Principals4Leadership

IMPORTANT PSA! With the recent voter registration card fiasco from our Supervisor of Elections office I got curious. Randy was sent a new voter's registration card and a sample ballot. Me.....nothing! I went online to check to see if I am registered. NO!!!

Please before this election season make sure you are registered and your vote is counted. I have registered again even though I have been a "registered" voter in Manatee County for 30+ years. Something is going on!!!

Ready to add value to your team? Now offering DISC assessments for team building and personal growth! Reach out to me today to set up a consultation!

As a leader or future leader, have you ever thought, I wish I could talk to someone about my team and growth challenges. Someone who has been there but not directly related to my organization. Someone through confidentiality, I can share and work through those challenges, play out scenarios and figure out the best way to move on an issue that fits my leadership style. I can be that someone for you as a leadership coach. With my 30 years of experience as a former school principal and director of human resources, I can help you navigate through your challenges and navigation through your personal growth as a leader. To find out more, visit principals4leadership.com or contact me directly. Message me here on LinkedIn, email [email protected] or call me at (941) 812-1148.

You are a leader, invest in yourself with a leadership coach today!

Need Leadership or Teambuilding Training? I offer through my business Principals4Leadership customized training for your organization. Through a quick 30-minute call, I can design training for your organization. My focus is to not just create a day of content to present, but to develop a partnership to help you and your team apply the skills given on an ongoing basis with follow up trainings and exercises. Call or email me to set up a time to plan your training today! [email protected] or (941) 812-1148.

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Leading and Learning from the Inside Out!!

Today my social media was over run with everyone’s first day of school. Even my colleagues posted pics of themselves and what year they were starting today as an educator. Today I would have started my 31st year but I made the decision to retire back in June. So as my husband and I enjoyed a leisurely breakfast while everyone was greeting students and busily getting students to class I began to reminisce so many first days of school. One thing I remembered was a motto us principals had regarding the first day, “Get them in, get them fed and get them home!” If we did that successfully the first day we had a good day. A lot goes into the first day of school that many people don’t realize. To all of my colleagues either in a school or serving schools, Happy First Day of School and may all of your students arrive safely home today and excited about the year in front of them!

Principals4Leadership “IT IS ONE OF THE BEAUTIFUL COMPENSATIONS OF LIFE THAT NO MAN CAN SINCERELY TRY TO HELP ANOTHER WITHOUT FIRST HELPING HIMSELF.” - Ralph Waldo EmersonLeadership Lessons from the Inside Out Live…Learn…Love…Lead

Here they come.....First week back with your staff!!
Read my latest blog on the First Back for Staff!
https://principals4leadership.com/leadership-lessons-blog

First Things First
My latest Leadership Blog
https://principals4leadership.com/leadership-lessons-blog

Leadership Lessons - Blog — Principals4Leadership Begin with the End in Mind!! Okay so you've got your office set up, your prepared to meet your basic physiological needs at school, and you are all settled in. Now the other big question to ask yourself is what do I hope to accomplish here at XYZ school? What do you want your impact to be? What do y...

Next blog in the leadership blog, "So You're a Principal, Now What?"

Leadership Lessons - Blog — Principals4Leadership Begin with the End in Mind!! Okay so you've got your office set up, your prepared to meet your basic physiological needs at school, and you are all settled in. Now the other big question to ask yourself is what do I hope to accomplish here at XYZ school? What do you want your impact to be? What do y...

As promised, the second installment of the "You're a principal, now what?" blog series:

Leadership Lessons - Blog — Principals4Leadership Start with YOU!! As you begin your new adventure as a principal it’s important to take care of a few things first to help you get adjusted and be ready when staff and students arrive. When the staff arrives, you won't have time to take care of these things, but they should be in place to help you ...

So, you’re a principal, now what?

You've made it through the interview process or some kind of selection process to become a principal. You celebrated! You told your family and friends! You posted on social media! The keys to the school are in your hands! Now what?

Your first steps and deciding where to start can be overwhelming and exciting all at once.

My first days as a principal have been different each time I started at a school. I've started in the middle of the school year, in the spring, and two weeks before school started. All starting places all required a different approach to leading a school. For the sake of my "You’re a principal, now what?" leadership blog series I am going to talk about where to start, what to do and what to expect in your first year as principal in real time.

It is now June; the previous school year is completed, and you are now in your new role. Where do you start? Stay tuned each week as I blog about what to expect and where you should be in your first year as a principal.

Buckle up and enjoy the ride!

