302 Thoughts Fireside Chat: Reclaiming Your Purpose as a School Leader

302 Thoughts Fireside Chat: Reclaiming Your Purpose as a School Leader

Suffering arises from trying to control what is uncontrollable, or from neglecting what is within our power. ~ Epictetus

Open any news source or social media app and it is easy to become disillusioned, questioning where we are headed as a country. COVID-19 is still affecting many parts of the world, and with the variants, it seems to be something impossible to beat. One thing that we do know is that we are incredibly resilient as humans. However, resilience is only ever possible when it’s coupled with purpose. The greater we understand our purpose, the more focused and resilient we become. In this month’s 302 Thoughts we identify how to reclaim your purpose so that you can reignite your passion and desire amid challenging times. 

We are also not naive. We realize that purpose has become a management watchword. Too many purpose statements aren’t written well or don’t mean much to the so-called user. But, “many people—not just Millennials—want to work for organizations whose missions and business philosophies resonate with them intellectually and emotionally.” Purpose, when done well, matters to both productivity and fulfillment. 

What we find in times of uncertainty is that people lose track of the reason they brought themselves to their work. They feel shaky about their world, and they often can’t see the fruits of their labor. That’s why we built our model for getting grounded and reclaiming our purpose in schools. The model is a framework with action steps for getting grounded. Getting Grounded requires an unbridled effort to identify those things that are most important to your personal and professional core values. This works in life as well as it does in school leadership, and it’s necessary if we want to demonstrate our passion to our students and staff. We invite you to take a look at the model, read the show notes below, and listen to our discussion about reclaiming purpose as school leaders. If you haven’t heard our interview with Todd Whitaker and his definition of purpose–making a difference–check that out too. 

Model for Reclaiming Your Purpose: Getting Grounded

Joe and T.J. Discuss the Concept of Purpose for School Leaders

Introspection

In this episode, Joe describes the process and power behind introspection:

  • I know my purpose at work each day.
  • My purpose at work directly corresponds with my daily activities.

Considering the statements above, are you clear on purpose and is your daily work aligned? Or consider your family. If spending time with your kids is important to you, are you ensuring you are creating enough time in your week to meaningfully be a part of their day?

Looking within ourselves and willing asking and answering the tough questions is essential to purpose because it is empowering. 

Empowerment

In this episode, T.J. reminds us of the power in praising others for working toward a predefined purpose. Praising others empowers them to continue on their path with confidence. In turn, when we look to praise, we gain an awareness of all of the great things within our lives, which produces a feeling of gratitude. Gratitude leads to positivity and a better attitude. You can’t be negative and grateful at the same time.  

We never like to conclude a show without providing some tangible resources for our audience that will make a difference in your work as a school leader. This month, T.J. discusses our REPSS survey, which can be found in our Building a Winning Team book. This survey is designed to give administrators keen insight into their faculties’ perceptions within key areas. In order to move in the right direction and focus on the right aspects of your school culture, including purpose, school leaders need to understand what to focus on as priorities. The survey results are a clear source of information that will lead to better navigation as a leader. Here’s a free copy of the survey

Joe focused on a resource for women called, Career Contessa. This site “…helps working women be more fulfilled, healthy, and successful at work.With online courses, career coaching, and more, the site helps women find and fulfill their purpose as leaders. 

Our 302 Thoughts are monthly free live podcast recordings that help leaders to lead better and grow faster. It’s like school leadership training without having to leave the comfort of your office or home. We hope you’ll join us next month. Look for the dates in our newsletter.

Let us know if there’s a topic you want us to cover by leaving a comment below or by contacting us at [email protected]. And don’t miss our leadership newsletter every week by subscribing on the site. 

 

We can’t wait to hear from you. 

Joe & T.J.

This episode was brought to you by GhostBed, a family-owned business of sleep experts with 20+ years of experience. With 30K+ 5-star reviews, you can’t go wrong with GhostBed. Their mattresses are handcrafted, and they come with a 101-night-at-home-sleep trial. For a limited time, you can get 30% by using our code — SH302 — at checkout. And, even if you tell someone about GhostBed, you can earn a $100 referral reward. Go to Ghostbed.com today and use SH302 at checkout. 

