Episode 115: The Top 10 Leadership Nuggets Of 2024
The Private School Leader Podcast
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Show Notes
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 magazines are quickly becoming a thing of the past, but I love Top 10 lists so much that I hope that they live on forever.
At the end of each year, I like to go back through the last 52 episodes and look for the best strategies, time management hacks, quotes and leadership advice. I have made my selections and on this week’s episode of The Private School Leader Podcast, I am going to share The Top 10 Leadership Nuggets Of 2024!
As the year comes to a close, I just want to take a moment and express my sincere gratitude and admiration to you for all of your hard work this year. You sacrifice so much as you pour yourself into the kids and teachers at your school. Thank you for serving them all year long.
I also want to say thank you for listening to the podcast and for sharing the link with other leaders in your life and rising leaders at your school. You inspire me to keep making weekly episodes and I am excited to continue to serve you in 2025.
I would LOVE to hear from you. Email me ([email protected]) and let me know your biggest takeaway from the podcast this year and also tell me your biggest struggle in 2024. It can literally be just a few words, but your feedback means so much and maybe I will turn your pain point into an upcoming episode!
Thanks again for all you do. I will be praying for you, your family and your school to have a safe, prosperous and Happy New Year!
Mark Minkus
What is your biggest problem right now? I want to hear more about your biggest problem and I want to help you solve it.
Whether your problem is feeling guilty that your family gets what’s left of you at the end of the day, relentless parents, difficult teachers, a lack of boundaries between work and school, feeling overwhelmed, Imposter Syndrome, enrollment or teacher morale, I can help.
I would love to hear more about your biggest problem and I would love to be your coach. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/coaching to learn more about working with me 1-on-1.
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
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
I want to give you a FREE gift called 7 Strategies To Effectively Deal With Difficult Teachers. Sometimes we need some courage and confidence to deal with difficult teachers. What you need is a plan! This guide is a step by step plan that you can use to help one of your difficult teachers improve their performance and improve their attitude. Go to theprivateschoolleader.com/difficult to grab this free guide!
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
I’ve created a free resource for you called “The 6 Things That Every Private School Teacher Wants From Their Leader”. This guide is a 6 page pdf that will be a game changer for you. I guarantee you that if you do these 6 things, the teachers at your school will be happy to follow you. You can pick up your free guide by going to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/guide
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/episode115
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.
George Thompson and Jerry Jenkins wrote a book called Verbal Judo: The Gentle Art Of Persuasion. So, I have taken several important strategies from the book and applied them to your life as a private school leader. Grab your free copy of “How To Use Verbal Judo To Have Better Conversations With The Parents At Your School” at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/judo
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 recently I was thinking about the mid to late 90s • • and something that I would get typically • • as a stocking stuffer for Christmas. • • And • it would usually be a couple of magazines • • • and they would be year end magazines that would have top 10 lists in them. And so I remember getting People magazine and it was all about movies and the top songs and the top performers and entertainers and different things like that. And then usually a sports magazine kind of a year end, Sports Illustrated or, you know, that kind of thing and a lot of top 10 lists. And I love good top 10 lists. • • And then, you know, after we would open our presents and everyone's just kind of sitting around, then I'm sitting there flipping through those, uh, magazines and I really enjoyed it. And I know that magazines kind of aren't much of a thing anymore because most things are online, but top 10 lists are still a thing. • • And on this week's episode of the Private Schooler podcast, • we are going to count down the top 10 leadership nuggets of 2024. • • And I'm really excited to do this, • • • um, 52 episodes from 2024. And I went through and I picked out what I think are the top 10 nuggets for you as a private school leader, as you try to serve and lead your school. • And we're going to count them down today. • •
I'm here to help you make the second half of the school year better
But before we do that, I want to ask you a question. You know, if you're listening to this episode in real time, it's pretty close to the end of the, uh, calendar year. • And it's about the halfway point of your school year. And sometimes we reflect on the year that, um, has come to an end • and we get excited about the new calendar year, we get excited about the second half of the school year. And sometimes we decide, okay, • • it's going to be better. This is the year that I finally do blank. This is going, you know, the second half of the school year is going to be better than the first. And I know I didn't really take care of myself maybe that well or I stressed out too much about this or I wasn't really, you know, that present for my family. I didn't have as much left in the tank at the end of each school day as I would like. • • All of those things that are very, very common for private school leaders. • • • Well, I want to tell you that I'm here to help you make the second half of the school year better than the first. • • • And one way is I'd love to talk to you about one on one coaching • • and working with you • • and helping you with whatever your biggest problem is. • • And that's@the privatescgal.com coaching that you can learn more. And really what it's about is clicking on, um, a button to set up a free 20 minute Zoom call with me • and just talk about what's going on with you and see how I can possibly help. •