Do you find yourself enduring relationships with people, things, or even jobs for way longer than you should because you believe things “could be worse?” Do you tell yourself every day that it’s not so bad and you can get through it? Well, that was me not all that long ago, and it’s something we all do when we can’t see past something ending.

Welcome to the final episode on January’s theme of relationships, fittingly all about ending your relationships. In this episode, I’ll be using the example of leaving my role as a school principal, but the great news is you can apply this to any relationship you have in your life.

Read more

As a school leader, it’s impossible to get along with everyone all of the time. You have staff, parents, and students that all have opinions on everything you do, and vice versa. We know that molding people and having them behave exactly how we would like is never going to happen, but there must be something we can do, surely?

In my time as a principal and my work since as a coach, I’ve learned that there is work to be done in this area and that all hope is not lost. With just a little mind management, it’s remarkable what we can achieve.

Read more

We’re continuing with this month’s subject of relationships. Last week, we took a deep dive into your relationship with yourself, which is fundamental to this week’s topic – your relationship with other people. Especially in our professional lives, getting new relationships off to a good start makes life so much easier.

When you meet someone new, you get flooded with first impressions. These early judgments shape the early part of our relationships with new people and they actually have our brains playing all kinds of tricks on us. What we think about a person straight off the bat can actually cloud our reality of working or spending time with someone.

Read more

Welcome to 2019. I’m psyched to be bringing you guys this podcast on New Year’s Day! As I mentioned the last couple of weeks, the podcast is taking a new turn this year. We’re discussing a different topic every month, with each weekly episode covering an important aspect of that month’s subject.

This month is all about relationships and why cultivating them properly is a vital skill for any school leader. This week’s episode is diving deep into the most important relationship in our personal and professional lives – our relationship with ourself.

Read more

This week on the show, I welcome my first guest, Stacey Smith! It’s been one year since I launched The Empowered Principal Podcast and I could not be more thrilled to be celebrating with one of the most inspiring people I know.

Stacey is not in the field of education, but she has taught me an unbelievable amount about being a school leader and how to show up in the world. Stacey and I have been working together for two years now and it’s thanks to her that I can bring you this podcast and show up for you guys every week.

Read more

 

I’m going to be spending the whole month of January going deep into relationships and how to approach all of yours with finesse and grace. Today, I’m going to be discussing how to deal with challenging teachers so you’ve got some time to really absorb this before the holidays.

I’m exploring the two types of challenging behaviors I’ve seen in schools and how to approach them with awareness and compassion. It’s easy to get caught up in our judgments but don’t worry, we’re just human and it’s nothing to beat yourself up about! I’m sharing the importance of doing a brain drain when handling a difficult situation, and how you can set boundaries with your teachers.

Read more

It’s episode 50, and every 10 episodes, I dedicate to someone who has changed my life personally and professionally. I usually choose a life coach or someone who has been around a while. However, I heard about this guy on one of my master coach’s podcasts and I just had to check him out.

Gary Vaynerchuk, or Gary V for short, is a multi-million dollar businessman, speaker, author and internet personality. I have taken so much from what Gary preaches and a lot of it translates perfectly to the field of school leadership.

Read more

Think about your routine for your workday. Now think about how long you’ve been running that same routine over and over. This series of events might get you from the start of the day to the end, but is it producing a lot of negative feelings that you’d rather not have to face when you’re already so busy?

I did the same thing every day for years, eventually noticing that I felt overwhelmed. I was not really present enough to think about any way around this feeling other than to work harder and longer. I’m here to tell you that that does not work. School Principal is a stressful job and you have no time to live in fear of negative emotions surfacing, so listen closely.

Read more

If there’s one thing that worries us in our role as a school leader, it’s the notion of meeting with erratic and difficult parents. When I think about this topic, one parent comes to my mind. She would scream, shout, and curse us out every chance she got – not pleasant.

Worrying about these occasions when you have to deal with confrontational parents can really stress us out and make us want to just avoid the situation altogether. However, as a principal, it is our duty to make sure we conduct these meetings properly and at least hear these parents out.

Read more

You’ve made it to Thanksgiving! The smell of pumpkin spice is in the air and it’s time for your first real break since August. Thinking back on this part of the school year brought up a lot of memories of my time as a school leader; not least the exhaustion.

This fatigue can play a huge role in our mindset and can really lead us to a place of victim mentality and a lack of empowerment. Well, don’t worry because in this episode, I’m providing the tools you need to come back after Thanksgiving break with a new lease of life and a new perspective on the job.

Read more