Two Books You Must Read To Reclaim Your Purpose–It’s Easy If You Do It Right

Two Books You Must Read To Reclaim Your Purpose–It’s Easy If You Do It Right

Learning and growing as a school leader through reflection, training, and experience is a professional choice. One powerful way to improve is through reading great books, which is why we feature a couple each month. Our aim is to link the reading to our theme for the month, getting grounded this December, so you, the reader, are processing the information through a specified lens. We’ve heard from our followers that this content is being used as a leadership development curriculum. Kudos to you for picking yourself to grow and improve.  

We have found that this degree of focus helps achieve the aim we are after. This month we are totally focused on reclaiming our purpose because Covid19 and other societal issues have simply rocked our world. Although it is hard to declare causation, it is believed that isolation during the pandemic is likely the reason we’ve experienced an increase in various crimes. Schools are microcosms of the community, so what people are experiencing in their lives impacts our schools to a great degree. This is why we are focused on getting grounded to reclaim your purpose

Reclamation is powerful and right now we need people to reassert themselves and once again take control of their lives. This doesn’t diminish the threat we face, but rather it recognizes that we still can control many things in our lives. This is at the heart of this month’s post and the genius that is held within our first book recommendation. 

 A compilation of writings from some of the greatest thinkers who have walked this earth are found in Man and Man: The Social Philosophers. You will find Epictetus’ The Manual inside. You will discover a very practical approach to living that is designed to reduce suffering. This is one of our favorite quotes from the book:

“In walking about, as you take care not to step on a nail, or to sprain your foot, so take care not to damage your own ruling faculty; and if we observe this rule in every act, we shall undertake this act with more security.”

Featured Author: Compilation of Authors

Featured Book: THE SOCIAL PHILOSOPHERS MAN AND MAN (THE WORLD’S GREAT THINKERS SERIES)

Our second book this month is a terrific must read and something that we believe should be revisited from time-to-time. Todd Whitaker has become a force for educational leaders as they learn how to navigate challenges. We chose, What Great Principals Do Differently not only because it offers simple and sage advice for school leaders, but it also helps leaders reclaim their purpose. 

One aspect that we truly appreciate is how Whitaker describes that we must invest in people. And, we can’t think of a more important time than now to do so. As he describes, 

“We can spend a great deal of time and energy looking for programs that will solve our problems, but these programs frequently do not bring the improvement or growth we seek. Instead, we must focus on what really matters. It is never about programs, it is always about people.” 

Featured Author: Todd Whitaker

Featured Book: What Great Principals Do Differently

Let us know what you’re reading by contacting us at [email protected]. And don’t miss our leadership newsletter every week by subscribing on the site. 

We can’t wait to hear from you. 

Joe & T.J.

This episode of our ReadThisSeries was brought to you by GhostBed, a family-owned business of sleep experts with 20+ years of experience. With 30K+ 5-star reviews, you can’t go wrong with GhostBed. Their mattresses are handcrafted, and they come with a 101-night-at-home-sleep trial. For a limited time, you can get 30% by using our code — SH302 — at checkout. And, even if you tell someone about GhostBed, you can earn a $100 referral reward. Go to Ghostbed.com today and use SH302 at checkout. 

302 Thoughts Fireside Chat: Bad Boss Behaviors That You Can’t Afford to Possess

302 Thoughts Fireside Chat: Bad Boss Behaviors That You Can’t Afford to Possess

The challenge of leadership is to be strong but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not a bully; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant; have humor, but without folly. ~ Jim Rohn

Being an effective leader is far from easy. In fact, good leaders recognize that every day is an opportunity for either excellence or average performance. With so many factors at play each day, superior leaders realize that their behaviors have to be superior and fully aligned to high leverage leadership strategies. Otherwise, we fall prey to poor leadership and management behaviors.  

This month, we featured the opposite of what great leaders do, so people would know what to avoid doing. Typically, you won’t find an explicit list like this in school leadership training seminars or classes, but our goal is to provide content for leaders who are striving to improve. Below are our five bad boss behaviors, and for this 302 Thoughts we take a deep dive into two of them. 

#1 Micromanaging Your Team: Empowering leaders assign work and then follow up

#2 Withholding Information from Others: Communicate it right away

#3 Stealing Great Ideas: Give credit to innovative thinking, out-of-the-box idea sharing, and risk-taking

#4 Taking Credit for Supports or Success: Reduce “I” from your vocabulary and begin saying “we” more often

#5 Using Relationships to Leverage Power: Leaders must have people around them who can be honest and truthful 

In our live recording, Joe tackled bad boss behavior number two, which is withholding information from others. The antidote to this action is to communicate timely and put in structures and systems that create communication opportunities. We need systems in place because this bad behavior can be done consciously and subconsciously.  At its worst, withholding information is used to coerce and manipulate situations. Even when it is done inadvertently, it can create a toxic culture or information hoarding. 

