Culture doesn’t collapse because of one dramatic event. It erodes slowly — through the emotional and relational gaps leaders don’t see.

In Lesson 3 of this leadership mini-series, we tie everything together:

how doubt forms internally, how assumptions grow relationally, and how the combination quietly destroys team alignment, trust, and clarity inside schools.

This episode introduces The Culture Equation — a simple but powerful framework that reveals the true pathway of culture drift:

Emotion – Information = Assumption

Assumption + Silence = Drama

Drama + Time = Erosion

Erosion + Avoidance = Culture Collapse

When leaders understand this equation, everything makes sense — the conflict patterns, the miscommunication cycles, the trust issues, and the frustration that builds between team members.

In this episode you’ll learn:

How doubt creates emotional space inside a leader

How assumptions fill that space with negative stories

Why resentment grows when gaps remain unaddressed

The FOUR Culture Gaps (Expectation, Communication, Alignment, Emotional)

How each gap quietly chips away at trust

The five practices of high-performing leaders that prevent culture erosion

The “Culture Reset Conversation” every leader must master

How to rebuild clarity, confidence, and connection in your school culture

This closing lesson brings the entire series full circle — and gives you practical tools to reset your culture before the cracks widen.

If you lead people, this is a must-listen.

If the series helped you, leave a review and share it with another school leader who needs it.

Holiday Special: https://lbleaders.mykajabi.com/offers/F3GVJiQs/checkout

Assumptions are the most dangerous form of leadership — not because they’re loud, but because they’re silent.

In this second episode of the 3-part leadership series on Doubt, Assumptive Leadership, and Cultural Erosion, we expose how assumptions quietly destroy trust, relationships, clarity, and alignment inside schools.

Assumptions don’t start with behavior.

They start in your mind — in the stories you create when you don’t have all the information.

And because leaders operate under immense pressure, these stories often turn into:

resentment

miscommunication

broken trust

culture drift

In this episode, you’ll learn:

What’s inside Lesson 2:

Why “in the absence of information, we assume the worst”

The 5 types of assumptions that erode school culture

How assumptions form when doubt is left unaddressed

The “Assumption Gap” and how it grows silently inside teams

Warning signs you’re leading by assumption (not fact or truth)

My real-life 7:30 classroom-door story and what it revealed

How assumptive leadership wastes emotional energy and damages relationships

Three proven strategies to eliminate assumptions from your leadership:

Clarifying expectations

Declaring noble intent

Leading with questions instead of narratives

How to transform assumptions into observations and productive conversations

Assumptions are common — but they are not harmless.

This lesson gives you practical tools to eliminate assumptive leadership and rebuild trust one conversation at a time.

This sets the stage for Lesson 3, where we tie it all together and show how doubt + assumptions = culture erosion — and how to reverse the entire cycle.

Doubt is one of the most silent and persistent forces in leadership — and it takes more principals out of the game than burnout, conflict, or workload ever will.

In this first episode of our 3-part leadership series, we break down the truth about doubt:

what it is, why it shows up, and how it quietly erodes confidence, clarity, and culture inside schools.

Drawing from insights from my mentor Paul Martinelli and 20+ years of leading and coaching school administrators, this episode will help you understand doubt as more than an emotion—it’s a signal, a teacher, and sometimes a trap.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Why even highly successful leaders wrestle with doubt

The 5 types of doubt that show up in school leadership

How doubt creates the emotional space where assumptions grow

Why doubt is not a weakness—but silence around it is

How doubt turns into hesitation, overthinking, and poor decision-making

The mindset shift every leader needs to break the doubt cycle

The truth vs. fact distinction that can transform your confidence

How to move into 2026 with clarity, purpose, and conviction

Doubt never disappears—but how you interpret it determines whether it becomes a catalyst for growth or a weapon against your potential.

This episode sets the foundation for Lesson 2 on Assumptive Leadership—the behavior that destroys trust faster than anything else in schools.

In this final book study episode, we discuss the keys to healthy and effective governance and how a high performing school leader engages families.

Grab your copy of the book and supplemental resources at: www.tenindictors.com

Cash is the oxygen that drives the overall programming, however, understanding what drives vitality and programming.

Our team talks through the best practices when it comes to charter school finances, operation and capacity based on the book, The Ten Indicators of High Performing Charter Schools.

go to: www.tenindicators.com to learn more about the book.

This podcast episode covers 20 questions asked to your mentor in the areas of:

- Time management

- Creating Buy In

- Finishing the 4th Quarter Strong

- Goal Setting

- Vision Casting

- School Culture

Links Mentioned:

15 Minute Miracle: https://www.leaders-building-leaders.com/Time-Management-Tool

School Evaluation: www.tenindicators.com (book and assessment button)

Principal Quarterly: https://www.leaders-building-leaders.com/SchoolLeaderChecklists

This session we review and provide resources of the three indicators that will create the most change in your school:

1. Staff supervision and development

2. A behavior based hiring process that works

3. Defining the culture you desire to see and have throughout the school community

Get the book and take the assessment: www.tenindicators.com

Today's session, special guest and high performing principal Ted Duncan and I discussed:

1. Why it’s critical to have established and written down academic goals

2.The importance of an agreed upon and clearly defined education plan

3. How to oversee this plan and discuss data that matters

Buy the book at www.tenindicators.com

Learn more at Ted at brevardacademy.org and The Duncan Dispatch at https://www.linkedin.com/in/theduncandispatch/

#academics

#highperformance

#charterschools

#instructionalleadership

Sustained Mission and Vision

Join the study and buy the book www.tenindicators.com

#highperformance

#charterschools

#leadership

All failed charter schools can be traced back to the actions or non-actions of the governing board. With so much at stake, student learning, millions of dollars in public funds, and safety of all humans on the campus, what I have found is that when it comes to effective governance practices it has very little to do with the challenges of governance as it does with the behavior of the people on the board. Listen to this short overview of Indicator 10 and then grab yourself a copy of the book at www.tenindicators.com

#governance

#charterschools