The Smart Thinking Podcast: Recent Episodes
Ted Neitzke IV
Ted Neitzke brings you the "The Smart Thinking Podcast." Smart Thinking is for anyone and everyone -- because we are all leaders. Join us weekly for reflective activities and strategies to grow yourself and others.
What principle guides you when you lead others? From today forward it will be the RIDE principle. A keen recognition of your influence with others.
Listen as Ted take's the lessons from horseback riding and applies it to how we should manage our classrooms, staff rooms, and board rooms. Because humans and horses literally share a heartbeat when together and so do we when we are leading groups. How we act is how they'll react!
R: Resilient
I: Interdependent
D: Determination
E: Enthusiastic
Hey Hey! Ted has written another book and on this episode he describes why listening to a nudge helped him complete his first full leadership book. A book filled with practical and applicable ways to approach life.
Go To Your Storm is an inspirational, personal growth, and leadership development book written by veteran educator and coach Ted Neitzke. Dedicated to equipping young people, new leaders, and even experienced individuals with a resilient approach to life, the book blends authentic personal anecdotes from Neitzke’s decades-long career in education and coaching athletics and people. The six chapters serve as a life and leadership framework for everyone.
Pre-sale has already begun and pre-sale orders will be autographed and include a free gift.
Book can be pre-ordered here.
Why do so many people struggle on teams and working together? Well, there is no simple answer -- but there is a process.
Join Ted on this episode as he brings you a practice to help elevate your teams and support your leadership while either leading or participating on a collaborative team.
Collaboration is not compliance and too often we ignore all the social ways teams can fail. Clarity, clear expectations, and telling the team what we "do" and "don't" do -- will increase outcomes and engagement.
Summer is an amazing time. How can we utilize this summer to reinforce and recognize the efforts of educators? Ted shares with us the research on everything teachers - from hours worked to the money they spend in their classroom. The call to action on this episode is to utilize the summer months to increase staff engagement with a few simple tools that will elevate educators!
Get yourself a pen, some notecards and Forever stamps - -cause we're going to intentionally impact those we serve alongside!
Ted had crafted a list of texts to read so that you can invest in yourself this summer as a person and leader. These texts will bring you opportunities to practice self-empathy, mindfulness, well-being, and seek meaning. As he explains in this episode - reading matters for all elements of your life and once in a while we need to step away from reading books about our field or content and focus on ourselves.
These texts will help you grow, inspire you, empower you and entertain you!
- Poetry Changes Lives, Christopher Burns
- On Th e Shortness of Life, Seneca
- The Mental Health Playbook, Amy Morin
- Eat Like A Sardinian, Francesco Mattana
- It Wasn’t Meant To Be Perfect, Gaelynn Lea
- Unplugged, Tom Freston
- The Meaning of Life, Robert Brooks
Why do we ignore the wisdom of different generations? Likely because we don't understand the contributions that we are all capable of making. We look past people with lot's of experience and we look past people we think have no experience. But, we all have unique experiences, wisdom, and skills that when combined together, offer the solutions to almost all problems.
Take a listen as Ted explores the use of a game to get people to build an understanding of the ways in which each generation can work together to increase all outcomes.
Click here for the Game.
This is a very powerful conversation with a psychotherapist and author who provides some serious smart thinking on how to approach your own mental wellness as well as how to support others. This conversation will leave you wanting her books and everything produced by Amy.
Amy Morin and Ted have a wonderful conversation that is applicable to all!
These common sense -- best practices - -allow you to understand how to approach the issues you face for yourself and others.
Book: The Mental Strength Playbook, Amy Morin
Too often we miss the opportunity to grow together at the end of a journey or school year. Don't let the ending screw up your next beginning.
Take a listen as we describe a campfire process to support growing together, increasing engagement as well as recognition and acknowledging effort in order to elevate teams and shared culture.
This process will increase collective wisdom and support individual understanding of their part in the collective accomplishments of the team.
Smart Thinking Retreat Registration
Here are the referenced prompts:
- What was our single biggest "aha!" or breakthrough moment, and what triggered it?
- Think back to a moment when things weren't going according as planned. How did we handle that pivot, and what does that say about our team dynamics?
- What was the most unexpected challenge we encountered that wasn't on our radar, and how did we overcome it?
- If you could magically go back and rewrite one specific decision or day on this project, what would it be and why?
- What is one thing a teammate did—no matter how small—that completely saved the day or made your job significantly easier?
- Explain how well did we respect each other’s time, expertise, and boundaries during high-stress periods of the year or journey?
- Looking back over the journey - -describe something you grew through that will make you stronger next year or next time.
- List the areas you need to get development in so that you can tackle the next year or project with more confidence.
- If you were in charge what is one thing you’d make sure, we never had to do or experience again.
- What was your very first job—no matter how small—and what is the one lesson from it you still use today?
- If we visited your hometown for 24 hours, where would you take me to help me understand who you were at seventeen?
- Is there a story your family tells about you that perfectly captures your personality as a kid?
- What is a "sliding doors" moment in your life—a time you almost took a completely different path?
- What is a subject you’re an "expert" in that has absolutely nothing to do with your current job?
- What’s the biggest difference between how you solved problems in your 20s versus how you solve them now?
Join us a for a great and in-depth conversation on the latest research around employee engagement and the application of your strengths in life and leadership.
Tim and Emily are colleagues at Gallup and are friends of the podcast. Both Tim and Emily share strong insight into our current state of life at work and how to use our strengths to navigate through these "interesting" times.
Walton research link: https://www.gallup.com/analytics/659819/k-12-teacher-research.aspx
On this episode Ted revisits his favorite conversation with Greg Harden. Greg Harden was a legendary motivational figure and peak performance coach, best known for his influential work as an administrator and counselor at the University of Michigan. Often described as a "secret weapon" for elite athletes, he played a pivotal role in the mental development of stars like Tom Brady, Michael Phelps, and Desmond Howard. Through his coaching, Harden specialized in teaching individuals how to master their own emotions and build the mental resilience necessary to succeed both in sports and in life.
Greg's book: Stay Sane in an Insane World: How to Control the Controllables and Thrive - is one of the ten reads for Smart Thinkers!