When conducting school leadership training, we often tie our school research to businesses and industry. This works because companies have a financial bottom line and can estimate losses and gains more concretely than schools and districts. What we find in companies where communication is poor is that an “ineffective knowledge sharing culture…can cost large U.S. firms up to $47 million in lost productivity annually. If that’s true for businesses, think of the devastating impact this has on schools and the students who are supposed to be learning in them. 

The second bad boss behavior we explored in this episode was stealing great ideas. We cannot express this enough, but give credit where credit is due. It’s an old adage and holds true for leaders. This is often a symptom of withholding information that erodes trust and self-worth. Great leaders know to give credit for actions and outcome as well as words and ideas. 

We love the funny but all-too-true FedEx commercial where the boss repeats the exact same suggestion from one of his employees and the rest of the team, originally silent, loves it when the boss suggests it. Despite the commercial being comical, in reality this behavior stings. It not only subjugates the employee, it creates a pure power vacuum that will limit collaboration and performance thinking. 

During our 302 Thoughts we love to suggest a few tools that leaders can use immediately. To improve the timeliness of communication, leaders can use Voxer. This walkie talkie app creates a clear line of communication for teams. This tool is great when information is needed in real time. We urge any team that uses the app to build norms so it is used properly, but the pros of using this tool certainly outweigh the cons. 

Another basic item discussed was TheSchoolHouse302 Specific Praise Recognition Card. These cards will be available soon, but here is a sample. Praise is too often underwhelming and these cards are equipped with praise prompts to ensure you deliver an effective praise message. 

Our 302 Thoughts are monthly free live podcast recordings that help leaders to lead better and grow faster. It’s like school leadership training without having to leave the comfort of your office or home. We hope you’ll join us next month. Look for the dates in our newsletter. 

Let us know if there’s a topic you want us to cover by leaving a comment below or by contacting us at [email protected]. And don’t miss our leadership newsletter every week by subscribing on the site. 

 

We can’t wait to hear from you. 

 

Joe & T.J.

This episode was brought to you by GhostBed, a family-owned business of sleep experts with 20+ years of experience. With 30K+ 5-star reviews, you can’t go wrong with GhostBed. Their mattresses are handcrafted, and they come with a 101-night-at-home-sleep trial. For a limited time, you can get 30% by using our code — SH302 — at checkout. And, even if you tell someone about GhostBed, you can earn a $100 referral reward. Go to Ghostbed.com today and use SH302 at checkout. 

Two Books You Must Read To Reclaim Your Purpose–It’s Easy If You Do It Right

The Debate Is Over: Two Books You Must Read To Become A Learning Leader

Learning and growing as a school leader through reflection, training, and experience is a professional choice.The ironic part of rising to greater levels of leadership is that the skills, traits, and talents that got an individual to the new position, may not be enough for her to excel in the new role. 

 

This idea of being promoted to one’s level of incompetence was coined by Laurence J. Peter in The Peter Principle. The concept is fascinating because we’ve all experienced or have witnessed this in our own organizations–people who rise to great heights due to superior performance in their role, only to find themselves in over their head in the next position. 

 

This begs the question: how do we avoid this situation for ourselves and others? We appreciate the remedy found at Investopedia because it directly aligns with what our featured author, Michael Useem describes in The Edge, which is that leaders must continually learn to keep their organization succeeding.

A possible solution to the problem posed by the Peter Principle is for companies to provide adequate skill training for employees receiving a promotion, and to ensure that the training is appropriate for the position to which they have been promoted. 

The Edge is filled with real stories that leaders can learn from. Useem paints a very detailed picture of the challenges that many CEOs faced and the conditions in which they were operating. From Kroger to Tyco, he reveals what is adversely affecting the organization and how it was handled and how some CEOs evolved and rose to the occasion by realizing they needed to learn more. He willingly looks at both successes and failures, even within the same company. 

 

This is one reason The School House 302 loves his work, whether The Edge or other books like The Leadership Moment, Useem tackles the very difficult realities that leaders face. This is not a feel good book, but rather an instrument of learning if you are willing to invest the time. Additionally, the book has powerful figures like the one below that illustrates how the mighty have fallen. 

