Ep #67: Building a Relationship with Money

Last week, we talked about identifying our money beliefs and really bringing them up to the surface. Now, I’ve been doing the work I shared with you all last week and have come to some realizations about my own money mindset that I’m incredibly excited to share with you guys.

I know that this month’s theme may not feel like it directly connects with your role as a school leader, but it absolutely does. Our brain does not compartmentalize belief systems, so the way we think about money in our personal lives is affecting the way we think about money at school. The reason I created this podcast was to bring reform to our schools by incorporating personal development, and this work is at the heart of that mission.

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Ep #66: Identifying Your Money Beliefs

It’s April, and this month’s topic is one of my favorites, and something that I feel isn’t discussed enough in our world –money.

Money is such a huge part of our lives, personal and professional. As a school leader, sure, we talk about allocating budgets and salaries and spending to get the best for the kids in our schools. But as a principal, there’s something lacking about the conversations we have around money mindset.

Of course, for some people, money is tricky to talk about. Some of us grew up in an environment where we didn’t talk about money because we had none, or maybe you were taught not to show off because you had plenty. Either way, as a result, money and how it makes us feel has become a kind of icky subject to broach.

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Ep #65: Conflicts on Staff

I’m wrapping up the theme of human resources this month with a humdinger for you guys; dealing with conflicts on your staff when staff come to you with a problem, when you hear about it through the grapevine, and when their problem is with you, their leader.

Dealing with conflict impartially and fairly is something we’re always expecting to deal with when it comes to our students. However, our adult staff members getting themselves tied up in disagreements is just as likely to happen, and we’re even more likely to hear about it through the grapevine, so it really can be tricky to deal with tactfully.

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Ep #64: Supporting Your Staff

Supporting your staff sounds like an obvious part of your job as a school leader. However, I can tell you from personal experience, when you’re caught up in all of your other duties, it’s easy for “being a supportive leader” to fall by the wayside. Especially when angry parents are involved, siding with your staff becomes a tricky balancing act.

I have learned over the years that teachers want a principal who has their backs. This is a huge reflection of your leadership in their eyes. Your staff wants to know you are listening to their concerns and that you believe their story. That said, you can’t hold their hand every step of the way.

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Ep #63: Hiring New Teachers

It’s getting to the time when you’re mapping out what your staff will look like come the start of the next school year. Last week was all about how to let staff go responsibly and with both parties’ best interests in mind. In this episode, I’m sharing some recruitment tips to increase the chances that you don’t have to fire anyone next year!

There is so much to think about when hiring new staff. As a school leader, being considerate of your team dynamics and considering which prospective teachers will really add to your current crop is of the utmost importance. If you rush this process, trust me, nobody is going to end up year happy.

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Ep #62: Letting a Subordinate Go

We’re into March, which means we’re starting a new theme on the podcast for this month. For the next few weeks, we’re going to be looking at the mindset and execution of the human resources aspect of your job as a principal.

Today’s topic is not a fun one, but it’s definitely something you will have to deal with at some point in your career as a school leader. Being in charge of a school means that, after hiring a new teacher, you don’t have long to decide whether they’re a good fit. You have to make some pretty heartbreaking choices about whether or not to keep them on or let them go.

Next week, we will be working around the idea of creating such an environment that you will never have to fire anyone. However, unfortunately, it is inevitable that you will have to deal with this at some point, so we’re going to work this week on your mindset around dismissing your subordinates, making it less heartbreaking when it is necessary to do so.

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Ep #61: Coaching Teachers

Throughout February, we’ve been discussing self-coaching and I really hope you’ve taken some valuable information out of this month’s topic. Today, we’re rounding it off by taking everything I’ve shared this month and working on applying it to the other people in your life.

As a principal, you’ve seen the massive difference that self-coaching has made in your world, but wouldn’t it be truly amazing if your teachers understood the impact self-coaching could have if they applied it to some of their situations? Sure, solving problems for your teachers can get quick solutions, but what if you could cut your own workload by imparting some of this knowledge onto them?

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Ep #60: Self-Coaching Blocks

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been covering the process of self-coaching in great detail for all of you. With this knowledge, it can feel a bit like I’m sending you off into the world and that the rest is up to you. Well, to be honest, that would be crazy.

I understand that you’re bound to have more questions – the most pressing of which is probably, “Why do I still need you if I already understand the self-coaching process?” Well, this is a lifetime process, so with that in mind, I’ve got answers for the most frequently asked questions I get on the subject.

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Ep #59: Self-Coaching Part 2

 

Last week, we looked at the self-coaching strategy of doing a brain drain – transferring all of your present thoughts onto paper as a method of helping you identify where the drama is in your mind around a certain topic. But what happens when we don’t like the thoughts that we identify?

Well, it’s not unusual for us to have conflicting thoughts, some of which are more conscious than others. It’s very common for us to want something on one level (this happened to me all the time) like an open-door policy, but in reality, being interrupted while I was trying to work on something important made me feel a whole lot of negative emotion. It wasn’t helping me or my staff.

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Ep #58: Self-Coaching Part 1

When you started on your journey to becoming a school leader, did you think that once you got that position, everything would change? If you can’t relate to that, maybe you know someone who goes from job to job, is super happy for a little while, then gets bored and moves on? Well, this is a common occurrence in our profession and it all comes from the thought that we can finally be happy when our situation changes.

It’s genuinely impossible to predict the reality of how it will feel when we do land our dream job as a school leader. One thing we can do, however, is keep a really close eye on what thoughts and emotions are coming up for us once we get there.

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