We are living in an age where people are believing the headlines (gossip) and not reading the story. As a result, people are making assumptions about the circumstances in their world and commenting before acquiring the facts. This leads us to a need to ask “what?” and follow the WHAT principle.
This episode will help you frame and recognize the need to once again focus on the facts and not the comments as well as be the leader to close the gap between headlines and comments by using "truths."
- Wonder about the headline and intent
- Help yourself by being curious and asking questions
- Acquire the facts
- Truth focused communications
In nature, negative is always attracted to positive. In human nature however, negative attracts more negative. Take a listen as Ted breaks down how to normalize positivity with behaviors and processes.
It is time to normalize positivity in our lives and workspaces. This can only occur if we, as individuals, begin to challenge the norm of negativity.
Follow Ted's four steps:
- See positivity
- Seek positivity
- Be a supermodel of positivity
- Expect positivity
Spring break is around the corner and that means we'll have time to reflect, reenergize, and maybe even relax. Since we are all leaders, that means we all need to invest in ourselves so that we can increase our ability to serve others. On this episode we explore six texts and a process using AI -- to help us increase the application of our learning.
Leaders are Readers!
The books:
- Yes to Life, Viktor Frankly
- 13 Things Mentally Strong Women Don't Do, Amy Morin
- The Inner Game of Tennis, W. Timothy Gallwey
- The Digital Delusion, Jared Horvath
- Who is Government, Michael Lewis
- Theo of Golden, Allen Levi
Plus a great new release produced at Golden Bear Studios:
Roots Run Back to You by Day Ashworth
Spring is a season of change and when we lead change, we need some reminders to help us help ourselves and others get through the natural storms of change. We will explore the key behaviors for supporting change by focusing on processes that forecast the changes for others as well as providing tools and processes to support behaviors that will allow for others to find success in all the natural newness. People are pretty good at responding to changes in the weather – if they’re prepared. The same goes for organizational change!
Smart Thinking Retreat Registration: https://events.cesa6.org/events/30986398049
Each of us need to grow forward. Coaching yourself and others through tools and processes is the best way to increase your leadership capacity and skill sets. Take a listen as we explore how to apply some of the best practices in coaching to support all those we serve and mostly ourselves. This type of coaching is applicable in every arena we find ourselves in – personally and professionally.
Each of us need to grow forward. Coaching yourself and others through tools and processes is the best way to increase your leadership capacity and skill sets. Take a listen as we explore how to apply some of the best practices in coaching to support all those we serve and mostly ourselves. This type of coaching is applicable in every arena we find ourselves in – personally and professionally.
Take a listen as we discuss how to increase your ability to have meaningful conversations. Ted and Craig discuss how to lean into our difference, and they review strategies to support strong interactions that are purposeful. Vulnerability and authenticity are always difficult at work and finding impactful processes and behaviors to increase empathy are key. This episode will help you see new ways to approach conversations so that you are more confident and authentic when working with and leading others.
Craig: https://weberconsultinggroup.net/
On every journey, we need to intentionally review (reflect) how far we’ve come and set goals (project) to ensure successful completion.
Take a listen as we discuss a strategy that is fun and engaging and will allow you to increase your leadership and support students, colleagues, and yourself through intentional strategies to support growth. All of this by talking to or writing your younger self and advising your older self.
The research is clear – reflect and project -- and you can help others (and yourself) be healthier, happier, and more engaged in life.
Would you like to get the people around you to be the best version of themselves? Would you like to be able and willing to take risks, adopt change, and collaborate?
Well, you need to make it safe for them. Take a listen as Ted shares a process for increasing psychological safety in the classroom, conference room, and boardroom. Remember - a question never asked -- is never answered. We need to ask questions to get from complaint to solution.
Email Ted for the tool: tneitzke@cesa6.org
Buy Deb Talans new single here
Parenting is the single greatest calling and responsibility for each of us that is at the same time equally being unnerving and frustrating. It is a lonely business where we have more questions than answers. Join us on this episode as we explore questions raised by parents at one of the smart thinking parenting sessions offered by Ted.
If you are interested in Ted coming to your school or workplace to help empower parents - email him at ted@cesa6.org
What is the impact of technology in the classroom? Well, after over a decade of schools around the world utilizing technology in the classroom, the results are in, and they’re not great.
Join Ted and Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath as they discuss Jared’s newest research and his book The Digital Delusion. You will leave this conversation wanting to read the book and significantly shift your current belief that technology in the classroom is a critical need. Turns out – it is not a need – it is a hinderance to learning, brain development, and skill attainment.
Jared will be a speaker at Ted's Smart Thinking Leadership Retreat this summer in July 2026. Watch for details at cesa6.org
Purchase Book Here
Over the course of a school year or project, people tend to decrease in their tolerance for others while at the same time increasing their understanding of people. When this happens we need to reframe how we treat others so that -- we and they -- find success.
Too often we begin to grow frustrated and then emotions from all parties take over. Take a listen as we share the impact of positive reinforcement, the research to back it up, and ways to grow your own ability to see the good!
Micro resolutions lead to macro outcomes. Join us as Ted shares five ways to support your well-being and mental fitness heading into your weekend, your week, or the New Year. These are five practical steps that allow you to learn, grow, and go forward with a better level of control. These steps will reduce anxiety and increase your ability to be present.
Smart Thinking Shorts
Ted Tools and Book
There is a lot of time being spent on student behaviors in early childhood across all school systems. Children are struggling with self-regulation, learning, social as well as emotional control. These challenges are having a BIG impact on everything from learning to staff well-being.
On this episode we look at the history of early childhood education and review what schools can do, parents can do and what we can do together to win back kindergarten.
What process do you use to support the well-being of yourself and others? Ted explains the application and the neuroscience behind the SCARF model (David Rock) and how growing your understanding of the SCARF principles can create an increased sense of control and a tool to support individual and cultural well-being.
Status: Refers to an individual's relative importance to others
Certainty: Deals with the ability to predict the future and understand what to expect in a situation
Autonomy: Sense of control over one's own decisions and actions.
