The Private School Leader Podcast

“Enrollment Season” Two words that can stir up a variety of emotions in nearly every private school leader. Enrollment season can cause you to feel stress, anxiety and uncertainty. You might be thinking “here we go again” and that is going to be a real grind. According to Independent School Management, 30–40% of private schools are currently using a continuous enrollment model or are working towar...

We’ve all been there. A parent is in your office and they are complaining about the school’s policies for detention or dress code or sports eligibility or the grading scale, etc, etc…….. It can get really frustrating when the school policy is in black and white in your handbook and the parent doesn’t think that these rules should apply to their child. It gets even worse when you are discussing a s...

Technology is absolutely amazing. Smartphones, internet, facial recognition software, AI, self-driving cars, artificial hearts, 3D printers, robots, GPS, wearable devices, the cloud and virtual reality have helped change our lives for the better. We also know that technology comes with its share of challenges. A parent group chat on WhatsApp, Facebook or a Smartphone can be an awesome place for sh...

I want you to use your imagination. You are at your school and you hear laughing kids. You hear excited voices and then you see big smiles and you see happy kids doing interesting things.  When you see and hear all of these things, are you in your office? Probably not.  Of course some good things happen in your office, but it is mostly a place for holding meetings, responding to emails a...

During the first week of the year, you will often see commercials for gym memberships, smoking cessation products and storage bins of all shapes and sizes. We all know why we see so many of these commercials, right? “New year, new you!” Many of us think that, “This will be the year that I finally get in shape, stop smoking and organize the garage!” Well, whether or not you are a fan of making new...

Back in the mid to late 90’s, I would get two stocking stuffers that I really liked. In my Christmas stocking, I would receive the special, year end editions of Sports Illustrated and People magazine.  These special editions would be full of Top 10 lists from the best movies, pop songs and TV shows to the best athletes, teams and biggest comebacks from that particular year. I know that magazi...

If you could pick one superpower, what would it be? A recent survey asked people to name their most desirable superpower and the top ten results were: Invisibility, Teleportation, Mind Reading, Super Strength, Time Travel, Healing/Regeneration, Flight, Super Intelligence, Super Speed and Telekinesis. The superpower that I want the most is Teleportation. Just imagine being in a meeting with a grump...

Has this ever happened to you? You get a text from a teacher that says, “Hey, do you have a few minutes to talk?” Or maybe a teacher appears at your door and asks, “Can I talk to you?” Your heart drops because you know why they want to talk to you. They won’t be coming back next year. Why does it have to be this way? You pour yourself into your teachers. You work so hard and then it seems like the...

Today’s episode is going to feel like a trip to the dentist. We usually don’t want to go and we try to avoid it. When we finally do go it is usually pretty uncomfortable. We may want to avoid talking about this. It will definitely be uncomfortable to discuss, but it is a very, very important topic. We are facing an invisible threat. It is just as real as water on the Gym floor or a jagged piece of...

Picture this. The coach of your favorite NFL team is having his post-game press conference. Your quarterback just threw four interceptions, including one that very likely cost your team the win.  When your coach is asked about the quarterback’s interceptions, you already know what he is going to say. “This loss is on me. I need to do a better job getting everyone ready to play. I need to put...

Being a great leader is pretty straightforward. It is NOT easy. It is a lot of hard work. Day after day, week after week. That said, some people think that being a great leader is a huge mystery or a big secret. OK, I’ll play along. On today’s episode of The Private School Leader Podcast, I am going to share The 4 Secrets To Being A Great Leader . Mark Minkus Being a private school leader is a VER...

In my 33 year career as a private school leader, I can look back on many challenging moments and many joyful moments. There was a stretch of about 15 years that was extremely challenging and extremely joyful. Those were the years when I was the Head of School and my daughters were students. You might remember Episode 16: When Your Children Attend The School That You Lead. That episode focused on y...

par·a·dox /ˈperəˌdäks/, noun a seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement or proposition that when investigated or explained may prove to be well founded or true As school leaders, we often face a paradox in parent expectations:  When their child is involved in a mistake or misbehavior, parents expect grace and understanding from the school.  However, when their child is on the rec...

