The Private School Leader Podcast Mark Minkus

I call it the “August Apology”.

I will be sitting at my desk in early August and a teacher walks into my office. They say something like, “I never thought that I would do this, but…..”

Then they proceed to tell me that they have taken a job at another school. Typically, it is for more pay and better benefits and it makes logical sense for this teacher to take that job. 

That said, an “August Apology” is not about logic for private school leaders. It is usually all about emotions. It starts with a sinking feeling and an increased heart rate as we think about the fact that we need to hire another teacher, and fast. It sometimes moves on to the “catastrophizing” phase that typically includes racing thoughts and sweaty palms.

I’ve been there. Many, many, many times. One summer, my High School Math teacher resigned the day before the first day of school to take a job at a public High School. I ended up teaching Geometry 9 and Geometry 10 for the first twelve weeks of school until I could find a teacher.

I genuinely hope and pray that it doesn’t happen to you. But, if it does, I want you to be prepared. So, on today’s episode of The Private School Leader Podcast, we are going to discuss What To Do When A Teacher Quits In August.

Thank you for listening to the podcast every week. You are making a difference in the lives of the students, teachers and parents at your school. I know that what you do is difficult, exhausting and lonely. Your hard work inspires me to keep making weekly content to try to encourage and inspire you as you serve your school.

Thanks for all you do!

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 

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 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

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 Successful Meetings With Upset Parents. 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 G

We all have them. Difficult teachers.

I wonder if you have an “Underminer” or an “On The Job Retiree”.

Behaviors of Underminers


They agree with you or sit silently in your presence, but engage in negative conversations behind your back. 
They fail to follow through on a new initiative or work actively to sabotage the effort by stirring up negative feelings among other staff. 
They undermine your power by recruiting other staff members against the initiative 
They evoke fear in those who support the change.

Behaviors of On-the-Job Retirees


Some staff want to do as little as possible and just coast until retirement. 
They have a poor work ethic, arrive at the last possible minute, and leave as soon as the workday has ended. 
Because they may openly speak about their desire to coast until retirement, this has the potential to bring down other faculty. 
It may also add to your workload in dealing with students and parents who complain about these staff members.

Do either of those descriptions ring a bell? Well, I’ve got you covered! On today’s episode of The Private School Leader Podcast, we are going to discuss How To Handle The "Underminer" And The "On The Job Retiree".

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 

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 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

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 Successful Meetings With Upset Parents. 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 Wan

Have you ever seen a shepherd leading a flock of sheep?

I have never seen it in person, but I have seen this happen on a documentary or two. It is amazing to see how hundreds of sheep follow one person using just their voice and a wooden staff. The shepherd helps the flock travel long distances, find new areas to graze, avoid danger and return home safely.

Recently, I have been struck by the role of a shepherd and how similar it is to a successful school leader.

On today’s Private School Leader Podcast, we are going to consider 6 Leadership Lessons From A Shepherd:


Guiding with vision
Protecting the flock
Servant leadership
Individualized knowledge and attention
Adaptability
Patience

Thanks for listening every week!

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 

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

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 Successful Meetings With Upset Parents. 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.theprivateschoolle

“According to most studies, people's number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. Death is number two. Does that sound right? This means to the average person, if you go to a funeral, you're better off in the casket than doing the eulogy.”    Jerry Seinfeld

I see it happen every year on Back To School Night. Amazing, highly skilled teachers melt into a puddle of goo when they have to get up in front of a group of parents to give a presentation.

These same teachers can successfully manage a room full of 7th Graders on a sunny afternoon in May. These same teachers can successfully manage a room full of rambunctious Kindergarteners without breaking a sweat. Speaking publicly in front of adults makes them run for the hills.

Now, it is important to remember that most private school leaders are former teachers. Public speaking is a big part of our job and it actually causes a lot of stress and discomfort to a large percentage of school leaders. 

Are you getting better at public speaking or are you just getting used to it?

On today’s episode of the Private School Leader Podcast, we will be discussing The 7 Keys To Becoming A Better Public Speaker.

I would LOVE to hear from you. Please email me at mark.o.minkus@gmail.com and send me just a couple of sentences:

 


What was your biggest pain point during this past school year?
What has been your most important takeaway from listening to this podcast?

 

I hope that you will listen to the podcast for your weekly dose of motivation, inspiration and PD. Thanks so much for listening and thanks for making a difference!

Mark Minkus

If you have gotten value from listening to the podcast, I would love to work with you 1-on-1. I would love to take my experience and help you to feel less overwhelmed and frustrated or help you have success if you are a brand new leader. I also work with private school leaders who are aspiring Heads of School and want to accelerate their leadership growth or experienced leaders that are moving on to a new school and they want to get off to a great start. If I’m describing you, then head over 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 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

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 Successful Meetings With Upset Parents. 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 l

Understandably, a lot of people are wary of artificial intelligence.

That is probably because we don’t understand it, we worry about it replacing human workers, wrestle with the ethical concerns, are concerned about the erosion of important skills in our students, not to mention the existential fears of AI surpassing human intelligence.

All of those are valid things to study, consider and discuss. That said, I want to challenge you to think about how AI, specifically ChatGPT, can make your life easier.

On today's episode of the Private School Leader Podcast, we are going to discuss 6 Ways That AI Can Help You Do Your Job

Thanks for listening!

Mark Minkus

Are you trying to find some balance between school and home? Are you moving into a new leadership role this fall? Are you a new Head of School and you want to get off to a great start? Are you an aspiring Head of School and you want to accelerate your leadership growth? I can help! I would love to work with you 1-on-1! Find out more details about 1-on-1 leadership coaching at ww.theprivateschoolleader.com/coaching 

Do you want to have a long AND happy AND fulfilling career as a private school leader? Do you want to go from how you are feeling right now to feeling energized and happy at school? I can guide you through this transformation, step by step, strategy by strategy. Check out my new online course called THRIVE Academy if you want to go from surviving to thriving! Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/thrive to learn more!

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

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 Successful Meetings With Upset Parents. 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 min

The best selling leadership book in the world is The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John Maxwell.

Over the last three episodes of the podcast, we have been taking a look at the 21 Laws and applying them to your life as a private school leader. To wrap up this series, we will do the same with laws 15-21:


Law 15: The Law of Victory 
Law 16: The Law of the Big Mo 
Law 17: The Law of Priorities 
Law 18: The Law of Sacrifice 
Law 19: The Law of Timing 
Law 20: The Law of Explosive Growth 
Law 21: The Law of Legacy

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

Are you trying to find some balance between school and home? Are you moving into a new leadership role this fall? Are you a new Head of School and you want to get off to a great start? Are you an aspiring Head of School and you want to accelerate your leadership growth? I can help! I would love to work with you 1-on-1! Find out more details about 1-on-1 leadership coaching at ww.theprivateschoolleader.com/coaching 

 

Do you want to have a long AND happy AND fulfilling career as a private school leader? Do you want to go from how you are feeling right now to feeling energized and happy at school? I can guide you through this transformation, step by step, strategy by strategy. Check out my new online course called THRIVE Academy if you want to go from surviving to thriving! Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/thrive to learn more!

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

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 Successful Meetings With Upset Parents. 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