Relatedness: Feeling of safety and belonging within a group
Fairness: perception of fair treatment and equitable distribution of resources and opportunities
Two questions are addressed on this episode. How do I support my child so that they fend and fail for themselves and how do I deal with the manipulation of children as a parent? Ted discusses parenting techniques and this episode is very relevant for anyone who works with, supports, teaches, or cares about children. Share this one far and wide to help parents and guardians support more resilient and independent children.
Don't forget to attend the Smart Thinking Mid-Year Retreat. Register here.
This conversation is a fantastic reminder of the impact we all have on others - especially how young people can change our direction.
Listen as Ted and Matthew explore the impact of maintaining positivity, listening to the influences around you and finding joy in the work of life. Matthew’s journey from musician to music teacher, professor and motivator comes from a place of genuine curiosity and passion. Matthew shares how to shift culture while growing leaders from within. Listen as he describes the power of each of us and how music has influenced his life and those he serves.
Smart Thinking Mid-Year Retreat Registration:
https://events.cesa6.org/events/36250872939
Dedication to gratitude is a skill worth building and this is what Ted focuses on in this episode. Listen as we take a fun approach to gratitude and supporting those we are around so that they are stronger as individuals. You will hear a great way to use music to demonstrate gratitude and make dedications to elevate others. Most importantly this process will help others see and hear how that they matter!
Each generation has the ability to define itself and grow into the role of leadership. Take a listen as Ted and Tim discuss how to support the newest workforce generation and support their success in life and leadership. Tim’s new book is a fantastic read, guide, and tactic filled study. If you want to be a great leader of/for others, it begins with empathy and this book will grow your skills and leadership as you work to support this amazing generation, Generation Z.
Book: The Future Begins with Z - order here
Take a listen as Ted explores how we can grow our ability o respond to situations with solutions instead of complaints. You see, complaining and criticizing is easy if you don't have the skills to seek solutions or strategies. Everyone has a response when they are squeezed and Ted shares with you his "8 is Enough" tactics to help you as well as help you help others.
There are three things that we all control: our happiness, our engagement, and our choices. On this episode Ted talks about how we can increase our own engagement by empowering ourselves and checking our mindset while using tools to find empowerment. Ted explains how to use AI to help you increase your engagement in areas where you may struggle and/or how to coach others to higher levels of engagement.
He coaches you with these steps:
- Stop blaming others
- Control what you can control
- Check your biases
This fall Ted has compiled a great reading list to help you, help yourself. Help you grow skills as a parent or to support parents and one book to increase your perspective.
This fall's collection:
- Aristotle’s Guide to Self Persuasion: Jay Heinrichs
- The Happiness Files: Arthur Brooks
- Fight, How Gen Z is Channeling Their Fear and Passion to Save America: John Della Volpe
- Good Inside, A Guide To Becoming The Parent You Want To Be: Becky Kennedy
- Raising Mentally Strong Kids, Daniel Amen and Charles Fay
- Lewis and Clark Through Indian Eyes, Alvin Josephy Jr.
Join us for a conversation with author and leader Rainey Briggs as we explore the impact of others in our formation and leadership evolution. Learn how tenacity rules the day as we move forward through our lives and discover some great tactics for life and leadership.
Book: Beyond the Label: A Leaders journey from IEP to EdD
Purchase HERE
When you are new to an organization or team, it is critical to understand the landscape. Too often leaders forget to employ a process to help them create a map and end up stepping on system or individual landmines. Take a listen as Ted shares a process to help you collect the things that trigger organizational frustration and individual frustration so that you can create a proactive map and find success.
The new book MindCraft, by Aaron Sadoff is a wonderful text that describes all of the positive ways in which you can approach your daily leadership. Join Ted and Aaron as they discuss the highlights of his new book and also reflect upon the ways in which they have both grown as leaders. Aaron shares many ways to grow your leadership, mindset, and strengths.
Purchase Book Here: MindCraft, The Art of Positive Thinking RIGHT NOW
Why do most initiatives in schools and the workplace fail after only a few months? Answer: We ignore the needs of the people or students. People are not going to adopt new ideas unless they can grow together through shared experiences. Take a listen as Ted explores the impact and importance of taking a field trip and seeing, hearing, and feeling the world around you.
Experiences shared together create lasting change.
For 350 episodes Ted has suggested reflection in your daily practices. On this milestone episode, he describes a process and shares tools to help you increase your well-being through intentional reflective practices. Why? If you don't fill your brain, it'll fill itself with all the wonderful weirdness it is capable of creating.
Tools can be found here
In this conversation Bob and Ted (not a morning radio show) have a great discussion around leadership, life, and Bob's two new books. Bob is a creative, humble and gifted architect who describes his process for getting the most out of other people with inspirational ideas and mindsets. This conversation will help you learn, grow, and go into the storm!
Books:
The Story in Your Head & Along for the Ride can be found here
Too often we get stuck because of the culture and we need to find ways to support ourselves and others so that we can collect wisdom from the amazing people around us. Join Ted as he shares a great teaming tool to help you build a stronger and safer classroom, teaming environment, meeting or board room. Less judgment and more investment!
- If you could share one piece of advice with your past self or in your first year of your career -- what would you tell yourself.
- What was the the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
- When you struggle with balance, what works to get you aligned again?
- What is one thing you hope your future self figures out?
- Where did you waste time in the past that you’ve learned to approach differently?
The energy at the beginning of a journey is critical. Take a listen to for a strategy and a mindset to help you launch this year! The ABC's of hiking is applicable and fun!
Here we go season 9!
We need to redefine what a vacation is and make certain it is something more than just a trip or time off. Let's get serious about supporting our well-being and creating the conditions so that we can grow our mind, body, spirit and soul. Join us as we reframe taking a vacation and create moments that just "take you away" from the things in life that don't add to who you are.
Books:
- Careless People, Sarah Wynn Williams
- On Character, Gen. Stanley McCrystal
- Casting Forward, Steve Ramirez
- Super Agers, Eric Topol
During the summer and in between projects we need to create opportunities for people to understand how they make a difference and matter. Join Ted for a conversation and tactic to allow for you to pause and applaud the way in which others make a difference in the world in which we live.
Summer slide is a real thing and impacts children significantly. However, summer is an opportunity to increase student learning and skill application if we are willing to help parents out with ideas and activities. Ted shares how parents can support learning over the summer and how educators can fuel parents with tips and tricks to support learning.
