As a school leader, you spend a lot of time working because you love what you do. Even when you’re exhausted, you put in the hours because of the deep passion you have for your school community and the outcomes you want to achieve.

While you might derive a lot of pleasure from your work, it is critical that your sense of fun and play come from other sources as well. Being able to check tasks off your to-do list, help a student, or mentor a teacher all feel amazing, but they cannot be the only things in your life that bring you joy and delight.

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Over the last few months, I’ve had several clients face situations at their schools that have required them to bring in legal counsel or support. There are many ways legal issues can manifest, whether that be HR, parent, student, or special education law issues, and it can feel all-consuming, especially if you’re new to school leadership.

As a coach, I help site and district leaders build the skills necessary to lead their schools and navigate the mental and emotional challenges that come with the job. I am not here to offer legal advice; however, I can speak to the experience of facing legal issues as a school leader.

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I coach school leaders all day long on how hard this job is. And from personal experience, I can relate. School leadership is hard. However, as I listen to my principals share the difficulties they’re facing in their day-to-day, I had a revelation about the kind of hard they’re experiencing, and I’m sharing it with you on this episode.

Most of us are hooked into the belief that anything that requires more effort than we think we can expend is hard. But have you ever stopped to consider what your definition of hard means? What is it about school leadership that’s hard for you? And how can we make it less hard?

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Fall is going to be here before we know it, which means you’re probably getting ready to hire your next round of staff members. If you are currently preparing to hire and onboard new teachers to your school, I’ve got some words of wisdom for you this week that I implore you to consider.

I’ve explored the HR side of hiring, attracting, and retaining your ideal teachers to your school in previous episodes of the podcast. However, I’m taking a different approach this week. On this episode, I’m inviting you to think about the hiring journey from the perspective of the teacher you might potentially hire, and I’m showing you why this matters more than you think.

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I recently came across a post that was asking for speaker recommendations when it comes to professional development days. The interaction I had on this post made me reflect on how site and district leaders plan for professional development for their schools, and I’m sharing my insights with you this week.

I know that many of you are tasked with having to decide on topics or themes and hire speakers or presenters for your school’s professional development days. I also know that for the majority of you, this process feels like another thing on your already full to-do list. Although planning professional development seems like just another box to tick, there’s an opportunity here for you to leverage the growth of your entire community.

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