Episode 326 – The Secret to an Amazing School Year

EPISODE 326The Secret to an Amazing School YearBiggest Takeaways You Don’t Want to Miss:You don’t need to get better at follow-through. You need to get clearer on what matters.The reason you keep slipping into old habits isn’t lack of willpower—it’s lack of alignment.When your team doesn’t know what they’re building, they default to what’s familiar.If […]

Episode 325 – The Secret to an Amazing School Year

EPISODE 325The Secret to an Amazing School YearBiggest Takeaways You Don’t Want to Miss:The secret to a successful school year is F.O.C.U.S. – Follow One Course Until Successful.Many of us are trying to lead by doing all the things. But that isn’t leading. That’s experimenting on kids and hoping something works. If you are really […]

Episode 324 – You don’t have to do it alone

EPISODE 324What If You’re Doing the Right Work but the Wrong Way?Biggest Takeaways You Don’t Want to Miss:The chores of leadership are seductive because they feel familiar, safe, and socially acceptable. You’re praised for doing them even though they’re not changing your school.The real risk isn’t that you’ll burn out. The real risk is that […]

Episode 323 – You don’t have to do it alone

EPISODE 323You don’t have to do it aloneBiggest Takeaways You Don’t Want to Miss:Most principals aren’t just tired. They’re isolated.Being a principal is only lonely if you haven’t invested in building other Builders.We’ve normalized martyrdom and called it “leadership.” You can’t protect your vision in a culture designed to dilute it. That’s why Builders stop […]

Episode 322 – Stop Chasing Compliance. Start Building Alignment

EPISODE 322Stop Chasing Compliance. Start Building AlignmentBiggest Takeaways You Don’t Want to Miss:If you don’t build alignment on purpose, the best you can hope for is compliance (and even that will wear out by the end of September)Chasing compliance means that the work will always be on you. Building alignment means that everyone owns the […]

Episode 321 – 3 Mistakes That Sabotage Staff Alignment Before the Year Even Starts

EPISODE 3213 Mistakes That Sabotage Staff Alignment Before the Year Even StartsBiggest Takeaways You Don’t Want to Miss:When culture is built on charisma, it crumbles the moment you’re not in the room.That inspirational speech you’re stressing over? They’ll forget it by Friday. What they won’t forget is your clear vision, mission, and core values. Staff alignment […]

Episode 320 – Why “buy-in” is a trap

EPISODE 320Why “Buy-In” is a trapBiggest Takeaways You Don’t Want to Miss:Staff “buy-in” is a trap. If they can buy in, they can also sell out.Most staff “Buy-in” is just enthusiastic compliance.Staff Alignment means everyone is clear on what matters, what success looks like, and what role they play in achieving it.Buy-in is fragile. It’s […]

Episode 319 – The ONE solution to every “People Problem”

EPISODE 319The ONE solution to every “People Problem”Biggest Takeaways You Don’t Want to Miss:We often treat our people problems as if they are each a separate issue when in fact, all people problems have ONE cause and ONE solution.If you’re struggling with resistance and push-back with your staff, there’s a very simple reason why — […]

Episode 318 – Why your PLC’s aren’t working and what to do instead

EPISODE 318Why your PLC’s aren’t working and what to do insteadBiggest Takeaways You Don’t Want to Miss:The reason most PLC’s fail in spite of doing everything right is that you’ve been handed someone else’s method, but no one asked what problem you were actually trying to solve.Somewhere along the way, we lost the plot. PLCs […]

Episode 317 – The 2025 Summer Reading List

EPISODE 317The 2025 Summer Reading ListBiggest Takeaways You Don’t Want to Miss:“When we overprotect children from real-world risks, we leave them more vulnerable to digital dangers they’re not ready to face.” (Jonathan Haidt)“If you don’t change the system, the system will continue to produce the same result—no matter how hard you try.” (Dan Heath)“Even when […]