The Empowered Principal Podcast with Angela Kelly | How to Stay Motivated

As a school leader, you spent so much time working towards reaching the goal of landing your first principal position. You thought about what it would be like and how much it meant to you, and your brain spent a lot of time in that place. However, when we’re in the job, it’s so easy to lose that focus and motivation and start to see everything that’s wrong.

Our brains want to default to what isn’t working, why we’re not good enough, and the results we’re not getting. But no matter where you are along the journey, there are always things you’re working towards that you’re yet to accomplish.

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The Empowered Principal Podcast with Angela Kelly | Bonus #3 (The Pressure to Expedite Academic Growth)

We’ve talked about Covid not being over, the emotions it’s brought to the surface, and how to raise the morale of your staff. And today, we’re discussing the pressure school leaders are under to expedite academic growth, and why this is the main reason I’m seeing hesitancy around prioritizing staff and student morale.

As nice as it sounds to spend time processing the emotions of the pandemic, there is always pressure to keep kids meeting the educational standards that are set for our schools. But is modeling for our students to set aside their emotions and put academic achievement first at all costs actually helping them? I don’t think it is. So, what can we do about it?

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The Empowered Principal Podcast with Angela Kelly | Professional Development: Real Talk with Daniel Bauer

I have a very special returning guest with me on the podcast today! Daniel Bauer is the founder of Better Leader Better Schools, and has mentored thousands of school leaders through his blogs, books, podcast, and powerful coaching experiences.

Daniel is back on the show this week to talk us through his new book, Mastermind: Unlocking Talent Within Every School Leader. This book is all about reimagining what professional development for school administrators looks like in order to meet the needs of all school leaders who currently feel isolated and overwhelmed. And after the last year we’ve had, I think we could all use some real talk about the value of professional development.

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The Empowered Principal Podcast with Angela Kelly | Bonus #2 (Morale as the Priority)

In the first episode of this bonus series, we talked about shifting from the frustration and resentment that so many people are experiencing around COVID still being a factor in how we run our schools, into feeling and allowing the disappointment that the pandemic is still with us. And this week, I’m sharing how to move forward as a leader after you’ve processed those emotions.

Your entire staff is just as frustrated as you are right now. And so many of them will be newer to their positions than you are. Your job is to help them through this. Morale is at an all-time low, so what can you do as a school leader to help your staff process their experience during this challenging time?

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The Empowered Principal Podcast with Angela Kelly | How to Be New

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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The Empowered Principal Podcast with Angela Kelly | Bonus #1 (COVID is Not Over)

I have been working with so many school leaders lately facing similar problems, and I felt compelled to put together a three-part bonus series for you guys throughout the month of September so we can discuss what you are currently dealing with: the inevitable emotional tsunami of students and staff returning to campus.

We all expected this pandemic to have subsided by the start of the 2021 school year. However, the reality is that COVID is not over. There is a sense of urgency around getting kids back into classrooms. Parents want it to happen so they can get back to work, the kids want to be back with their friends, and as leaders, we don’t want them to miss out on any more of their education.

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The Empowered Principal Podcast with Angela Kelly | Your Top Leadership Assets

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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The Empowered Principal Podcast with Angela Kelly | How to NOT be a Busy Principal

School is back in session, and after preparing over the summer and getting ready to have an amazing year, I’m now seeing a lot of overwhelm starting to creep in. And how am I seeing people deal with this overwhelm, especially new school leaders? They’re overworking and keeping themselves busy, and we need a different approach.

I’m speaking with a lot of new principals and they’re telling me that their workload has increased since they started in their new role, and they have way less time to do it all. So, what can we do to make sure we’re getting everything done without spinning in the busyness of it all?

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The Empowered Principal Podcast with Angela Kelly | Slowing Down on Purpose

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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The Empowered Principal Podcast with Angela Kelly | Building a Resourceful Staff

Wouldn’t it be so great if we had staff and teachers who weren’t solely dependent on us for the answers and solutions to every problem on campus? 

As leaders, it’s our job to empower our staff and create a culture of resourcefulness. But while this sounds great in concept, it doesn’t happen often enough. We want teachers contributing new ideas and being valuable members of our schools, in turn enhancing our legacy as a leader, but there are a few obstacles that get in the way, and I’m laying them out today. 

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