One thing I see a lot in my work is adult resistance to being new. As adults, we find being new uncomfortable. Whether it’s at a party, or in your job, we don’t like being the new person. It feels clumsy and embarrassing, and it brings up a lot of negative feelings. So, what can we do in those moments when we are a new school leader or the leader in a new environment?

Especially as a new leader, it’s so difficult to know where to focus your attention. It feels like everything is a priority. So, we’re trying to make a good impression, running around saying yes to everything, putting out every fire, and by the end of the day, we’re understandably exhausted and we don’t have much to show for it. But it doesn’t need to be this way.

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I’m taking this episode to show you how you can maximize your top assets as a school leader. I’ve talked about all of these things before, but I want to deepen your understanding and show you how to sell your mind on why these tools are your top assets when it comes to creating the results you desire as a leader.

There are four leadership assets I believe we should all be implementing and constantly evolving in our role as a leader. And doing so will allow you to create bigger and better results and transformation in your school and your life in general at a faster rate. And who doesn’t want that?

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I’ve been having several conversations with my clients lately where they’ve voiced their struggles about summer coming to an end and getting back into full work mode again. For some of you, this time of year gets you revved up and filled with energy, but for others, you’re finding yourself on edge and overly exhausted.

So, this week, I’m inviting you to slow down on purpose. This might sound strange, considering you’re just getting back to work and probably feel pumped and ready to be super productive, but I promise this is going to be the perfect episode to keep coming back to when you inevitably feel like you need a reset.

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Last week, we talked about building the school year on trust as a leadership tool, and we’re continuing on our topic of trust this week. The reality of trust is that for some of us, trusting others comes naturally and easily, while for others, it’s a real challenge. So what do we do when there are untrustworthy colleagues in our work environment? 

The truth is that you do not have to trust every single human on campus in order to be an effective leader. If there is currently distrust between you and your colleagues, peers, district admin, or anyone in your sphere, faking it is simply not going to work. But I’ve got an alternative solution for you this week. 

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I am featuring another one of my wonderful clients on today’s show. Kate is a brand new principal, and the coming year will be her very first in this position. And I know so many of you are in the same situation or are working towards where Kate is, so her insights into the interview preparation that landed Kate her dream job are going to be so valuable.

I’ve been working with Kate for a few months now, and she came to me when she was in the process of applying for the role that she has now, and how she worked on her mindset and leadership capacity to position herself as the leading candidate is a great example of how to do this work. So if you’ve got your eyes on the top job, you need to listen to Kate’s story.

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