May was Mental Health Awareness Month, so I’m taking this episode to acknowledge and honor the intention behind it, and sharing the personal meaning it has for me. I’m sharing something very personal on this episode in the hopes that it helps you understand the value of your own mental and emotional wellness, and the cost of not making this work a priority for ourselves, those we lead, our students, and our community.

At the end of April, I learned that a very dear family friend ended her life. Today’s conversation is in honor of her, and I hope her life can lead to a legacy of normalizing conversations around physical, mental, and emotional wellness for every single person on our campus and in our school communities.

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As I’m sure you’re all aware, there has been another school shooting here in the United States. This time, 19 third, fourth, and fifth-grade children and two teachers were killed when a gunman entered Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.

As the story unfolds, the details of what this school community has been through are terrifying and horrific. While I can’t offer the right words to take away the pain felt by everyone affected, all I can offer are words and the opportunity to process our thoughts and emotions around the tragedy these kids, parents, teachers, a whole community, and our country at large are going through.

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As a school leader, you’re facing lots of stressful situations on a daily basis. And as in any leadership situation, you’re going to be dealing with different types of people who have certain feelings about your work, some that aren’t always positive.

On top of that, you have your own emotion patterns, or what I call emotional “STEAR cycles”. You can’t just instantly react to every emotional outburst of your colleagues, so how do you reconcile your STEAR cycle with theirs?

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We are officially in May and you are reaching the finish line for this school year. First of all, congratulations! You have a handful of weeks left, so what are you doing to make sure you enjoy the last weeks of the school year? Or are you just dying for the last day of school so you can put this year behind you?

Last week, I held a webinar all about enjoying the last weeks of school before summer vacation. That training was full of gems and everyone who attended loved it, so in case you didn’t catch it, I’m bringing you a two-part overview of what I shared over there. So, if you want to make sure you have more fun and less stress as the year closes out, you’re in the right place.

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Are you ready to be set free from never feeling like you’re in control of your happiness and wellness? Do you want a thriving school leadership experience without feeling burnt out, or like your work schedule is completely dictating your entire life? 

For most of us, our school leadership is colored with busyness and chaos. It’s part and parcel of the very nature of the job and it demands a lot of us. Being the visionary for our schools is fulfilling and rewarding, but executing our vision is also frustrating and disappointing, and often clouds our perspective, leaving us wondering, what are we even doing it for and why?

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