Parents are equal partners in the journey of learning.
Urs and Ted have an engaging conversation on the impact of Radical Humility when leading others. Urs shares empowering stories and processes that will help you help others. Ted’s favorite part of the book is the idea that we can all be “tough on results and tender on people.”
Too often we hide upcoming shifts and changes from people for fear that we will create tension. This is just a wasted opportunity to support people. Listen as Ted shares the research and a process to support increasing predictability for those you serve by outlining what people can expect during the next cycle or school year. Summer is an incredible time to help people see the change and find the support for their own engagement and empowerment.
What do people in transition need the most? Well, the greatest gift we can give them is empathy and predictability. Ted breaks down how to give a gift that will be meaningful and needed for the people graduating or transitioning as well as describes how to support people as they take on their newest challenge.
Simple process:
- Give clear expectations of how you will be there for them
- Recognize how hard they've worked to get where they are
- Tell them you love them
- Provide praise for the way in which they live their lives.
Buy Ted's book as a graduation gift here!
The month of May is filled with opportunities for recognition and especially within our schools. Take a listen as Ted shares a process to use to create intentional and meaningful recognition in your culture. The process will bring Rays of Recognition throughout your culture.
Click here for retreat registration.
What is a genius? What is the impact of AI on our learning? How is our memory being impacted by digital technology? Why are little kids becoming more challenging? Find out in this conversation with Ted and Dr. Jared Horvath: neuroscientist, professor, author, documentary filmmaker, dad, and entrepreneur.
https://www.lmeglobal.net
Did you know that 60% of male teens have online gambled at least once? Our children have too many opportunities to make bad choices, create addiction, and find themselves in accelerated anxiety loops. Ted tackles the newest research and findings on online and app-based gambling and the impact on teens. He ends with a simple suggestion: TALK TO YOUR CHILDREN!
- Summer leadership retreat registration: https://store.cesa6.org/products/smart-thinking-summer-leadership-retreat-in-person
Tired of all of the negativity? It can be hard not to be and negativity is fueled by uncertainty and there is a lot of that lately.
Let's do something about it. Let's get optimistic (Think Olivia Newton-John)! Take a listen as we explore reflective questions to frame your day and bring renewed energy towards your mindset. Ted has a ton of energy on this episode and brings you a great way to frame your oncoming storms!
Stop by our store to purchase Ted's tools: https://store.cesa6.org/
This week Ted continues to bring you texts to read and the theme this week is -- growing yourself. Leaders are readers and readers are leaders. This collection of texts will help you with your self-discipline, mindset, leadership behaviors, and reflections as a person for others. A great collection of texts to support you and allow you to grow.
The books:
- Discipline is Destiny, Ryan Holiday
- The Let Them Theory, Mel Robbins
- MindCraft, Aaron Sadoff
- Radical Humility, Urs Koenig
- Meditation for Mortals, Oliver Burkeman
- Duke’s Storm, Ted Neitzke
Buy Ted's book and tools here: https://store.cesa6.org/
People are leaving their jobs and we need a proactive process that allows us to understand how to help. Ted explores the idea of stay interviews and explains the powerful impact that asking positively framed questions can have for leaders as they are seeking to retain staff. He then adds a twist at the end which will help students!
55% of Americans (per GALLUP) indicate that they do not know what is expected of them at work. This is not good for stakeholders or leaders. This episode shares a process to help you help others seek clarity and become crystal clear of their expectations. The process begins with providing everyone choice and voice in their world so that they have permission to seek clarity and be engaged and empowered.
Gen Z and Gen Alpha are amazing and yet they are facing threats online that others generations could not have even imagined. Sextortion being one and this episode explores how to talk to young people about the threats they face in the 2020's. All of it by learning how to LEAN into difficult conversations with young people.
Learn together
Engage the topic
Announce expectations
Next steps
Organizations create structure and people create culture. So how do we better support Gen Z in the workforce for a great culture? Take a listen as Ted breaks down strategies to support younger employees and colleagues - -oh heck -- these processes are actually good for everybody.
- Describe how you set yourself up for the future.
- List programs and supports you need in your current season of life.
- Describe innovations you could support in your workplace to increase success.
Song: Better Days by Thomas LaVine
The RESCUE principle will help us increase the success of others as well as ourselves. Take a listen as Ted breaks down the behaviors of great friends and colleagues to support wellbeing, engagement, and the application of our strengths.
- Resources
- Empathy
- Support their strengths
- Challenge
- Understand
- Expectations
Buy Ted's book Duke's Storm here.
How good are you or your organization at proactively anticipating what could happen? This episode shares a process borrowed from emergency management and discusses the positive impact of using the wisdom of the crowd to proactively plan for the future. This way everyone understands their role and can support the system in better ways.
- Describe where you could apply this process to increase team ownership and understanding.
- List people that need to always be in the room when proactively planning.
- Describe a past experience that would have been more successful had you done a tabletop.
Buy Duke's Storm here: https://store.cesa6.org/products/dukes-storm
There is now a name to our buffalo... Duke! Ted is now the author of a children's book entitled: Duke's Storm: A Story of Courage.
This episode is the story about the story and how Ted was "nudged" by a high school sophomore that had participated in his student leadership training. Listen and hear how their shared experience has created a beautiful book.
This episode details how multi-generational people can do great things together. Ted and Allison combined their talents to create an amazing book!
Buy book here: https://store.cesa6.org/products/dukes-storm
What is your process to provide energy whenever you are midway through a process, project or year? This process introduces an engaging practice to support what Ted calls MC Squared. Milestones, Communicated, and Celebrated for engagement and empowerment. All by playing BINGO!
- List current initiatives that could use a boost.
- Describe how you provide energy midway in your classroom, school, department, or office.
- Determine how you’re going to celebrate effort to bring energy
Resource: https://myfreebingocards.com
This week Ted continues his tradition of bringing you books in the context of your life. This "pile" is all about you developing you! Listen as he breaks down five texts that are best read in order. These books will help you plan forward your life and leadership.