Next week’s blog feature: "Start with you!"
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Principals4Leadership Leadership Lessons from the Inside Out

Live
Learn
Love
Lead

RESET (Part 2) – How to Reset

In part one I discussed how my team came up with a code word to signal to the rest of the team that they need a moment to reset their mindset. When our mindset is not open and ready for communication, we need to change that. We chose the code word “reset” as our signal to the team. In this blog I am going to discuss how does a person actually “reset” after you said, “I need a reset”. These are just a few ways I reset.

1.) Breathe. We tend to hold our breath when we are overwhelmed and frustrated. Breathing slows everything down and allows you to clear your brain. If we hold our breath because we are upset about something our brains are not clear and open for communication. Our brains need oxygen. As a school principal, I am constantly in a state of emotional influx. From dealing with an angry parent to a child coming to read to you because they are proud of their progress. A leadership coach once told me to center myself through breathing deeply in between these large influxes of emotion. I also had a friend come into my office once and place a stickie note on my phone that says “breathe.” It reminded me that before I answered that phone to breathe and clear my brain. Stop. Breathe. Reset.

2.) Find a Quiet Place. For me that’s the bathroom. I go in there, wash my hands, use the bathroom, dry my tears, breathe, straighten myself up. I have my little pity party and move on. Sometimes it’s a quick cry or a look in the mirror at myself. A little self talk too.

3.) Listen to Powerful Inspirational Music. I like to do this in my car. I take a quick drive to get some lunch or a ride around the block. Blast some music. Sometimes your reset is not coming from something difficult but going into to something difficult and you need a clear mind. Maybe you need to reset your confidence level. You might need to be inspired. The one song I listened to when I needed to prepare for a difficult meeting was “Dig Down” by Muse. Blast it loud. Sing Along.

4.) Pray or Meditate. This is always a good time to correct your self-talk from negativity. We can’t problem solve very clearly when we are in a negative mindset. Reverse that self-talk to something more positive. Kind of like, “Stop it Wendy, you got this, c’mon girl’!
I am sure you do have ways you reset. Identify your ways to reset. It may be a walk or exercise. Either way it’s important to find your ways to reset and go to them when needed.

, your mindset
Principals4leadership.com
RESET (Part 2) – How to Reset
In part one I discussed how my team came up with a code word to signal to the rest of the team that they need a moment to reset their mindset. When our mindset is not open and ready for communication, we need to change that. We chose the code word “reset” as our signal to the team. In this blog I am going to discuss how does a person actually “reset” after you said, “I need a reset”. These are just a few ways I reset.

1.) Breathe. We tend to hold our breath when we are overwhelmed and frustrated. Breathing slows everything down and allows you to clear your brain. If we hold our breath because we are upset about something our brains are not clear and open for communication. Our brains need oxygen. As a school principal, I am constantly in a state of emotional influx. From dealing with an angry parent to a child coming to read to you because they are proud of their progress. A leadership coach once told me to center myself through breathing deeply in between these large influxes of emotion. I also had a friend come into my office once and place a stickie note on my phone that says “breathe.” It reminded me that before I answered that phone to breathe and clear my brain. Stop. Breathe. Reset.

2.) Find a Quiet Place. For me that’s the bathroom. I go in there, wash my hands, use the bathroom, dry my tears, breathe, straighten myself up. I have my little pity party and move on. Sometimes it’s a quick cry or a look in the mirror at myself. A little self talk too.

3.) Listen to Powerful Inspirational Music. I like to do this in my car. I take a quick drive to get some lunch or a ride around the block. Blast some music. Sometimes your reset is not coming from something difficult but going into to something difficult and you need a clear mind. Maybe you need to reset your confidence level. You might need to be inspired. The one song I listened to when I needed to prepare for a difficult meeting was “Dig Down” by Muse. Blast it loud. Sing Along.

4.) Pray or Meditate. This is always a good time to correct your self-talk from negativity. We can’t problem solve very clearly when we are in a negative mindset. Reverse that self-talk to something more positive. Kind of like, “Stop it Wendy, you got this, c’mon girl’!
I am sure you do have ways you reset. Identify your ways to reset. It may be a walk or exercise. Either way it’s important to find your ways to reset and go to them when needed.

