Schools of Excellence: The No. 1 ECE & Private School Leadership Podcast

Want to be a great school leader? Stop being nice. Being nice works well with strangers, but leaders who care about the long-term growth of their teams are not nice. They are kind. Niceness is the short game. And when you're a leader, you're always playing the long-term vision game.    Today's episode is a conversation that I had with Lori Buxton, who's the Managing Director at Association for Ear...

One of the things that we teach a lot at the Schools of Excellence is the quality of decision-making. When potential clients or attendees connect with me, I always talk about giving them all of the data and the information so that they can make an informed decision. A lot of times we feel kind of insecure about our decision-making, or we're unsure. And a lot of that comes from just a lack of data....

The holiday season can evoke feelings of sipping warm drinks by the fire, reuniting with loved ones, and opening gifts. But for school leaders who already juggle a lot of responsibilities throughout the year, the holiday season can also bring an added layer of anxiety and even stress. In the quest to “do ALL the things,” they may find their holidays not so merry and bright after all.   In this epi...

Everyone makes excuses. We've all made excuses, and we will continue to make excuses. But what does it take to break this cycle of excuses and encourage personal responsibility in our schools of excellence? It's not about eliminating, it's about learning how to break the cycle.   Allowing the cycle of excuses to continue is normalizing behavior and work ethic that is completely against our values,...

As a leader, you likely live, sleep and breathe your school. You want to remain comfortable making the same decisions you have always made. You probably believe you can do a better job yourself because you don’t want to risk losing control of the situation or outcome. While you may think you are staying on top of the game, you actually are fueling the cycle of dependency among your staff!   In thi...

Burnout not only hurts our productivity, it also affects our mental and physical well being. In fact, there is evidence that links burnout to weakened immune systems and even cardiovascular disease. It’s interesting how people are afraid to ask for help, yet in my mind, it is a sign of strength, not weakness.  In this podcast episode, I share strategies that will help you break the cycle of stress...

What does it mean to have a team that is accountable, hardworking, and responsible?   Employees no longer feel compelled to serve companies that do not serve them. This makes understanding employee retention key to attracting and retaining those top performers. It’s time for school leaders to start to create an environment that fosters and builds a team of excellence.   Today's podcast episode is...

What does it mean to have a good work ethic?    In today’s episode, I share a special conversation from my Owners Only membership program with Scott Wayman.   Scott is the Founder and CEO of Kangarootime, and in this week’s episode, we talk about redefining work ethic and both of our personal definitions of it. We dive into cultural norms, how to shift the narrative and the conversation around wor...

As a school leader, you play a pivotal role in affecting the climate, attitude and reputation of your school. You are the cornerstone of how your school and community functions and grows. With successful school leadership, schools become effective incubators of learning, places where students are not only educated but challenged, nurtured and encouraged.   Today, I’m excited to share with you my i...

Today's episode is part of a special live streaming that we do once a month on our Facebook page. In today's conversation, we talk about a very thought-provoking question that Lori Buxton of AELL, had in mind. And her question was, "Do you feel more satisfied when your program or your business succeeds because of you, or without you?"   By the end of the episode, you will get a better understandin...

As a school leader, you have a lot on your plate. You have a ton of responsibilities and your to-do list likely never ends. However, pausing and thinking about the training and up-leveling of your current staff is going to have a tremendous ripple effect on alleviating a lot of mental space and emotional labor that comes with starting a new school year.  In this episode, I talk in detail about the...

Many school leaders feel time-pressured, tethered to their smartphones so they can stay on top of work and home responsibilities. It can be tough to step off the daily merry-go-round, put your phones, laptops, and to-do lists aside, and find decent chunks of quiet time to reflect on your life. In fact, we may not even be sure how. Today’s episode is number 50 for the Schools of Excellence Podcast!...

If you rely solely on referrals to fuel your school, you’re making one of the most common mistakes a school leader can make. This puts the fate of your school entirely into the hands of your school’s families. They determine when (or if) you get your next family. Today, I’m excited to share with you my interview with Mike Michalowicz. Instead of living in the constant cycle of feast or famine, Mik...

Sometimes we think we can plan our way out of chaos, or if we plan enough then we can avoid chaos entirely. But this isn’t always the case. Because you can never plan enough! That’s the perfectionist mindset. What you actually need is the mental toughness and resilience to rise back up again after chaos.    In today’s episode, I take you through a few common things regarding chaos that I see in sc...

I know you have hundreds of things you wish you could do with your life, but you just can’t find the time, right? You want to read a book, learn to cook, watch a drama series, exercise, practice yoga, walk your dog, build a school of excellence, and still be able to spend quality time with your family. But you just don’t have enough time for all these.   It is not that you don’t have enough time,...

Welcome back to the new school year! After the roller coaster ride of the past school year, school leaders will be bracing themselves for all kinds of challenges this year. However, what still seems to be missing is the ability to reflect: to stand back and consider issues deeply – and to look honestly at themselves as leaders. It isn’t surprising that school leaders find this difficult, given the...

Grace is a word that's rarely spoken about in the realm of leadership. Because as leaders of schools of excellence, we often want it all. We want things done quickly. And we want to get it right every single time. But what isn't typically spoken about is the level of grace and responsibility required in our lives in order to balance leadership with understanding and action with outcomes. Which is...

When was the last time you stepped out of your comfort zone and tried something different? Did you know that your life begins where your comfort zone ends? While it is easy to develop a routine and stick to it, switching things up and putting yourself out there will open more opportunities for you and your school.  In today’s episode, I talk about the 5 signs you are too comfortable and need to ta...

Summer is winding down, and every teacher has plans in the works as they look forward to the new school year. Whether you run a private school or a child care facility, it’s time to make some plans to get your school ready! In today’s episode, I talk about a very interesting concept - winning. We all want to win. Winning gives us a high because of the adrenaline rush that comes with something that...

Starting off the new school year on the right note will set up your school for excellence. As a school leader, the last thing you’d want is overloading your staff with content, hence the reason why you need to break it down into segments. And the segments are divided based on how the brain processes information.  In today’s episode, I share a segment of training that took place inside our Director...

Great school leaders use a variety of tools to maximize their impact as leaders. One of them is leadership philosophies that are helpful in establishing their leadership framework. Leadership philosophies are developed over time, with experience, and are not role or company-specific. They are both deeply personal and always professional, conveying not only priorities, expectations, and communicati...

Today’s episode is the second episode in our special summer series! This summer series is all about the different ways that you can prepare yourselves for the upcoming school year. After nearly two decades in this field and speaking with hundreds of school owners and directors. There are very specific patterns of behavior I have noticed in successful school leaders.   In this episode, I share the...

Soon the last weeks of summer will be upon us, the new school year is right around the corner. New beginnings always have a few pieces to them. There is the joy of something new and there is the anticipation of the transitions. Sometimes we can overthink the new year - which is why I created this episode. Today I share the eight guideposts to prepare you for an amazing school year. As a school lea...

Summer is such an exciting time! It is a season filled with so many great ideas which if not well thought out, will never get to see the light of day. Tune in to today's episode to learn how the IRER method has been a game-changer for me and my family.   Planning for summer using the IRER method has 4 parts to it. Intention, Reflection, Experience, and Rhythms. Why intention? Because there is a ve...

Are you on the verge of falling apart and wondering whether this is what resilience for school leaders looks like? Having an amazing school is not a result of having amazing systems or infrastructure. While those are important and critical for success, the leaders who truly excel are those that have built strong, confident, and resilient toolkits. The ones that have fully understood their stress c...