Today, I’m bringing you an interview with one of my amazing clients: first-year principal Amy. This podcast was recorded on the first anniversary of our first coaching session. So, we’re talking about her experience as a first-year school leader with a coach in her corner.

Amy has had the most successful first school year of any leader I’ve ever coached, and it’s a real tribute to her and her dedication to applying the coaching work to her everyday. We coached on even the smallest situations, and it’s transformed the trajectory of her school-leadership experience.

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Those of you who have been listening for a while will know all about the STEAR Cycle. However, we’ve had a huge influx of listeners over the past year, so I’m taking this opportunity to go over it again, this time with some things I’ve learned since I first covered the concept. The STEAR Cycle is my interpretation of the Self-Coaching Model, the idea that our thoughts create our results, not our circumstances or environments.

Some of the things I discussed in the early days of this podcast don’t stand up to the test of time. But the STEAR Cycle isn’t one of those concepts. The process I teach involves managing your time, your resources, and your emotional energy. The STEAR Cycle is going to help you master all of it and make the decisions that make your job easier, no matter the circumstances.

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Welcome to the end of the school year, and happy summer! Whether you’re officially done with your school year, or you’re so close to the finish line that you can taste it, it’s time to dive into a process for wrapping up the year. 

Now, most of you want to check off all the to-do’s, slam your computer shut, lock your door, throw away the key, and run away for the summer. The last eight to 12 weeks of your year have probably felt very busy and chaotic with extra tasks that needed doing, like teacher observations, evaluations, testing, and all the end-of-year events. There is lots to wrap up and put a bow on, but it doesn’t end here. 

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As humans, and especially as leaders, we are so hard on ourselves. As women in education, we are incredibly critical of ourselves when something doesn’t go as we’d expected. We believe we’re missing something, we messed up, and we’re not cut out for this. Well, this is where the concept of lighter leadership comes in.

I had a realization the day I recorded this podcast around my own journey as an entrepreneur and a coach: our relentless self-criticism is tarnishing our experience of life. We are not letting ourselves enjoy the ride, and it needs to stop right now.

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What is the difference between a mentor and a manager? All of us who are in school leadership need to be able to make this distinction because using authority alone to motivate your staff and get results is never going to work in the long term.

Even though we are the leader, we’re not better just because we’re in a position of authority. Our job is to be here to guide our teachers and staff. We need to coach, love, and support them. We’re here to be amazing leaders who truly believe in our teachers, and I’m showing you how in this episode.

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