, your mindset
Principals4leadership.com

RESET (Part 1)

The other day my leadership team and myself had to "rumble" a communication issue amongst ourselves. “Rumble” is a term Brene’ Brown uses in her book Dare to Lead. “ A rumble is a discussion, conversation, or meeting defined by a commitment to lean into vulnerability, to stay curious and generous, to stick with the messy middle of problem identification and solving, to be fearless in owning our parts, and as psychologist Harriet Lerner teaches, to listen with the same passion with which we want to be heard.” -“ Let’s Rumble” – Brene’ Brown Website Article, May 1, 2019.
Our responsibilities in our leadership roles often has us experiencing frustration and a feeling of being overwhelmed. What we discovered was that it is difficult to communicate to someone in that emotional space. It is very easy to have an emotional reaction which causes a block in communication. What we decided we needed was like a "safe word" if you will. A word to signal to the rest of the team “I'm not in a good place right now to have a discussion”. We decided on the word "reset " or “I need a reset”. This would simply signify to the other person or the team that we need a moment to get our mindset and emotions right to be fully present in our discussion and be able to give and receive information in the conversation. (See Reset Part 2 on How to Reset) We used this word because earlier in the day I had received a phone call from someone who proceeded to tell me how I should have handled a situation and how I should do my job. I was polite and thanked him for his feedback but inside I was seething. I got off the phone and just went on and on about this phone call. It was the beginning of the day and someone on my team took one look at me and said you need a "reset". I literally stopped in my tracks and said, “You know what, you’re right”. So, I took a deep breath, let it go and had a better mindset for the rest of the day. It is important for any leadership team to be a seen as a high functioning team. We have to have each other’s back and there will be times one of us is off. Find your word or signal with your leadership team. For us it’s the first step towards creating a high functioning team but allows team members the time and space to process issues emotionally as they arise.
, your mindset, ’s rumble
Principals4leadership.com
RESET (Part 1)

The other day my leadership team and myself had to "rumble" a communication issue amongst ourselves. “Rumble” is a term Brene’ Brown uses in her book Dare to Lead. “ A rumble is a discussion, conversation, or meeting defined by a commitment to lean into vulnerability, to stay curious and generous, to stick with the messy middle of problem identification and solving, to be fearless in owning our parts, and as psychologist Harriet Lerner teaches, to listen with the same passion with which we want to be heard.” -“ Let’s Rumble” – Brene’ Brown Website Article, May 1, 2019.
Our responsibilities in our leadership roles often has us experiencing frustration and a feeling of being overwhelmed. What we discovered was that it is difficult to communicate to someone in that emotional space. It is very easy to have an emotional reaction which causes a block in communication. What we decided we needed was like a "safe word" if you will. A word to signal to the rest of the team “I'm not in a good place right now to have a discussion”. We decided on the word "reset " or “I need a reset”. This would simply signify to the other person or the team that we need a moment to get our mindset and emotions right to be fully present in our discussion and be able to give and receive information in the conversation. (See Reset Part 2 on How to Reset) We used this word because earlier in the day I had received a phone call from someone who proceeded to tell me how I should have handled a situation and how I should do my job. I was polite and thanked him for his feedback but inside I was seething. I got off the phone and just went on and on about this phone call. It was the beginning of the day and someone on my team took one look at me and said you need a "reset". I literally stopped in my tracks and said, “You know what, you’re right”. So, I took a deep breath, let it go and had a better mindset for the rest of the day. It is important for any leadership team to be a seen as a high functioning team. We have to have each other’s back and there will be times one of us is off. Find your word or signal with your leadership team. For us it’s the first step towards creating a high functioning team but allows team members the time and space to process issues emotionally as they arise.
, your mindset, ’s rumble
Principals4leadership.com

Just completed 4 Book Reviews on my website

Principals4Leadership.com

1.) Successful Women Think Differently - Valerie Burton

2.) How to Say Anything to Anyone - Shari Harley

3.) What to do Next - By Jeff Henderson

4.) Dare to Lead - Brene' Brown

Check it out!

This week's Leadership Blog....

"Feelings, nothing more than feelings."

"https://principals4leadership.com/leadership-lessons-blog

Last year around this time I seriously embarked on beginning a leadership development business. Principals4Leadership. A business to provide coaching, training, and speaking to new and aspiring leaders. I was excited and began working on a format and building content. I started strong and had written several blogs, a few published and many unpublished. I lost my confidence and I lost it bad. I lost it working in a toxic environment. Someday when I am ready, I will write about that journey but for now, I am focused on recovering and regaining my confidence. The following blog I wrote during my healing process and now 6 months later, I am ready. I am ready to share, teach and inspire.

Click on the link for most recent blog:

Leadership Lessons - Blog — Principals4Leadership Recovery Last year around this time I seriously embarked on beginning a leadership development business.  Principals4Leadership.  A business to provide coaching, training, and speaking to new and aspiring leaders.  I was excited and began working on a format and building content.  I started stro...

Great article!

Up at 3:45 a.m., in Bed by 8:45 p.m.: How Apple's CEO Tim Cook Uses Energy Rituals to Optimize His Life Time management is out. Energy management is in.