The books:
- Build the Life You Want, Brooks and Winfrey (Not a country band)
- Principles, Dalio
- The Mountain is You, Wiest
- Tiny Habits, Fogg
- 10 to 25 The Science of Motivating Young People, Yeager
Song: Somnolent Love, James Tutson
Did you know that only 1% of the people who make resolutions succeed after one year? Let's disrupt that pattern by taking a new approach. The approach? Resolution by committee. Get a group together to increase your success, hold each other accountable, and make micro changes for macro outcomes!
- List who your resolution committee will be.
- Describe your commitment to self growth and improvement.
- List the people who would benefit from this process.
- BONUS: describe how you will be different on December 31, 2025.
Ted has also started a playlist that you can follow on Spotify
Great leaders apply empathy to every situation. They also practice self-empathy. This conversation with Meredith about her learning and tactics around overthinking will help you in many ways. First, empathy/self-empathy. Second, identifying what is going on in your heart and head. Third, providing you with strategies to support yourself and others. Finally, a language to help you claim and tame what causes you to be mentally or emotionally restless.
Book: Get Out Of My Head. Inspiration for overthinkers in an anxious world. Meredith Arthur.
Meredith is the founder of Beautiful Voyager
As we close out 2025, there are opportunities to support reflection and planning. Take a listen on this spin of a classic Charles Dickens tale and how Ted created reflection prompts to support those that you lead.
Here are the prompts:
- Please share advice you would give yourself when visiting 14-year-old you.
- Please share advice you would give yourself when visiting you your first-year teaching/in your career.
- Please share something you successfully challenged and overcame this year.
- Please share a way in which someone else on our team impacted you this year.
- Please describe an area you want to learn more about, so your future self is more empowered.
- In a single word - describe your career when you retire.
This episode is a great conversation between Emily, Tim and Ted about all things recognition, engagement and how using your Clifton Strengths can amplify the world around you. Listen in for great new research, tips for coaching others and some new ways to support others.
The research on great recognition practices. It must be:
- Fulfilling
- Authentic
- Equitable
- Embedded
- Personalized
Have you ever asked a kid for advice? If not, you should start. Take a listen as Ted shares the wisdom of nearly 200 middle school students. These young people gave great advice for the adults in their lives. Use his process to amplify your teams, friends and family this Thanksgiving.
- Describe the advice you’ll take from the students.
- List who would benefit from getting this type of advice.
- Describe how you could use this process to elevate others.
Join Ted and listen to him with what might be the most enthusiasm he's had yet on the podcast. He found a new Google tool called NotebookLM and he breaks down the power of this AI for use in leadership, organizations, and classrooms. There is a AI generated podcast within the podcast. Super smart thinking this week.
- List application you have for NotebookLM.
- Describe your wonderings around applying AI in your work.
- List you worries about applying storm generating technologies.
Click here to take you to NotebookLM
Click here to take you to CESA 6 AI trainings
A behavior ignored, is a behavior reinforced. In your culture what are you expecting and what are you tolerating? Listen as Ted describes a mindset and tool to help you have the needed conversations so that your culture grows in a positive way and people are either coached up to the expectations or coached out of the situation.
- List the people coming with you and who is not
- Describe what you need to do in order to grow your invitation list
- Describe what you need to do different within your culture
When people are stubborn it is usually for a good reason. Likely fear of change or of the unknown consequences of taking the "risk." Take a listen as Ted explore how to support good people who seem unwilling to change or move into the direction of the storm they are facing.
- List people who can help you move past a stubborn moment you are facing.
- Describe how you can support others who have the wrong gear but right mindset.
- List the ways in which you can support others in finding their way.
Transactional relationships and mindsets create disengagement, sadness, and resentment. Transactional thinking is the opposite of leadership and keeping score needs to stop.
Listen as Ted explores how to shift to a zero-zero mindset and support a positive narrative in your noggin and help you - help others grow.
- Describe where in your life you are keeping score
- List the people in your life that need to be modeled 0-0
- Describe how you can lead with a 0-0 mindset
Recess might actually be the process to help children learn more, decrease classroom behavioral issues, and increase teacher retention.
Wait, how could that be? In this episode Ted shares research that shows how increasing recess - decreases all the negative things occurring in school and increases all of the positive things. The answer for improvement has likely been in front of us the entire time (recess). However, we’re going to need to be buffaloes and charge into several storms to create the ideal conditions.
Listen as Ted shares great resources to help you grow and support others. These resources are building off of themes presented this season on the podcast and will help you support parents, fuel your inner buffalo and frame your mindset.
Studies:
- The Evolving Needs of Working Parent’s: Kindercare Study
- Walton Family Foundation Voices of Gen Z Study: Gallup/Walton Family Foundation
Books:
- Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents, Lindsay Gibson
- The Anxious Generation, Jonathan Haidt
- Twelve and A Half, Gary Vaynerchuk
- The Happiest Man on Earth, Eddie Jaku
Albums:
- Coldplay: Moon Music
- Leon Bridges: Leon
How does your system support parents? Too often we are casting blame on the parents and not recognizing the opportunities and responsibilities we have to empower parents.
Take a listen as Ted challenges us to create systems of support and empowerment while the children are on their educational journey. You can't meet unspoken expectations and parenting is an anxiety riddled journey and everyone has questions. That anxiety turns to defensiveness very quickly, so let's make navigating schools less worrisome and help parents support their children in new ways.
Are you wise enough to be a Sage? YES! This week join us as we discuss the IMPACT our words can have on others as Ted reviews the people who've impacted him and how we can all grow from those around us. Listen to the very end..... for some really sage advice.
Here are the 180 degree cards for purchase: https://store.cesa6.org/products/buffalo-note-cards
- List the sages in your life
- Describe your ability to support others with your collected wisdom
- List who needs you to step into their storm with IMPACT?
How well do you celebrate failure? In this episode, Ted discusses how we can all learn from slime mold to get ourselves into a routine of never losing and instead, always learning.
The road to excellence has no destination and is filled with failures. To keep moving forward - we have to celebrate all the learning! We're never losing -- we're always learning.
- Describe where you can apply slime mold strategies.
- List where this process would be helpful in increasing risk.
- Describe a recent failure that should be celebrated.
