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Colleagues,
MVP: Strategic leaders make sure people know they matter In last week’s episode of Eat Sleep Work Repeat (one of my favorite podcasts), host Bruce Dursley interviews Zach Mercurio about the role of mattering in the workplace. Essentially, when we communicate to people that they matter, they see their work as more valuable. Not rocket science. But if it isn’t rocket science, why is it so hard to consistently communicate to people how much we value them? Urgent leaders focus on tasks. Strategic leaders focus on people. Hmmm… Cheers! Frederick
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Colleagues,
MVP: Diverse perspectives = better solutions Last week I wrote about the need to develop a diverse leadership cadre. But in 2025, what does the word “diversity” even mean? I suspect the meaning is in the mind of the listener, but Merriam Webster says it is “the condition of having or being composed of differing elements” with the closest synonym being “variety.” We need variety in leadership because various people have various experiences that lead to various perspectives. Bringing diverse perspectives to a problem helps us look at it in different ways, which makes it more likely we will:
This sounds good to me. Cheers! Frederick Colleagues, MVP: It is okay to be vulnerable The comic book hero Superman was indestructible, unless he was exposed to kryptonite (a piece of radioactive rock from his home planet). For readers, Superman’s vulnerability made him more relatable and real. Similarly, when leaders are vulnerable, it can enhance people’s perception of them. During my interview with Todd Shadley in yesterday’s Assistant Principal Podcast, he described a moment with his new staff where he said, “I’m still learning, but we will figure it out together.” In this one sentence, Todd communicated vulnerability, willingness to listen, and a collaborative mindset. You can listen to the full episode here. I’m happy to acknowledge Kaleidoscope Adventures as a sponsor of yesterday’s episode of The Assistant Principal Podcast! I appreciate their support and encourage you to connect with them if you are thinking about planning a school trip!  Cheers!
Frederick Colleagues, MVP: Listening is a key to building trust. I love it when readers (and podcast listeners) reach out and share their experiences. Sometimes their experiences are so compelling I invite them onto the show. Todd Shadley is a long-time reader and listener who shares his take as an elementary school principal on many of our familiar themes. This episode is loaded with great stuff! For example… What’s the number one way Todd builds trust? Listening. And you should listen to this episode ! 🤣 Thanks again to IXL for sponsoring today’s episode. Today’s episode of The Assistant Principal Podcast is sponsored by IXL!  Cheers!
Frederick Colleagues,
MVP: Consistent incremental change is a way to account for a rapidly changing world. For years, people in my generation have been lamenting younger people’s need for “instant gratification” and their unwillingness to “wait their turn.” Yet, in a world that is changing so rapidly, maybe we should all be looking for instant gratification and none of us should be waiting our turn. A-B is the concept of rapid yet incremental change. Maybe every change we are trying to make should be made up of many small changes, each of which yields a small improvement (instant gratification). Cheers! Frederick |
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