What is your experience of district walkthroughs as a site leader? Whether you’ve had the more formal district walkthrough experience with clipboards and documents offering feedback, or you’ve experienced more casual interactions where it’s up to you to interpret and decipher the feedback, they often get our teachers extremely worked up.

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Do you consider it a problem when you’re on a learning curve and feel like a novice at something? What if I told you it’s incredibly valuable to be in this zone, and that the obstacles you’re facing aren’t there to punish you but exist to condition and strengthen you?

Obstacles are part and parcel of your desire to create impact, have influence, and contribute to the world in bigger and bolder ways as a school leader. You’re likely facing obstacles you could only dream of at one point in your career, and now, they’re a reality. Obstacles are a key part of the dream-come-true experience, but what’s preventing you from seeing this are your objections.

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This week, you’re hearing a clip from our second session of the Mid-Year Reboot that was centered around creating alignment. Alignment is the lens through which you make all of your decisions, and if your current school leadership experience looks like overexerting, overworking, and over-scheduling yourself, listen in.

Most school leaders are so focused on taking action and the “doing” aspect of their jobs that they don’t spend enough time cultivating the belief that the leadership experience they want is possible. If you’re craving a balanced approach to school leadership that leans more on ease, flow, and connection instead of coercion, manipulation, and force—you must first create alignment and I’m showing you how.

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You could probably think of one student right now who seems to demonstrate lazy or defiant classroom behavior. Maybe they just can’t get started on a simple worksheet, can’t get their desk organized, or turn in their homework on time. What’s going on here? And what does executive functioning have to do with it?

To illuminate what’s really going on behind challenging classroom behaviors, this week, I’m speaking to Candace Heiken: the founder of Lively Minds Institute and Cerebrate. With over 25 years in education, Candace is on a mission to cultivate independent, life-long learners through the development of executive function skills, and she’s here to share why prioritizing executive function instruction leads to an all-round win for everyone in your school community.

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This episode goes out to all the dad principals out there navigating your roles as school leader, father, and spouse. I’ve spoken to a number of my male clients who are struggling to figure out how to experience joy while running a school and supporting their families, and I’m sharing my insights with you this week.

It’s common to feel trapped being both a school leader and a parent, and it can be challenging to ask for space to fulfill your individual desires. Your brain may offer that you simply don’t have the time or permission to play, have fun, and do things that bring you joy when you have other priorities, but balance is possible and I’m showing you how.

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