Over in the Empowered Principal Facebook group: Emotional Support for School Leaders, I’ve decided to create a monthly challenge that revolves around the theme we’ll be working on for the month. The month of November is going to be the 50:50 challenge, which you’ll hear all about in this episode.

As a leader, there are definitely good times, but you will also face countless challenges. And sometimes, the difficulties you experience will feel like they outweigh the fun parts. But the truth is, it’s meant to be challenging sometimes, and it’s meant to be easy sometimes, and the 50:50 challenge is all about embracing both the positive and the negative parts of leading a school so you can be the most effective leader you can possibly be.

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Our outcomes often feel out of our control, so it’s natural that predetermined outcomes sound like something that’s not available to us. We’re taught all our lives that things happen to us. We’ve been surrounded by people who feel like victims of their circumstances and our brain has found evidence to support this notion. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

I worked with a brand-new client of mine recently, and we did some incredible work on predetermining her outcomes. So, I’m going to share her story on the podcast this week, of course with total anonymity, so you can see where you can start predetermining your outcomes too.

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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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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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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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