bold, Audacious Ideas: I met with Dr. Brent Chrite, the president of Bentley University. I was fortunate to meet Dr. Chrite in person at the Global Minded Conference in June, and then I was able to listen to him speak on a keynote panel. What an inspiring leader! Make sure you check out the great things being done at Bentley University https://www.bentley.edu/. We talked about many things, but I always narrow it down to three key takeaways. 

Get Your Ego Out the Door: I met with Bobby Dodd, a National Digital Principal of the Year and overall awesome school leader. I was able to hear him speak at the NASSP Ignite conference and we later met to talk about more specifics of leadership. We talked about many things, but I always narrow it down to three key takeaways. 

On the Other Side of Discomfort is Joy: I met with Dr. Colleen Kelley, an Army Veteran, college professor, and comic strip writer. Dr. Kelley not only writes comics, but they are about organic chemistry and they are geared towards kids aged 8-10! Check them out: https://kidschemicalsolutions.com/ She is passionate about creating equitable outcomes for all students, particularly around getting underrepresented students into medical school. We talked about many things, but I always narrow it down to three key takeaways. 

Be a Dream Maker for Kids:I met with Dr. Cynthia Clauson, a veteran administrator and superintendent from the state of Washington. Ted Howard connected us because Dr. Clauson has been such a good mentor to him and many other successful school leaders. We talked about many things, but I always narrow it down to three key takeaways. 

One Step at a Time: I met with Jenn David-Lang, a former teacher and administrator and now she writes the Main Idea. https://www.themainidea.net/ Jenn reads books and then writes detailed summaries so educators can still get the main idea without reading the entire thing. This is an extremely valuable tool for time-starved principals everywhere! We talked about many things, but I always narrow it down to three key takeaways. 

Be Humble and Don’t be a Jerk!: I met with Kim Marshall, who writes the Marshall Memo each week. If you haven’t seen his work, I strongly suggest you check it out! https://marshallmemo.com/ He does an excellent job synthesizing a lot of work so we don’t have to! We talked about many things, but I always narrow it down to three key takeaways. 

Drink A Lot of Water: I met with Ted Howard, an assistant superintendent in Seattle. We had a great conversation that was extremely practical and filled with great tips to be successful in this work (like drinking a lot of water!) We talked about many things, but I always narrow it down to three key takeaways.