Clear is the NEW Confident with Casey Watts

We all have mindsets that lead and guide us to take certain actions or say certain things or approach certain situations. Some mindsets are positive and some lead to something like "faux collaboration". In fact, there are five core mindsets that lead individuals and teams astray from collaborating well and reaching the vision or instructional goals collectively: 1. Mindset of control 2....

FAUX : made to look like something else that is usually more valuable : IMITATION, FAKE, INSINCERE ... Does this really happen in collaborative settings and on collaborative teams? Is the collaboration just an imitation? Is it simply fake or insincere? Unfortunately, this probably happens more often than not. What looks like collaboration is often faux collaboration. Alissa Crabtree and I share ou...

"EVERYTHING boils down to clarity. Literally nothing can be left to assumption." - Michelle Ruhe Isn't this SO true?! It's easy to assume that "everyone understands", especially when we think about common terms and phrases we throw around in education. But this is a dangerous assumption. And when left unaddressed, this assumption can limit (and dare I say, debilitate) s...

Yep, I said it... PLCs: Just Say "NO"! The truth is that this buzzword term is becoming just that... a buzzword. For too many people, this term is coming up empty. Let's jump into a change catalyst conversation and CHANGE the bad taste that people are getting in their mouths about PLCs by thinking about WHAT we can say "NO" to when it comes to PLCs! Register for the FREE PL...

Unfortunately, it is common for gaps (sometimes really BIG gaps) to exist between instructional leaders and teachers. What's even more unfortunate is that it feels nearly impossible to bridge that gap! And the effects of this gap can be devastating. In this live session, I've gathered people with many different perspectives to share their thoughts on why the gap exists and how to repair th...

YOU can be the one to STAND OUT!!! And my friend, Allison Petersen , and I can help you to do that! Interviews of any kind can be nerve-wracking! That's not unnatural or uncommon. EVERYONE experiences a little nervousness or anxiety when it comes to interviews (even if you're someone who, like me, LOVES interviews ). But your nerves don't have to keep you from STANDING OUT! After this se...

According to C. Heath & D. Heath (2010), one surprising truth about change is that what looks like resistance is often a lack of clarity. In their book, Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard , these authors explain the importance of providing "crystal-clear direction". They aren't the only experts to make this claim. THOUSANDS of leadership gurus make this claim about vision and cla...

At the crux of making change happen is DATA- more specifically, the emotions tied to data.  Unfortunately, a preoccupation with data itself can have negative side effects of decreased commitment and burnout as teachers relentlessly chase targets that are ever-moving or obscure.  But what if we could leverage data in a way that creates a sense of purpose and direction, creating alignment...

What better reason to go live and record an episode than simply to celebrate my 40th birthday?  In this episode, my dear friend and mastermind partner are celebrating forty years of life with a 10 x 4 game.  We share 10 of our favorites in each of four major categories:   10 Leadership Books +  10 Leadership Gurus +  10 Coaching Gurus +  10 Ways to Make Teams Better!...

Would you believe me if I told you that burnout has less to do with being overworked and more to do with doing the wrong kind of work?  In this episode, I share about Patrick Lencioni's Working Genius model and how it can be utilized to rescue you and team members from burnout!   Want to learn about how to recognize, provoke, and cultivate the working geniuses in others?  Come join...

For just a moment, I want you to imagine you're in the beginning phases of what could turn into a crucial or difficult conversation.  You feel yourself getting offended.  Maybe you notice you're beginning to disagree with what's being said by the other participant in the conversation.  Your heartbeat begins to increase.  You feel heat creeping into your earlobes or neck. ...

Bada-da-da-da, I'm loving it!  You know the place- McDonalds!  Yesterday my son and I were heading to the local Farmer's Market and I had a craving for some Mickey D's breakfast- a sausage, egg, and cheese McMuffin to be exact.  The line was crazy long, but it was moving pretty quickly.  I had already decided I would get TWO McMuffins because I VERY RARELY eat breakfast and I d...