Join Ted as he discusses the importance of having a process that allows for people to contribute instead of simply complaining. The tool and mindset are simple- operate in “AND” mode not “BUT” mode. This episode has a bonus process tool using wisdom and conjunctions to create a great cultural reflection process (this is what happens when Ted has an idea while recording).
- List where this process would benefit the most
- Describe your ability to move from “yeah but” to “and”
- List the people who would go noticed if you employed processes like this.
Song: Brad & Kate- Flame
Behind every Olympian is a story. Listen as Ted breaks down how to become fans of all of those you serve. Every child, colleague, friend and loved one has a complicated story and it is always unique. What if we had a way to learn that story? It would be like when we watch the Olympics and learn the Olympians "whole" story and suddenly we become that persons fan.
- Describe your biggest fan
- List the people in your life that will need a fan
- List who you can interview in order to understand their story
Welcome to Season 7!
On this episode Ted shares a process to help you preplan for the unexpected. Ted describes the behaviors needed to have an engaged group of leaders and talks about an accident where he observed random buffalo leaders charge into a WAHBL situation. Listen as he discusses the best of the buffaloes -- a 3rd grade teacher who was everything to everyone at this accident scene.
Burning cars, buffaloes, and process!
- Describe who in your life is always willing to run to the storm.
- List the behaviors of the people who run to the storm.
- Describe what you can do different in order to grow your courage to charge.
In this episode Ted shares the importance of doing a personal strategic review in the summer by utilizing process and taking clarity breaks. Too often we are not taking time to reflect on what works, what needs iteration and what we need to stop doing in our lives. Take a listen as he shares a simple and tested process to support you growing forward.
- List when you will take clarity breaks.
- Describe who can run your strategic plan out with you.
- Describe where you will build your plan?
Too often in summer or between projects we employ retreats to look at results and we create a bunch of documents that rarely get deployed. This usually occurs because people are using lagging data and negotiating on what the culture will allow.
This episode will help frame the need for cultural languages and tools to ensure that what we want to stick - -stays stuck and works. Organizations create binders of steps and yet they fail to start with an evaluation of the organization to measure for capacity, desire, or the skills to employ the changes. No longer!
- Describe your change process.
- List the tools you can use to empower those you serve.
- Describe where the opportunities are to use processes to support lasting change.
Ted is sharing books that he believes must be read this summer to help us all grow as leaders. Especially, those that serve children or have children. The curated list of texts are meant to be read in order to help each of us grow. There is a growing crisis on how children are learning and behaving, and these books will help you help the children in your life. Take a listen as Ted shares seven books – in order – that you need to read this summer.
- Psych, The Story of the Human Mind: Paul Bloom
- Radical Respect, How to Work Together Better: Kim Scott
- Hidden Potential: Adam Grant
- Meditations: Marcus Aurelius
- The Anxious Generation, How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness: Jonathan Haidt
- The Body Keeps The Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma: Bessel Van Der Kolk
- Bryson the Brave Bison: Davenport, Freshwater, and Cowdrey
When the seasons change, it provides us the opportunity to seek improvement through process. Take a listen as Ted describes a process to help you find the joy in your life. We choose to enJOY our work and there are two hungers we have to feed- ourselves and our passions.
- Describe what your passions are.
- List the people who could be coached to reflect upon their passions.
- List who you trust to guide you through a reflective process.
- Describe how you can increase your own ability to be engaged and self-empowered.
How do we get more children and adults to read? Take a listen as Ted shares a strategy for increasing the amount of children reading. It all boils down to one key idea -- if we want children to read - -the adults have to read!
- List who you should read with.
- Describe the books you like to read verses the books others like to read. .
- List the books you'd like to read with others.
How will you remember this school year? Take a listen as Ted explains a process to use to help you and your system reflect - with intention - in an effort to create a realistic memory of the year. Learn how to identify the peaks, the pits and the transitions so that you can celebrate and acknowledge the real journey and use the information to better serve your classroom, school or system in the future.
- Describe how you can increase the awareness of others while on the journey.
- List who would benefit from reviewing the peaks, pits, and transitions.
- Describe how you can solidify the memory of the end.
Ever wonder how memory is impacted by emotions, or how the amount of books in your home informs your child's intellectual skills, or how electronics are impacting development or what AI is doing to the brain? Wonder no longer -- these and many more questions are answered in this conversation with Jared as we explore the brain and his newest research and discoveries.
Find him: https://www.youtube.com/@JaredCooney
Song: Andrew Hoyt - Dance with Somebody
We all need to be both leaders and followers and we can do that if we CARE. Listen as Ted explains the need for us each to be in two lanes at once - lead and follow. CARE is a simple way of explaining what a good follower does.
- Collaborate
- Accept responsibility
- Resilient
- Engagement with intention
Listen as Ted reminds us of the power of listening to the "nudges." This is the 300th episode of the podcast and Ted walks through how important it is to listen to the ideas of others and shares a simple process to support coaching yourself to higher levels of engagement and happiness.
Song: Sunflower Bouquet by Anderson Coates - Golden Bear Studios
Reflections:
- List the "should’s" you heard this past week.
- Describe who in your life nudges you towards excellence.
- List the people and the nudges that have changed your life.
Too often in our organizations, we forget to provide the leadership so that we have a strong cultural understanding of our journey. As a result, we need a process. Join Ted as he explains why and how to create a unified story(narrative) so that more people can celebrate all they've done together so that you can end the year together!
Process prompts:
- Celebrations (Internal)
- Celebrations (External)
- Grow my engagement
- Professional development WE need
- Elephants in the room
- Recognitions
- Can you believe?
What is your process for advocating for yourself and your strengths? Too often other people judge us and do not understand us so we need a process to help others see our strengths. Join Ted as he shares a process to employ for you to create your own self advocacy plan or IAP.
- Identify your strengths and soft strengths.
- Describe who in your world needs to be coached to self-advocacy.
- List ways in which you can support others through their strengths and weaknesses.
This conversation with author and mental fitness guru Greg Harden is going to change you, your leadership and maybe even your life. His book is fantastic, his career is amazing, and this conversation is a game changer. Take a listen as Greg and Ted – two obnoxious optimists – discuss how to support your own journey and how to focus on being your own best friend.
