Colleagues,

Last weekend I had a long list of things I wanted to do in the garden. 
 
Among them were cutting some tree limbs that were shading some areas I didn’t want shaded, and planting seeds for the next rotation of crops (cucumbers – yum!).
 
The problem is that I only had time to do one of those things.
 
The choice I made isn’t important. Why I made that choice is what’s critical.
 
We have a lot of trees around our property and for some strange reason they get taller every year, decreasing light to parts of the garden. It has been bothering me since March, and I want to trim some of those trees. However, it isn’t critical yet. I can do it in a week and it won’t matter much.
 
On the other hand, planting seeds earlier means eating produce earlier, so it was more time sensitive.
 
There might be a time in the future when cutting limbs is more important than planting seeds. Again, the choice doesn’t matter, only the “why” matters.
 
Here’s the critical point: Echoing Monday’s email, being intentional about making the choice increases the likelihood that we’ll make the right choice. 

Cheers!

​Frederick

Colleagues,

​This fall we are beginning a new way to support my favorite group of leaders – assistant principals. It is a bi-weekly micro-journal that focuses each issue on a single small topic with strategies and suggestions for implementation. Our topics will be narrow, and the amount of information will be lean. Hence the designation “micro-journal.” 
 
The name you ask? We are calling it Quadrant2.

Quadrant 4 I rarely talk about because it is neither important nor urgent. However, that doesn’t mean that it isn’t a distraction. What is quadrant 4? Social media. Connecting with people is important, but similar to how Quadrant 3 masquerades as quadrant 1, quadrant 4 masquerades as quadrant 2. It pretends to be important, like real friendships and real connections are. But social media isn’t real, and it isn’t important. Sorry, that’s a bit of a rant.
​

Cheers!

Frederick

Colleagues,

Today I’m celebrating an awesome training I facilitated yesterday with the board of the Nantahala Health Foundation.
 
Every meeting or training I do, the first item is celebrations. 
 
As a culture, we rarely take time to celebrate our wins, especially in front of others. Celebrating helps nurture a culture that is focused and positive. It doesn’t matter whether these celebrations are personal or professional. It is the act of celebrating and the public acknowledgment that are important.
 
As a leader, think about the message you are communicating when everyone knows that the first agenda item is celebrations?
 
So, what are you celebrating today? Personally or professionally, I’d love to hear some good news. You can share it with me here.
 
Cheers!

Frederick

Colleagues,

One of the ways I recharge is by spending time in my garden. Digging in the earth and tending plants helps my busy brain slow down and be more present, so I rarely listen to anything other than the birds.
 
This past weekend however, I listened to podcasts while I worked. Mara and I are focused on redesigning APEx (you can learn more here), and there is a lot to learn about building and managing an elite online community experience. So… I listened while I dug.
 
I continually encourage you to find quiet time and to reflect, but I am not being hypocritical. The critical point is that I made an intentional decision to listen. 
 
This is the key. 
 
If we can just become more intentional, each day, with each decision, then we can become better leaders. We don’t always need to choose the best or healthiest choice; we just need to make an intentional choice!
 
So, what are you choosing to do today? I’m going to eat ice cream 🤣

Cheers!

Frederick

Colleagues,

Three more strategies to decrease the number of notifications you receive every day:
 
Strategy 4: Put your phone on Do Not Disturb

• Yes, I’m being serious
• Identify the 3-5 people who must be able to get ahold of you no matter what.
• Add them to your exclusions so their calls will always ring through.
• Alternatively, set your phone to ring through on a second consecutive call from the same number and tell people to call you twice in an emergency.

 
Strategy 5: Designate a trouble shooter

• Identify a pool for 3-5 people who can handle emergencies.
• Always have one of them designated as the emergency person.
• Rotate who is covering emergencies.
• This allows people to have uninterrupted time by covering for each other.

 
Strategy 6: Educate

• Be vocal about establishing healthy notification habits throughout the organization
• Practice what you preach (yes, Frederick is being a bit hypocritical here)
• Teach others the systems and how they work

 
I wrote these with school leaders in mind, but they are generally setting agnostic. If you want to take a deeper dive, check out episode 30 of The Assistant Principal Podcast.
 
Did I miss the mark or nail it? Let me know with a quick email here.
 
Have a great weekend!
 
 
Cheers!
 
Frederick