The Empowered Principal™ Podcast Angela Kelly | Top 15 Mistakes School Leaders Make

There are so many common mistakes that I see school leaders making, and I’m highlighting 15 of them in today’s episode so you can gain some awareness of where you’re falling into these traps currently, or if you’re a new school leader, so you can see them coming and avoid them.

Of course, we’re all human, and we all make mistakes. The point here isn’t to avoid all mistakes. Especially as new school leaders, you have to allow yourself to make mistakes. But the reason we make mistakes is because of a lack of awareness. So, the goal here is to create awareness, so if you find yourself in a tough situation like the ones I’m outlining today, at least you know why it’s happening and what you can do about it.

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The Empowered Principal™ Podcast Angela Kelly | Understanding Grief as a School Leader with Krista St-Germain

This week’s episode is dealing with the sensitive topics of school shootings, loss, and grief. I have a long-time colleague and friend Krista St-Germain on the show who specializes in coaching around grief. Given some of the tragedies of the recent past on our school campuses, grief in our work as school leaders is something we need to be equipped to help ourselves and others deal with.

Krista St-Germain is a life coach who helps widowed moms figure out how to love life again after losing a spouse. She has a unique approach to grief, and she’s here today to share the tools that helped her start to live a life she loves after loss because a lot of the things we think we know about grief are actually outdated and misunderstood.

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The Empowered Principal™ Podcast Angela Kelly | Time and Emotional Management While Leading a Brand-New School with Jami

This week, I have another one of my favorite clients on the show. Jami is so smart, on top of her game, and the work we’ve done together is truly mind-blowing. Jami is going into her third year as a school leader, and she has so much to share on today’s show.

If you believe you already have the systems in place, you know yourself, and you know your school, but you still feel stuck as to how to move your school forward, Jami has something incredibly valuable to offer you today as she walks us through how she’s worked on moving her mindset from good to great, helping a new school come to life, and doing so while balancing her time with five children at home!

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The Empowered Principal™ Podcast Angela Kelly | Navigating Parent Guilt as a School Leader with Rebecca Olson

If you’re both a school leader and a parent, my speculation is that you have some level of guilt going on about your job, the hours you work, and your own kids. I was a single mom at the beginning of my school leadership journey and guilt was most definitely at the forefront of my life, and my guest today also has the experience of being both a mom and the child of an educator.

Today, I’m speaking to the life coach for working moms, Rebecca Olson. Rebecca specifically works with women who love working and describe themselves as career-driven women, and as a school leader, I know you’re passionate about excelling in education as well as in your role as a parent. Both are truly possible, and today, we’re diving into navigating parent guilt as a working parent and school leader.

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The Empowered Principal™ Podcast Angela Kelly | Focusing on Health for School Leaders with Paige Bowman

I’ve been bringing you some amazing guests from the coaching community to give you the expertise required for handling anything that comes your way in your day-to-day as a school leader, and as a human being. We’ve talked about money, marriage, and today’s conversation is all about health for school leaders, your body, and how it impacts your thoughts about your job.

Like so many principals, I experienced overwhelm, stress, and confusion, and this led to me putting on weight during my time as a school leader. I know this is the case for many people in high-pressure situations, so weight loss coach Paige Bowman is here to talk about all of it, and how the solution lies in creating awareness and connection with your body.

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The Empowered Principal™ Podcast Angela Kelly | Maggie Reyes How to Be an Amazing Principal with Even Better Relationships

I have a very dear friend and special guest on the podcast this week: Maggie Reyes. She is a coach for Type-A women who want to have amazing marriages, which speaks to my soul in all the ways, and she’s here to discuss how you as a school leader can have a beautiful, loving, healthy relationship with your partner at home while also being an Empowered Principal at school.

Maggie is a magical Master Certified Life Coach who works with women who are wildly successful in their professional life, so that’s all of you listening, and she’s here to give us some practical education in terms of how to feel better in your relationship, no matter what’s going on at school.

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The Empowered Principal™ Podcast Angela Kelly | Creating Comfort Around Your Professional Budget with Nicole Stork-Hestad

This week, I have my dear friend, colleague, and financial coach Nicole Stork-Hestad on the show because I want all of you listening to gain comfort when it comes to money. I’ve been coaching a lot over the last few months on the fear many school leaders experience around their professional budgets, and especially if you’re a new leader, you need to get comfortable with all the layers of your budgets.

Nicole Stork-Hestad is a money coach who helps her clients create comfortable, safe, and meaningful relationships around money. She’s here to discuss how getting comfortable with your professional budgeting is some of the most important work you can do, and how doing so transfers over to your personal finances as well.

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The Empowered Principal™ Podcast | Why You Have an Office

This week’s topic might seem a little frivolous, but I promise, it’s not. The purpose of having an office is actually a big deal, and we need to unveil some belief systems baked into education that are hindering your ability to get stuff done, stop being interrupted all the time, and stop overworking so you can accomplish what you need to.

If, like many of my clients, you’re looking high and low for nooks and crannies around campus so you can be productive for half an hour, listen in. You might have been told you should be out on campus, in classrooms, or on yard duty, and shouldn’t just be a principal sitting in their office. But you have been provided an office for a reason, and we’re diving into it today. 

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The Empowered Principal™ Podcast | Asking Your District for PD Funding

This is the time of year when professional development starts coming up more and more. Teachers are rolling their eyes when they think about participating in PD because they typically experience the same thing year after year. So, in this episode, we’re discussing how you can approach PD in a way that gets your teachers hyped.

It’s common among teachers to think that professional development training is something they have to endure as part of returning for a new school year. But the truth is, it doesn’t have to be this way. Right now, they have a set of thoughts about PD, as does your district, and I’m sure you have some of your own thoughts about all of it. So, it’s time to try something new.

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The Empowered Principal™ Podcast | Bonus: Starting the Year Not Fully Staffed

The reality of the teacher shortage we’re experiencing right now is a topic I wasn’t planning on addressing. However, this has been coming up in conversations with clients, on social media platforms, and even in consults with school leaders who are considering coaching purely because of this very challenge. 

Whether it’s classroom teachers, support staff like custodians, office staff, mental health staff, or instructional coaches, there are so many positions different schools have that are currently understaffed. If this high-pressure, high-stakes situation is leaving you feeling stressed, you are most definitely not alone. However, even though it might not seem like it right now, there are solutions available to you. 

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