Aiming for perfection in everything you do sounds like a positive practice, right? Why would you aim for anything less than perfection? We all want to be the best, but is implementing this mindset doing more damage than is immediately obvious?
This week, I’m expanding on perfectionism and our nature to seek external validation: how it affects our work and personal lives, and how it would serve us to kick it to the curb once and for all. You may be experiencing the problems I alluded to as a school leader, but you’ll be surprised to find out where in our lives this mindset originally creeps in and begins to mold our behavior.
As I’m sure you’re aware, summer is in full-swing, which means it’s time to deal with a touchy subject; family relationships. Sure, some of us have a great time with our families, however, for others, it can leave us wading through old emotions we thought we’d left behind. Have you found yourself going back to your childhood ways of engaging when you meet up with your family? I know I do – for sure.
Hello, my empowered principals! I hope you’re relaxed, enjoying your summer vacation, and maybe planning for the start of the new school year (or maybe not just yet!). Having some well-deserved time off is a good period to consider some major questions about your leadership and the way you approach your job, and I’m kicking it off in this episode!
Does giving your alone-time make for a job well done? We can feel like our boss demands more of our waking hours than we really need to give, and we go along with it for fear of looking uncommitted. The same thing can happen with our friends and family, creating an obligation that doesn’t lead us to more productivity or better relationships.
As the school year is about to break for summer and holidays are around the corner, I’ve been thinking about all the changes that have been going on in my life. Today, I share a recent experience I had with a long-time friend and how our conversation sparked this week’s episode.
As an educator, you spend your time running around after students and teachers alike, sometimes it can be difficult to take a step back and really acknowledge the amazing work you do and how it makes you feel. Well, it’s the end of the year – you made it! You’ve been a school leader for the whole year and now is the time to sit back and reflect on a job well done.
When you’re having a bad time at work, do you find yourself pointing the finger of responsibility at the actions of the people you work with? We’ve all been through the scene – we’re talking to our friends and making our work environment sound like everyone is out to make life miserable for us – that we’re somehow the victim and there is something fundamentally wrong with everyone who makes us angry.
Welcome to The Empowered Principal Podcast. Every tenth episode, I am paying tribute to my greatest teachers and influencers. And with this being the 20th episode, I have some words of gratitude for one of the people who has been a huge influence in shaping my journey as a coach and my life as a whole – the awe-inspiring Dr. Martha Beck.
We generally have an idea of the kind of principal we want to be when we finally receive the news that we have achieved the position. It’s usually exactly what we ourselves appreciated in a leader before we made it to the top. But it can be challenging when your vision and expectations don’t match up with the results you’re getting in your school.