As Useem writes, this book is really “…updated leadership for a new era…” We hope you enjoy it as much as we did. And don’t miss our interview with Michael on the site

Featured Author: Michael Useem

Featured Book: The Edge: How Ten CEO’s Learn to Lead — And the Lessons for Us All 

The second featured book this month is an oldy but goody–Gung Ho! Turn On the People in Any Organization. This is a great, easy to read book, with clear strategies on how to raise the performance of individuals in a company. Make no mistake, easy to read and easy to do are not the same thing. Implementation is key, which is why we couple this book with The Edge

Blanchard and Bowles provide a step-by-step way to increase morale and really build a culture that is willing to learn and grow. Andy, the main character, demonstrates the opposite leadership characteristics than the bad behaviors that we wrote about this month

The three principles of Gung Ho are:

  • The Spirit of the Squirrel
  • The Way of the Beaver
  • The Gift of the Goose

You won’t be disappointed as you become Gung Ho! in your own organization. However, the question remains about actually doing the work; having knowledge and using knowledge are two different things.

Featured Author: Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles

Featured Book: Gung Ho! Turn On the People in Any Organization


Let us know what you’re reading by contacting us at
[email protected]. And don’t miss our leadership newsletter every week by subscribing on the site. 

 

We can’t wait to hear from you. 

 

Joe & T.J.

 

This blog post was brought to you by GhostBed, a family-owned business of sleep experts with 20+ years of experience. With 30K+ 5-star reviews, you can’t go wrong with GhostBed. Their mattresses are handcrafted, and they come with a 101-night-at-home-sleep trial. For a limited time, you can get 30% by using our code — SH302 — at checkout. And, even if you tell someone about GhostBed, you can earn a $100 referral reward. Go to Ghostbed.com today and use SH302 at checkout. 

TheSchoolHouse302 ·

This episode of our ReadThisSeries was brought to you by GhostBed, a family-owned business of sleep experts with 20+ years of experience. With 30K+ 5-star reviews, you can’t go wrong with GhostBed. Their mattresses are handcrafted, and they come with a 101-night-at-home-sleep trial. For a limited time, you can get 30% by using our code — SH302 — at checkout. And, even if you tell someone about GhostBed, you can earn a $100 referral reward. Go to Ghostbed.com today and use SH302 at checkout. 

302 Thoughts Fireside Chat: Actionable Tips On How to Grow Through the Grind

302 Thoughts Fireside Chat: Actionable Tips On How to Grow Through the Grind

Ninety percent of my time is spent on ten percent of the world. ~ Colin Powell

This month, America lost a tremendous leader, General Colin Powell. We started this 302 Thoughts by recognizing his work and legacy as a leader. If anyone could talk about how to grow during the grind and thrive amid chaos, our bet would be on General Powell. 

We often desire for circumstances to improve so our conditions become better. Unfortunately, that does not always happen the way we would like it to or in the timeline we have in mind. Because ideal circumstances don’t always come our way, we have to always be prepared to weather the storm. This month we landed on 5 strategies that help educational leaders stay focused in a chaotic environment

In the live recorded podcast, we teased out two essential areas that we discussed further:

 

  • #3. Determining Urgent Versus Important 
  • #4. Assessing Full Versus Fulfilling. 

 

All five are critical, but we narrowed in on these two because they speak to the day-to-day work that must get done but also that still needs to result in personal fulfillment. During challenging times, it’s hard to maintain perspective and keep our own well-being intact; by strategically looking at our calendars to block time for the fulfilling work, we set ourselves apart from those who just end up with full days that lack what matters to them most. Learn more by listening to our discussion. 

 

By mastering the Eisenhower matrix (check out the blog for more details, including a visual), school leaders at all levels, uniquely structure their day to maximize efforts. Too often during a storm, it’s tough to gain your footing. This is what’s going on now for teachers and leaders in schools. Each day can feel like two or three. The matrix, when used well, is an effective way to analyze and organize each day to keep First Things First

 

Each month during our 302 Thoughts we also work to support our listeners with a few resources that help in your efforts to lead better and grow faster. This month, T.J. highlighted the power of mastermind groups, particularly Danny Bauer’s Better Leaders, Better Schools. Masterminds are not new and we first read about them in Think and Grow Rich. As Napoleon Hill writes, it is the “coordination of knowledge and effort, in a spirit of harmony, between two or more people, for the attainment of a definite purpose.” It’s the direct focus and effort that is vital. Even if you don’t join a formal mastermind, do seek out another school leader, identify a clear aim or goal, and then work towards reaching it. The results will be incredible. 

