Leading or Maintaining?
When the possibility of a negative outcome eclipses the potential for success in your mind, you are living in fear and not walking in faith.
You don’t move mountains in leadership by staying in the trenches of disbelief. Your leadership is either grounded in layers of approval before you move forward or in the belief that your position demands decision-making that expedites needed change to benefit what’s best for the organization and the people served.
If you find yourself as a leader operating within layers of self-imposed restrictions, you are not leading, you are maintaining. That maintenance is more about you and greatly limits what you are charged to do as the leader.
Get out of your own way and embrace your promise and potential. Leaders fail in leadership when indecision eclipses reason and responsibility.
Leading with Good News!
In 1983, Anne Murray had a hit with the release of the song, "A Little Good News." I found myself thinking about this song as I reviewed another issue of EdSource.
It begs the question: What are schools doing weekly to tell their story, share a positive update, and inform the public about the good news happening in their work with students? With the billions of dollars poured into public education in the Golden State annually, every public education leader has an obligation to communicate the wins, the stories of success, and how lives are being impacted for good with the students in their care.
The media will focus on the negative: the decades of failure and the scandals involving people and programs wasting public tax dollars. They consistently avoid sharing good news about public education because they lack an outpouring of positive stories to share. If every editor and news director had a large sample of positive stories, there is a greater chance of seeing and hearing those stories in our community.
There are some simple ways to communicate your successes, even when you are an organization with limited resources. Here are three.
1 - Schools currently send newsletters or communications to their community, so simply add the emails for local reporters and news organizations to those distributions.
2 - Consistently post positive student and program successes on your school’s website.
3 – Encourage your team to share these student and program successes on their private social media channels to amplify the positive messages you are sharing as a school and organization.
The work of educating students is not easy and the rewards are seen daily in our classrooms and on our campuses. Sharing those stories is not hard when protocols are established for teachers and team members to consistently share successes, allowing a school leader to embrace the opportunity to share a little good news that community members and taxpayers are looking for from public education.
The average citizen can tell you what they have heard about the failures of public education on any given day. Do they know what is happening in the school down the street or in all schools in the community? That can change and it just takes a commitment from school leaders to make it happen one positive story at a time. We sure could use a little good news today. 💚
Keep Telling the Truth!
So many of us know that deep satisfaction and sense of accomplishment when a colleague, you’ve been coaching calls to inform you, they secured the promotion or new position they were seeking. I’ll just say, she gave me a big smile this morning. All the effort has been worth it. 💚
My encouragement is keep telling the truth, keep reminding people of their promise and potential, and never withhold your belief in who they show you to be. Fan their flame and allow them to shine. Congratulations, Lisa M.
The Discovery is Worth It!
Thomas Edison certainly knew what he was talking about. Most opportunities I’ve ever had were behind doors I had to work hard to open. Don’t wait for a promotion, earn it. Don’t whine about what you don’t have, pursue what brings you joy. Working hard has rewards; do it and discover them. 💚
Leaders, Put People First!
It's not hard to treat people well. Do it.
When a leader doesn't treat people well, they not only diminish the value and worth of people, but they also signal to the community that the product or service being offered by the company is subpar or below standards. Customers are very discerning and when leaders undercut the value of people, it's only a matter of time before the company or organization suffers financially.
What cannot be sustained is a leader who does not put people first. It's not hard. It just takes a willingness and desire to check your ego at the door and work tirelessly to elevate people on the team based on a set of standards known and valued by all. Follow the path, put in the work, and watch your team blossom to meet the moment.
Like I said, it is not hard to treat people well. What's hard sometimes is the willingness of the leader to get out of the way long enough for the team to succeed.
Point the Way, or Show the Way?
Leadership is an art as much as a science. It is also a developed skill that needs practice and patience in being honed through situations and circumstances that test and strengthen the process.
There are no perfect leaders, however, there are too many nominal leaders in the workplace. Great leadership does not happen overnight and nor does it happen without purposeful effort on a consistent and ongoing basis. Great leaders know that the position is not about themselves, it’s about helping others achieve their best in the workplace for the betterment of all.
I found this photo from 1993 when I was with the Greater San Diego Chamber of Commerce. I’m directing volunteers at an event at the San Diego Convention Center. When I look at what’s happening here I smile now knowing this is a picture of naïve leadership. Just pointing and telling someone where to go does not accomplish the goal. A nominal leader points the way. A great leader shows the way by going first and leading the team forward. 💚
There is so much to be gleaned in a leader’s progress. Looking back to humble beginnings is a way to encourage yourself in the journey. Where you start is not where you peak if you are intentionally working to get better at your craft. Learn from your mistakes, track progress, highlight your successes, and do not dwell on your defeats. Leadership is about choosing to move forward when others stand still.
Let Go Before Being Let Go!
As 2025 ended and 2026 began, I have been in touch with a handful of leaders who left their current positions last year and are looking for new employment and different opportunities. The common thread that ran through each of their stories is the need to let go before being let go. 💡
When I am hired, I always have a set of goals and objectives that I want to achieve. When those are completed, it is time to move on. Let go before being let go has always been my thought process. When I left my last job after 25 years, I never had any doubt that it was time to go. What I set out to do was complete. I have never been a maintainer nor someone that would gravitate or settle for a job that maintains a company or organization. That sounds excruciatingly boring to be in that position.