Are you ready to talk about the "seven deadly assumptions"?  Wondering what I mean by that?  Let's see if any of these statements ring true for you or your teams:   Team gatherings feel like a waste of time because they are unproductive. My team spends the majority of our collaborative time together chatting about personal experiences, opinions, and personal plans. There is someone...

We’ve got an interesting #collaboration convo for you in this session!  I'm joined with my sons, Brian and Hayden, to hear their teenage perspective on what interests ME most- #cohesive, vision-driven #teams.  To make things fun, I've allowed them in this session to ask some personal questions that are completely unrelated to the work I do.  This episode may or may not, but definite...

Do you wonder sometimes why people put their time and effort into certain things?  Things that you believe may not yield the greatest impact?  What can we do to help #teachers and #instructionalleaders focus on what matters? Join me this Sunday as I chat with Amy Mason, former principal and founder of Aim2Educate , about time-sinks that get in the way growth and impact.  You'll leav...

Are #teams in your school or organization all they're cracked up to be?  Or are there signs that they could use some inspiring or maybe even transformation?    I've come to find that building collective efficacy means we must take time to analyze the functionality of our teams.  And that means asking some really purposeful questions.  Come join this #collaborationconv...

In this episode, I share about 3 fast ways to KILL collaboration and what you can do to instead BUILD effective collaboration! This episode is perfect for team leaders, instructional leaders, aspiring leaders, and anyone who is eager to collaborate well with colleagues in order to reach collective efficacy!   Be sure to grab the graphic to download here:   https://www.catchingupwithcasey...

What is a "launchpad season"?  How do I know if I'm in a launchpad season?  If you've ever found yourself questioning the impact you're able to have, experiencing burnout, or feeling like you've reached a glass ceiling, you most definitely have had the opportunity for a launchpad season!  These are the seasons we choose to build a launchpad in order to be completely ready for what's...

Welcome, welcome!!  Today's episode is special to me and is easy to write about as a blogpost along with the recording.  In this podcast episode, I take on two roles:  the role of an etymologist and the role of a story-teller.  Why?  Because both roles are necessary if I'm going accurately bring life to the phrase "UNLEASH YOUR IMPACT"- the idea that is the foundation of a...

Norms matter, only if the norms matter.  In today's episode, you'll hear about Marco Polo, how to craft norms, and get a free PDF to download and use throughout the year!  When I first started hosting group chats in Marco Polo, I didn't give much thought to the front end work, like casting a vision for the group or setting norms.  And let me tell you- it resulted in some awkward mom...

If you are an instructional leader or teacher who is eager to amplify her impact, this workshop series about Marco Polo is a perfect start! In this session, we're learning about how to effectively introduce the app to colleagues and teams so they actually will use it.   If you didn't catch the LIVE "crash course", Why & How You Should Be Utilizing Marco Polo as an Instructional Leade...

This week I was BEYOND excited to lead a live session on Facebook to share about an app that I utilize on a daily basis as an  #instructional #leader ,  #coach , and  #consultant . If you have any desire to foster a greater sense of  #collaboration  and  #collective #efficacy , this is a tool you MUST know about! I'm going to share a few ways it can be utilized so you...

What's holding you back from unleashing your impact?  What's keeping you from influencing others.  In this episode, we're going to find out about some things that hold you back:  LACK OF Something 😞 and FEAR OF Something 😱!    Go to www.catchingupwithcasey.com for the FREE PDF to download so you can see the full list of things and identify what might be holding you back!

When I introduce myself as an impact coach & consultant, I often get blank stares or people that try to make assumptions about what they means lol.  They think I'm a sports coach and maybe I do some consulting somehow with education.  Only one of those is true.  So let me try to describe what it is I do and how I help others- and that includes YOU! www.catchingupwithcasey.com/im...

In this episode, I'm joined with fellow educators and coaches, Lindsey Babczak, Michelle Bulin , and Allison Petersen . Collectively, believe that you can coach anyone, anywhere, and through anything!  You can come in to a coaching partnership as an equal player and pour into them.  When you have just a slight advantage on them because you have done some of the work first- you have start...