Leading By Example

There I was, not even 30 years old yet and it was my first day of school. Yes, it was my first day of school…..as an assistant principal. Let me tell you I thought I had arrived. After 6 years teaching in the classroom. After earning my Masters’ degree in Educational Leadership, I thought I had arrived. I had worked hard to get to that point in my career. I had exchanged my classroom for my very own office. That first day as an assistant principal I had on my best suit, my best shoes, hair done, I was ready. Little did I know that my idea of “arriving” would come to a screeching halt and I would learn a very powerful leadership lesson that day. It would be a lesson that 20+ years later I still carry with me every single day.



Judy was the principal who hired me and gave a very green, just out of the classroom teacher a chance at school administration. Judy was what we all called “old School”. She had been around a while and ran a successful elementary school for many years. She was a great mentor, friend and sometimes like a second mom to me.



So that first day of school was also the first day of school for our students. The morning went well once we ensured all the students got to their classrooms and settled in. At around 11:00 a.m. that morning Judy came to my office and said to me “Let’s go”. I responded to her by asking, “Oh, where are we going?” She said, “Lunch duty”. I was dumbfounded. In my mind I am thinking “lunch duty”. All of the assistant principals I had worked with never did lunch duty. At least as far as I knew. That had never been modeled for me. Well, I followed her to the cafeteria and entered just as 120+ Kindergarten children would be eating lunch for the first time in a large room, together. We have two words in education about those Kindergarteners during that first week of school, Herding Cats. There were 5 years olds crying, some confused and some had no idea where to go and what to do with a tray of food. So, we jumped in and began herding them to their appropriate tables. Opening milk cartons, ketchup packets, retrieving napkins and plastic ware. It wasn’t long before a shy little girl spilled her milk all over the floor. I looked over to our head custodian to get his attention. He was manning the trash cans for students to dump their trays and was surrounded by 5 Kindergartners who didn’t know what to do. Before I could do anything, Judy walked over to where he was and grabbed the mop and bucket and brought it over to the spilled milk. She wrung out the mop and began to clean the mess up. As she was mopping and without even looking at me, she says, “Never ask anyone to do something you are not willing to do yourself”. At that moment, I thought how profound and meaningful. I was immediately humbled. It didn’t matter that she was also in a nice suit and heels. It didn’t matter that she had the title of principal. She just did it because we were all there for the students. If one of them had slipped in the milk and gotten hurt we would’ve never heard the end of it. Her example that day is embedded in my mind and later when I became a principal, I tried to model that same example. Whether it was stacking chairs after a night event, directing cars at dismissal during a Florida afternoon thunderstorm or dumpster diving for a student’s retainer they threw away (this last one was my husband’s story when he was a principal) it always speaks volumes to the people who work for you. It shows them that you are willing to do whatever it takes. It shows them that they don’t work FOR you, they work WITH you.



“It is not fair to ask of others what you are unwilling to do yourself.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

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The Box of Tissues

When I was a school principal and even today, I always kept a box of tissues on my desk. Not necessarily for me, but I made them accessible at the edge of my desk for all who visited my office. I would also often offer a tissue to a person who was tearfully pouring their heart out. Whether it was a staff member, a parent, or a student, most of the time it was the only thing I could offer in those awkward moments.
I think the offering of a tissue symbolizes sympathy, empathy, and support. The gesture says, "I'm here for you", "I'm listening", "I get it!” We as human beings, leaders, parents, spouses, friends etc. often feel the need to fix it or offer a resolution when someone is emotionally upset. I found myself twice this week in this situation and felt completely helpless. I had nothing to offer to fix the problem. I was speechless but I felt like I had to do something.
The best I could do was offer a tissue. Well…. I also offered a chair, an open heart, and a sympathetic ear.
The stories that were told were emotional out of frustration and feelings of being overwhelmed. Frustrations with life’s troubles that are often out of our control and there’s nothing like a good messy cry to make us feel better. One person was having repeated, aggravating car trouble, another was not able to log into a very important tech platform to meet a deadline. Now, I'm not a mechanic or an IT person, so I said have a seat, here’s a tissue. I listened and offered sympathy. I didn’t or couldn’t solve their problems, but I could offer “shoulder to cry on” so to speak. As leaders, just be there! Offer a safe place for a good cry or a minute to take a breath and a chance for the person reset. The pressures of the world today can cause us to reach an emotional boiling point at times and that’s ok. We have all been there, it's human nature. Doesn't mean we are weak, sometimes we just need a release when trying to hold it all in.
Being able to provide a gesture of care, understanding and support. Something as small and subtle as offering a tissue means so much. I've seen tissues sop up tears, shredded into pieces and my entire tissue box get emptied in a matter of minutes.
As human beings we need to be there for each other especially in those moments of release. Not to solve each other’s problems or offer advice but just to be there, to be present and to offer that tissue.
principals4leadership.com

Happy New Year 2022!
Check out my new website!
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