 

Joe took a slightly different route and discussed Headspace, the app. On the show, Joe admits to his own limitations with meditation; yet, he describes how apps like headspace and Calm can support early efforts to find quiet time, be introspective, reduce stress, or simply “unplug” for a while.

 

Our 302 Thoughts are monthly free live podcast recordings that help leaders to lead better and grow faster. It’s like school leadership training without having to leave the comfort of your office or home. We hope you’ll join us next month. Look for the dates in our newsletter. 

 

Let us know if there’s a topic you want us to cover by leaving a comment below or by contacting us at [email protected]. And don’t miss our leadership newsletter every week by subscribing on the site. 

 

We can’t wait to hear from you. 

 

Joe & T.J.

This episode was brought to you by GhostBed, a family-owned business of sleep experts with 20+ years of experience. With 30K+ 5-star reviews, you can’t go wrong with GhostBed. Their mattresses are handcrafted, and they come with a 101-night-at-home-sleep trial. For a limited time, you can get 30% by using our code — SH302 — at checkout. And, even if you tell someone about GhostBed, you can earn a $100 referral reward. Go to Ghostbed.com today and use SH302 at checkout. 

Two Books You Must Read To Reclaim Your Purpose–It’s Easy If You Do It Right

Two Books that Shape School Leadership: Purpose and Vision

Growing as a School Leader is a Choice

Growing as a leader is a professional choice. The challenge is that trying to grow during a storm, or in the case of the last year and a half, a pandemic is difficult. Typically, in a storm, we seek shelter and hunker down to wait it out. Although this is great survival behavior, it’s not good leadership practice. Principal leaders, district leaders, and others in leadership roles do not have the luxury of waiting anything out and playing it safe until a time when things are easier. Actually, it’s just the opposite. The leader has to move forward in the storm and brave the elements. 

The two books that we feature this month will help leaders do just that–move forward by braving the elements. Consistent with our theme this month both books can be viewed through the lens of growing through the grind. Our first book, The Art of Woo: Using Strategic Persuasion to Sell Your Ideas, was chosen because leadership success rises and falls on influence. During these times, leaders need the skill set to effectively persuade others to positively move forward, even when they are scared, worried, and uncertain. 

This book really is a relationship book. Richard Shell and Mario Mousa brilliantly break down the four steps to how Woo works.

  • Survey Your Situation
  • Confront the Five Barriers
  • Make Your Pitch
  • Secure Your Commitments

What’s refreshing is that the authors describe the steps in great detail throughout the book and remind us that the four pieces of the puzzle are always a progression. Don’t miss our interview with one of the authors, Richard Shell

Featured Author: Richard Shell and Mario Moussa

Featured Book: The Art of Woo: Using Strategic Persuasion to Sell Your Ideas

The second featured book this month is The Culture Engine: A Framework for Driving Results, Inspiring Your Employees, and Transforming Your Workplace. We chose this book because it focuses on culture, and leaders need to constantly tend to the culture of their school or business. Culture building isn’t an event, it’s a full-time experience. This book spends time on you as a leader and how you are responsible for the school’s culture and how you cannot leave it to “chance.” Lastly, the book finishes strong by demonstrating the need to have everything aligned to the overall purpose and vision. Check it out!

Featured Author: S. Chris Edmonds

Featured Book: The Culture Engine: A Framework for Driving Results, Inspiring Your Employees, and Transforming Your Workplace


Let us know what you’re reading by contacting us at
[email protected]. And don’t miss our leadership newsletter every week by subscribing on the site. 

 We can’t wait to hear from you. 

 Joe & T.J.

 This blog post was brought to you by GhostBed, a family-owned business of sleep experts with 20+ years of experience. With 30K+ 5-star reviews, you can’t go wrong with GhostBed. Their mattresses are handcrafted, and they come with a 101-night-at-home-sleep trial. For a limited time, you can get 30% by using our code — SH302 — at checkout. And, even if you tell someone about GhostBed, you can earn a $100 referral reward. Go to Ghostbed.com today and use SH302 at checkout.