In my work with leaders, I share my mindset on this simple concept to ensure that they have established their own standards for goals, objectives, longevity, and sustainability. Gone are the days when our grandparents picked a job and stayed their entire careers. Now the average person holds 12 jobs in their lifetime. This varies significantly by generation, with younger workers like Gen Z potentially having 18 jobs across six careers, while older Baby Boomers averaged closer to 13 jobs from ages 18-56, staying with each employer for about 4.3 years. Job changes often cluster in the early career years, with a decrease in movement as people age.
So, in your work, make a choice this year to be where you want to be, can make a difference in what you do, and don’t stay where you know it impacts your happiness and mental health. Life is too short to spend one more day in a job that you do not enjoy. Let go before being let go.
Leaders Limiting Reward
Leadership insight encouragement.
A leader that is always unwilling to make a decision, without the consensus of the team first, is not embracing risk and is actually limiting reward.
Not everyone on the team values innovation or change so having a leader valuing being liked over leading doesn’t serve the organization well. In the end, the leader is there to serve the interest of all stakeholders, naysayers and change makers alike.
Be the leader who doesn’t limit the potential of the organization by getting permission to lead from others on the team first.
Uncommon Common Sense
There’s a lot to be said about common sense and good judgment. Both of which come from the same well of truth. Unfortunately, most well locations have dried up from neglect and what seems common or sensible to you is uncomprehendible to someone else.
The practical approach to the use of common sense and good judgment requires two elements: open eyes and an open mind. The reason Dr. Phil gained such popularity is not based on his university degrees, doctorate work, or his professional practice. It had everything to do with him merely speaking in common sense terms to the masses while using his best judgment in the moment.
I like to think that common sense and good judgment grow on the same tree and that tree isn’t found very often anymore. With that, it’s important that these element farmers are working daily to see that seeds are planted, ideas and discussions include these valuable attributes, and more people are trained in there use and benefit.
We seem to have gone a few decades with diminished investment in common sense and good judgment and now is the time to reestablish daily engagement with these valuable tools for personal and professional use. 💚
Too Old to Have Dream?
I still have dreams. I’m 62 years old and I’m not afraid to tell you I still have dreams.
I’m not talking about waking up in the morning and recounting a fanciful tale of a meeting with a famous person, a visitation with a long lost relative, or times spent inside the Willy Wonka Chocolate Factory. I’m talking about aspirations, goals, plans, and still trying to figure out who I want to be when I grow up. 😊
Dreams are incredibly important. I was not one of those children whose healthy parents fanned or encouraged my outlandish juvenile ideas. You have to start with healthy parents, and my ride through childhood didn’t provide me a set of those.
While attending a comedy show last night, the comedian started asking audience members to share their dreams. Who did they think they would be when they grew up? I couldn’t believe how hard it was for people to share that detail.
Some people in the audience related that they were too old to have dreams. How incredibly sad. Either they had been beaten down by this life or someone along the way forgot to tell them that having dreams are some of the best ways to motivate yourself to get up each day and move forward.
What are your dreams? What are you holding onto that is drawing you forward? If someone steals your dreams, they steal your future. Hold onto your dreams, and keep trying, keep pushing, and keep believing. All things are possible. 💚
The Time to be Stand and Be Seen
A note to fellow leaders:
When things aren’t going well, budget projections are off, projects are failing to meet expectations and timelines and priorities have become unclear, now is the time to step up and be seen and heard.
Set the tone, take responsibility, hold people accountable, protect your team, and then make the needed changes to steer the organization towards success.
Speaking of success, when it’s happening, when employees are thriving, projects have been completed, and things are going well, sit down and let others be highlighted. Those leaders around you need recognition and credit in these times.
The best leaders know when to sit down and when to stand up.
If you start thinking as the leader you’re the reason for the success, you don’t just have problematic thinking, you are clueless about the team’s accomplishments that brought the organization to this point. Sure, publicly mention your pride in the team and highlight those leaders and employees at the forefront responsible for that success.
Remember leaders, your position is never about you. When you do it well take the hits and stay strong. During prosperity and success allow others to shine.
Your success should be grounded in allowing others to rise as great things happen under your watch. When your ego is at play, be assured you will be missing the personal and professional mark that the leadership position requires.
…and through it all, keep having fun. 💚
Daily Leadership Choices
Reflect on your purpose.
Reflect on your contribution.
Reflect on your impact.
Don't waste time pleasing people.
Don't waste time on processing regret.
Don't waste time on past failures.
You have choices daily with your leadership mindset. Make wise choices today because what you spend your time on impacts what becomes your outcomes. Your thoughts limit or unleash your greatness as a leader and we need more great leaders.
Imagine the Possibilities
Ego and agenda are two elements that collide in a continual struggle for more. We love to be recognized. We love to be seen. We love to be at the front of the line. We love to take credit. In the end, what we do for others brings more joy and satisfaction. When we are in the place of helping meet the needs of those around us, we have a deeper connection to our purpose.
I have learned in my short 62 years on this planet that life is not all about me. I can get more accomplished working with others than I can doing it by myself. Sure, I am uniquely gifted in ways and some things come easier than others. Then again, what is hard for me, is probably easy for someone else. That is the balance of the universe and a reminder that together we can accomplish more.
Today, and the days that follow, remember this simple quote from former president, Harry S. Truman. When you remove your ego and agenda from the discussion, just imagine the possibilities.