Book: Stay Sane in an Insane World: How To Control the Controllables and Thrive
Join us for a discussion of how an emergency surgery supercharged Ted's belief that empathy is the greatest leadership quality. Hear as he discusses the great care he received and how the healthcare workers supporting him diminished his vulnerability by being empathetic. You'll be inspired to think about how you matter in the moments when others need you the most!
- Describe the last time you felt vulnerable and how you overcame that emotion
- List the people in your life that would benefit from your empathy
- Describe how you can increase your empathy in your actions
What is your intentional process to ensure you get the best from an interaction with someone else? Seriously, people you like, people you work with, people you over and even people on the opposite side of politics?
Join us a for a great conversation where Craig and Ted trade a ton of strategies and tactics to support you in developing a stronger ability to have great conversations.
As we look to the start of spring and a break for many of us, I want to give you some texts to read to invest in yourself and others! This list of texts is best read in the order explained and below. However, each book, by itself, is fantastic!
Stay Sane In An Insane World, Greg Harden
A New Kind Of Diversity, Tim Elmore
Yes To The Mess, Frank Barrett
How To Know A Person, David Brooks
The Little Liar, Mitch Albom
Maybe, Kobi Yamada
Gallup has so many great resources and one of my favorites is the Clifton Strength Finder. Join me for a conversation with Dr. Tim Hodges who over sees the Clifton Strengths Institute and learn how to apply your strengths and utilize the tool in new and rewarding ways.
Maybe we all need to learn a new habit. Short-term memory when leading. In other words, how to move ourselves along quickly so that we don't get trapped in a narrative that causes us more stress and pressure. Well, as Ted Lasso says: be a goldfish.
Use the four f's to get you there: fast, forgive, forget and forward!
Join me for a conversation with author Tim Elmore as we discuss his newest book: A New Kind of Diversity. Our conversation focuses on how to bridge the gap between generations and become more empathetic for those you serve.
I highly recommend his book and exploring his website: growingleaders.com
Too often we miss the opportunity to SHOW our teams why we need to change. Take a listen as we explore the impact of taking organizational field trips.
- Where do you need to go and visit?
- Describe a process you could employ to increase collective empathy and understanding.
- List who needs to go on a field trip.
Book: The Power of Moments- Chip and Dan Heath
Do you have an intentional strategy to bring energy to the staff and students as you enter the second half of the year? You do now.
Take a listen and hear a few ways in which you can provide the energy and motivation to take you through the rest of the year.
- Describe your strategy to create mid-year energy
- List the activities you’ll do or do to create lift mid-year
- Describe how you can energize all staff
Song: Yellow by artist Andrew Hoyt
This year, we need to practice being better to ourselves. Take a listen as we explore a great communication process for self reflection and goal setting. Hear why we need to be more generous -- not necessarily to others -- - but to ourselves.
- List ways you can increase generosity towards yourself
- Describe a process you can use to set your goals
- List other ways you can use this process to support others
I thought I’d turn on the mic and sit down with my kids and ask them to describe their experiences as college students and why they want to be teachers.
It is the time of the year for us to focus on belief. Belief in ourselves, our abilities and the future. That is - hope. Take a listen as we explore the research behind hope and utilize two great people and two great coaches to frame hope for this season!
- Describe your hope strategies
- List people that need to know they matter
- Describe a process you can employ to utilize this learning
Are you good at being coached? Do you have the courage and vulnerability needed to improve to be the best version of yourself? This episode offers reflections, tips, and looks at specific ways to become more coachable as well as be a better coach for others.
- Describe your willingness to be coached.
- List the people in your life that you would want coaching from.
- Describe how you have traditionally responded to being coached.
What happens to your brain when you're grateful? It send hormones through your body and supports joy!
Gratitude supports mental fitness and your overall well-being. Good news - we have a holiday called Thanksgiving and we'll help you in this episode learn the benefits of being grateful.
- Describe how you can build a stronger frontal lobe through gratitude
- List those you need to thank
- Describe your process for making gratitude front of mind
Kids can be challenging and adults can sometimes make it harder on themselves as a result of inconstant behaviors. Take a listen as we discuss what needs to happen in order to have strong kids.
Clarity creates predictability.
Predictability creates consistency in behaviors and relationships.
Consistency builds trust and reinforces love and concern.
- List the strategies you’ll employ.
- Describe what you will now do different.
- List the ways in which you can recover from losing it.
Be intentional about demonstrating gratitude in writing. Not always texts - but cards and paper! Take a minute to see how others are leading and recognize it and share it with them and even their family!
How are you described when you're not in the room? Are you paying attention to your brand? Take a listen as Ted describes five different brands on a team and reflect upon which you are most like:
- Captain
- Cheerleader
- Therapist
- Nurse
- Detective
This is a great episode to share with teams you support, serve on or alongside.
- Describe your favorite teammates brand
- List the qualities of your brand
- Describe how your teammates describe your brand to others
In your life and leadership, how many unwritten rules do you have? Take a listen to a process that will support you getting a clearer set of working expectations for those you love and serve.
We too often have expectations for people that they are not even aware of. Let's get them out and increase success.
- List the person you need to try "should or shouldn’t" with
- Describe your unwritten rules for others
- List the places this needs to be employed
Leaders are readers and readers lead by sharing their learning. Here are five books for you for this fall. One to help with decision making, one to help with perspective, one to help develop as a leader, one to help your mindset, and one to build your capacity to support others through reflection.
- The Art of Clear Thinking (Leadership and Decision Making)
- The Noticer (Empathy and Leadership)
- The Leap to Leader (Leadership, Leadership, & Strategy)
- Yes to Life (Mindset & Leadership)
- Just Because (Life and Leadership)
Being a fan of those around you is a leadership quality. Join us for a reflection of the key characteristics of great fans. Great fans are constantly cheering for you, promoting you and guiding you.
- List the people you’re a fan of.
- Describe how you are as a fan for others.
- List who’s in your fan club.
Parenting can be so difficult and rewarding all at once. Take a listen as we reflect on how to support your children with great parenting skills.
Driving change and being thoughtful are critical in change management. Change often fails because we are not intentional in investigating why things exist before we change them.
Take a listen and learn away to avoid this mistake.
- Describe where you can institute the Chesterton principle
- List decisions you’re facing that could apply the principle.
