Episode 111: Who Gets The Credit And Who Takes The Blame?
The Private School Leader Podcast
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Show Notes
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 him in a better position so that he doesn’t have to try to make those throws.” He will take responsibility publicly and have a conversation with the quarterback behind closed doors.
A characteristic of great leadership is to accept responsibility, even if it is not your fault.
A characteristic of poor leadership is to play the blame game, get defense and throw your people under the bus.
On today’s episode of The Private School Leader Podcast, we are going to answer the question: At your school, Who Gets The Credit And Who Takes The Blame?
Thank you for taking me along with you when you are walking the dog, driving to school or running errands. I appreciate you and what you are doing for the lucky kids and teachers at your school.
Thanks so much for listening and thanks for making a difference!
Mark Minkus
Being a private school leader is a VERY difficult job. You have to make hundreds of decisions every day, and you have to keep everyone safe, increase enrollment, keep the parents happy, keep the board happy, motivate the teachers, deal with student discipline, beat last year’s test scores and come in under budget.
That can lead to you feeling tired, discouraged and stressed out. I’ve been there. That’s why I created THRIVE Academy just for you. THRIVE Academy is a digital course that will help you get out of survival mode and get back to feeling energized at school. To learn more, go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/thrive
If you have gotten value from listening to the podcast, I would love to work with you 1-on-1.
I help my clients overcome imposter syndrome, set boundaries between work and home and how to actually get important things done instead of having your day ruled by the tyranny of the urgent. Sounds impossible right? It’s not. I can teach you how to make it possible.
I would love to be your coach and I have a few spots open. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/coaching to learn more about working with me 1-on-1.
I am excited to share with you a new resource and I want to give this to you as a FREE GIFT to say “thank you” for listening to the podcast. It is called The 7 Secrets To Improving Teacher Morale. As private school leaders, we are always looking for ways to improve teacher morale at our schools, but it is hard to know where to start. Well, now you have a step by step plan and you can grab it at theprivateschoolleader.com/morale
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I want to say thank you for listening to the podcast by giving you a FREE GIFT. It is called The 7 Steps To Having A Successful Meeting With An Upset Parent. This guide is an 11 page pdf that gives you a step by step plan to have better meetings with the parents at your school. Every good coach has a game plan. Every good teacher has a lesson plan. Too many private school leaders don’t have a plan when they sit down to meet with an upset parent. Well, now you have a PLAN! You can grab this FREE GUIDE at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/meeting
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I want to give you a gift to say “thank you” for listening to the podcast. I have created a FREE guide for you called “5 Strategies To Help You Work With Difficult Parents”. We know that working with parents is part of the job and most of our parents are great, but some of them can be very demanding and emotional and difficult. This guide will give you the tools that you need to build better relationships and have better meetings with the difficult parents at your school. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/parents to grab the guide. Thank you again for listening every week!
Please check out all of the free resources on my website that can help you serve and lead your school community. There are "Plug & Play PD's" (45 minute webinars with guided notes) as well as Top 10 Lists of Leadership Books, Productivity Books and TED Talks over at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/resources. You can grab the show notes for today's episode at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/episode111
Please write a review of this podcast and help the algorithm push this content out to more leaders. I would love to get your feedback about the podcast, ideas for future episodes and hear about how you are implementing these strategies in your life and at your school. You can email me at [email protected] Thanks!!
I’ve created a FREE RESOURCE for you called “The Top 6 Ways To Protect Your School From a Lawsuit”. This is a 10 page pdf that will help you to keep your staff and students safe and help keep your school out of court. Litigation is expensive, time consuming and extremely stressful. This common sense guide will help you to be more intentional and proactive when it comes to protecting your school. You can grab “The Top 6 Ways To Protect Your School From a Lawsuit” at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/lawsuit. Thanks!
I am excited to share a brand new resource with you. It is a 9 page pdf called: “How To Use Verbal Judo To Have Better Conversations With The Parents At Your School” What is “Verbal Judo”? "Verbal Judo" is a communication strategy that focuses on using words effectively to de-escalate conflict, resolve disputes, and achieve positive outcomes in various interpersonal interactions, particularly in high-pressure situations.
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TRANSCRIPT:
Welcome to the Private School Leader podcast, • where private school leaders learn how to thrive • and not just survive as they serve and lead their schools. • I strongly believe that it is possible to have a long and happy and fulfilling career as a private school leader. And my passion is to help you figure out exactly how to do just that • right here on the Private School Leader podcast. And I'm your host, Mark Minkus. • • • So I want you to imagine • • • • that the • • • • NFL team nearest you or the NFL team that you are interested in, or • • maybe you're not a big football fan, but you can just use your imagination. But let's say that it's an NFL • • game • • and that after the game the coach has his mini press conference. • • • • And during that press conference, • • • one of the reporters asks the coach of the team, • • well, how do you feel about the fact that your quarterback • threw four interceptions, especially that one right near the end of the game that lost the game for your team? • • • • Well, you probably already know how the NFL coach, how the coach is going to respond to that question. • • He's going to say something along the lines of, well, you know, • • um, I'm the coach and I take full responsibility for that. • And, um, I just need to really get the guys ready to play. And our coordinators need to, you know, not put him in that situation. • • • And, you know, we need to scheme m up something better on offense and so on and so forth. • • So • • we know that he's not going to throw his quarterback under the bus in that press conference. • • Now, he is very likely going to have a conversation • • with his quarterback in private • • and talk about decision making and, • um, • you know, things of that nature. But, you know, we've seen it before, many, many times. • • You know, a coach is going to praise • • their, um, athletes, they're going to take responsibility for the loss, and then very likely in private, they're going to deal with the situation. • • • • And here's the thing that is a characteristic of great leadership to accept responsibility even when it's not your fault. • And a characteristic of poor leadership is to play the blame game. Sometimes I like to say it's when you get your get out, your blame thrower, • • • and, um, you know, getting defensive and throwing people under the bus, those are characteristics of poor leadership. • • And, you know, why does this happen? Well, I think it happens for two reasons. One is because it's very • difficult to take responsibility • • • and it's very easy to blame everybody else. • • • • And so • on, uh, today's episode of the Private School Leader podcast, we're going to • • answer the question • • at your school, who gets the credit and who takes the blame. • • • • But before we jump into that subject, • • • I have a free resource for you • and it's called the top six ways to protect your school from a lawsuit. • • And this is a 10 page PDF that will help you to keep your staff and students safe and help keep your school out of court. • • Litigation is expensive and time consuming and extremely stressful. And this common sense guide can help you be more intentional and proactive when it comes to protecting your school. • • And you