The Assistant Principal Podcast

Hello colleagues and welcome to the Assistant Principal Podcast. I’m your host Frederick Buskey. The goal of this podcast is to help improve the life and leadership of assistant principals. Today’s episode of Five for Friday recaps the strategic leadership emails for the week of December 12-16, 2022. 

Imagine setting a leadership intention at the beginning of each day. That’s what many readers of the daily email do. For some, it has become a ritual: Pour a cup of coffee, open your email, read the Strategic Leader Daily, and set one intention to be aware of or execute for the day. The daily email is a powerful leadership practice so if you aren’t already a subscriber, I hope you’ll consider joining the list. It’s just one more way to include me on your leadership journey, and that would bring me joy. You can find a link on my homepage at https://www.frederickbuskey.com/ 

Recap…

Monday: If you can’t do the whole project, just do the A-B step.

This week I was banished.

Writing my book has been the quadrant 2 (important, not urgent) task that I have been putting off for two (three? 🤔) years.

So, colleague, consider:

Tuesday Listening to others describe their journeys from urgent to strategic leadership is a good investment of your time.

Maria shares lots of practical advice, but what stands out most is that she has consistently invested in and prioritized her own growth! 

Being a strategic leader is simple, but it is also hard.

If you can’t invest in yourself, you can’t be a strategic leader.

Today’s intention: Reflect on your journey. Are you stuck in the black hole of urgency? Are you a strategic leader? Or are you somewhere in between?

Wednesday Accountability partners

I am passionate about writing a book. The entire thing is outlined. I had 1/3 of it written two years ago. I want to write this book. I have already sold 400 copies!

And yet, it keeps getting pushed aside.

I can’t explain it.

What I can explain is that accountability works. I’m in a cabin writing because I have the best accountability partner in the world! Thank you, Dr. Pam Buskey!

I have two challenges for you to today. Choose one.

Option A: Think about someone who needs support and offer to be their accountability partner.

Option B: Identify an A-B step of a priority that keeps getting pushed off. Identify someone who can help hold you accountable. Ask them and set a follow up time to meet with them. If you want to do this but have nobody, you can choose me, and I will be your accountability partner. Seriously, I will. If more than one of you tags me, we can meet as a group. It just will have to be after New Year’s. I am serious though. Email me.

Today’s intention: Choose option A or B and execute!

Thursday three stages to becoming a strategic leader

I hope you had a chance to listen to Maria Werner talk about her leadership journey on Tuesday’s podcast (link).

She described three stages, and between each stage was a mindset shift.

Stage one is being caught in the blackhole of urgency.

Then there is a mindset shift.

Stage two is becoming strategically reactive, which helps you find precious minutes to begin investing.

Then there is a shift.

Stage three is being strategic and routinely focusing on quadrants 1 and 2, which allows you to develop the people that power your organization.

Which of these stages are you in?

Or are you in the midst of a shift?

Today’s intention: Be mindful of your actions today. Are you spending time or investing it? What stops you from being in quadrant 2? Do you see a path forward?

Friday Share your goals to add public accountability.

I worked with a principal who wanted to implement 5-minute coaching (link).

She told her staff that her goal was to improve her ability to support them by doing 5-minute coaching each morning.

Over the course of a week, her staff began inviting her and asking her to do a session with them!

One way to have accountability for your goals is to have an accountability partner.

There is another way is to make our goals public.

Takeaway

Accountability comes in multiple forms:

If you are struggling to finish something important, identify the level of accountability you need and take the A-B step of talking with someone.

“When we model productive failure, we reposition adults and we reposition students to see their reality in terms of the ways they contribute to the community. That is what students are seeking. They’re seeking their place, they’re seeking their tribe, they’re seeking their group, they’re seeking those people who are like-minded to them, and adults are the same way.”

So says the incomparable Dr. Mary Hemphill on next week’s episode of The Assistant Principal Podcast. 

This is a re-release of episode 26 that aired way back in May 2022. This episode is one of my top three favorites, so I hope you listen and grow from it as much as I have. 

This wraps up this week’s Five for Friday rendition of The Assistant Principal Podcast. 

If you enjoyed today’s show, please subscribe and rate this podcast. Rating the podcast really does help other people to find it.

I’m always trying to improve the show, so if you have feedback please email me at frederick@frederickbuskey.com. 

I’m Frederick Buskey and I hope you’ll join me next time for the Assistant Principal Podcast.