“Our research shows that, fundamentally, people want the same things, no matter what generation they represent. So the so-called generation gap in the workplace is, in large part, the result of miscommunication and misunderstanding, fueled by common insecurities and the desire for clout. Successfully leading across generations is actually pretty straightforward.” Jennifer Deal, former Senior Resea...

We have all been there. We’ve all had moments where stress seems to take over and we react in ways we regret later.  It might be raising your voice at a teacher or student.  It might be overreacting during an argument with a loved one.  Later, we usually have regrets and we ask ourselves, “WHY DID I DO THAT?” This is often due to something called an amygdala hijack , a term coined b...

Has this ever happened to you? You don’t want to go to the basketball game because THAT parent might come over and sit down and start talking about a problem. You don’t want to leave your office because everyone is going to need you and everyone is going to give you a bunch of problems to solve.   Feeling this way is very normal.  School leaders have a bias towards action.  School l...

A 2022 study by the National Center for Education Statistics found that nearly 40% of private schools reported facing some form of legal action in the past five years. Of all lawsuits filed against schools, 90% of them are settled out of court. That means that it no longer matters whether or not the person filing the lawsuit has enough evidence to “win”. What matters is if they can find an attorne...

In 1975, Craig Trounce was a store associate at a Nordstrom store in Fairbanks, Alaska.  One day, Craig noticed a customer rolling a pair of tires into the store. When Craig asked how he could help, the customer asked to return the tires, insisting that he bought them at that very location with a guarantee that he could bring them back to the store at any time.   Just one problem: N...

I love motivational and inspirational quotes. My favorite quote is from Maya Angelou: “People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. People will never forget how you made them feel.” Words have the power to inspire and motivate us. Unfortunately, words can also discourage us and make us feel hopeless. Some words are toxic. On today’s episode of the Private School Leader Podcas...

Unrelenting. It means, “not letting up or weakening in vigor or pace” and it’s synonyms are: unforgiving, unsparing, ruthless, cruel, unyielding, merciless Stress. Stress is anything that requires our internal systems to burn energy to maintain some kind of internal balance. Unrelenting stress? For private school leaders it includes: upset parents, needy teachers, struggling students, facilities,...

So, I want to ask you a question about something that you do several times each day. Let’s say that you are out and about in the school, walking around, solving problems, handling student issues, talking to teachers and maybe attending a meeting. So here’s the question: When you finally come back to your office and sit down at your desk, what is the first thing that you do? About 90% of private sc...

I want to ask you a question.  Are the parents at your school happy? I can hear what you are thinking: “It depends on which parent, the time of day, depends on if report cards just came out, if their kid is getting enough playing time on the soccer team, etc., etc.” So, let me ask you an easier question. Do you want happier parents? Of course you do! On today’s episode of the Private School L...

Do you have any bad habits?  I know that I do! I Googled “most common bad habits” and this is what I found: Bad habits Smoking Too much alcohol Overeating Gossip Hoarding Road Rage Scrolling before bed Procrastinating Saying “yes” to everything Biting your fingernails Bad habits are REALLY hard to break. We know that we shouldn’t do “the thing” and we know all the research and we all know tha...

I want to hit you with two quotes: “Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good.’ “Focus on progress, not perfection.”   You have likely heard these quotes before. But, I wonder if you have ever heard this quote from Brene Brown: "Understanding the difference between healthy striving and perfectionism is critical to laying down the shield and picking up your life. Research shows that perfectionism...

You are in danger right now. The problem is that the danger is invisible. The threat is real. You could end up in the hospital with physical problems or mental health issues. The threat is real. Your relationships with your loved ones are at risk.   What is this invisible threat? The prevailing hustle culture in America.   Here are just a few of the popular sayings associated with the hu...