- Identify a lesson you’ve learned from breaking the principle.
Being yourself is difficult. Listen as we share a process to speed transitions and support authenticity so that more people are successful. This is a simple process that will accelerate relationships, trust, and collaboration.
Leadership lessons are everywhere - -well that is of course if you're looking. This week join us for a discussion on the power of empathy and the lessons learned from a young adult fiction novel. Empathy is a key driver in supporting the success of others.
- Describe how you practice empathy
- List your empathy reflective questions
- Describe to yourself what it would be like to be YOU today in the eyes of others.
Book: Untouchables by Gordon Korman
Need a framework for focusing on the positives? Take a listen as we explore asset v. deficit thinking and the impact it has on the world around you! Smart Thinkers - -they bet on the strengths of others!
- Describe your habit. Do you lean asset based or deficit based?
- List those in your life that would benefit from hearing more about their assets.
- Describe how you can be a better leader by focusing on your own assets.
It is time for us to create the conditions for success in communications in schools. Flexibility/freedom & protections/permissions.
Listen as we explore two f's and two p's and how to use a tool to set expectations and create empowered and engaged staff!
- List the boundaries you can establish for yourself and others
- Describe a process you can use to collect your cultures communication needs and expectations
- List one communication habit you need to address in yourself…. Like emailing people at 1:00am
What is your process to monitor your life? How are you proactively stopping yourself from burning out?
Take a listen as we discuss the symptoms, signs and solutions for burnout and share a process for you to check yourself!
- Describe the behaviors you have when you know you need a reboot
- List your processes for reducing stress and being present
- Describe a time when you needed a reboot
Here are four books to read and two artists to listen to this summer.
Books:
- The School of Life: Confidence
- Smart Brevity: The Power of Saying More With Less
- The Wisdom of the Bullfrog: Leadership Made Simple (But Not Easy)
- Be Your Future Self Now
Listen:
- Ben Folds: What Matters Most
- Inhaler: Cuts and Bruises
What is your message to those in transition and graduating? Take a listen as we break down the four areas to focus on to support others to be the best version of themselves and help you.
These are the prompts to add into your graduation cards or notes to those you serve:
- Describe what frustrated you this year and how you will avoid that in the future. (Frustrations)
- Analyze the opportunities you have this coming year and describe how you will take advantage of them. (Risks)
- Identify a regret and explain how you will work to overcome that in the future. (Attack Regrets)
- List the people who have gotten you to this point. (Gratitude)
What are the keys to a great relationship?
Simple- give and take as needed, don't keep a scorecard, the playground rule of "do over's" and traditions. Take a listen as we explore those tenants and learn a bit about how to improve your relationships with those you serve and love.
- Describe relationships that help you
- List the people you can serve better with the 70/30 principle
- Develop a code to support others – like “do over”
The history of others can help you lead people in new ways. Take a listen as we explore Ted's great-grandfathers history and how a little curiosity goes a long way to remember the leadership, service and impact of others.
- List those in your world you need to learn more about.
- Describe a story within your DNA that explains more about you and your family.
- List people you need to share your story with.
We owe it to those we serve to create practices that increase predictability and reduce anxiety. Take a listen as we explore a strategy to end the year with a preview and reduce worries over the summer.
- Describe your opportunities to create predictability in your world.
- List where you would like more predictability
- Describe a time when you became anxious as a result of a sudden shift - -what did you learn?
Listen to a process so that you can take advantage of the end of the season (school year) and create the conditions so that staff and students can come back next year stronger!
Check Out Prompts:
What matters to me most here is…
This worked really -- really well…
I’m grateful that we…
I’m grateful for…
This person deserves to be recognized…
I’m happy that we…
What I need to be successful…
Next year we need to avoid…
Next year we need to continue…
I wish that (big idea or innovation)…
Take a listen as we explore the perseverant life of Susan Rogers. Imagine if your teacher could say "I am a neuroscientist who has also worked with Prince, Van Morrison, T-Bone Burnett, The Violent Femmes, The Bare Naked Ladies, David Byrne and many others."
This was an incredibly enlightening discussion!
We'll explore how positivity is learned and takes discipline to master. We also learn about a tough little one that can give us the courage to take on any size storm.
PLUS - Two great processes to support your culture, family and life as well as a new mindset: 70/30!
- Describe the typhoons you are facing that will challenge your positivity.
- List which processes you will employ to support the discipline of others
- Describe what you can do different to increase your positive discipline.
Negative contractions need to be eliminated from your culture and the focus needs to be on the positive ways in which we've worked. As we finish the year - finish strong focusing on how little time we have left to make a difference!
- Describe where you can drop the use of negative contractions.
- List the people who need to reflect and review the joy.
- Describe where you can apply a review process to provide the fuel needed to end the journey optimistically.
It is critical to regularly check up on those you care about. Listen as we discuss a quick process to use to ensure you avoid the "weirdness" too often associated with demonstrating care for others.
- Describe your approach to checking in.
- List people who you need to purposefully check in with.
- Describe your approach for building confidence in your conversations with others.
Take a listen as Ted rapidly reviews and suggests a few books to support your growth and leadership.
This is What It Sounds Like- Susan Rogers and Ogi Ogas
The Creative Act: A Way Of Being – Rick Rubin
Unreasonable Hospitality – Will Guidara
The Anxiety Toolkit – Alice Boyes
Wake Up With Purpose – Sister Jean
Take a listen as Ted rapidly reviews and suggests a few books to grow your leadership! Make time to grow your knowledge and increase your wisdom for others.
This is What It Sounds Like- Susan Rogers and Ogi Ogas
The Creative Act: A Way Of Being – Rick Rubin
Unreasonable Hospitality – Will Guidara
The Anxiety Toolkit – Alice Boyes
Wake Up With Purpose – Sister Jean
We discuss the leadership lessons from Ted Lasso. Our Ted, breaks down quotes he captured while watching the show and discusses the practical applications of the "other" Ted's ideas.
Too often we sit around and blame the younger generations for everything and we fail to recognize that we created that generation. We modeled for them, we supported them, and we created the way they are. Take a listen as we discuss how to increase your skills and stop blaming systems while owning the success of the next generation.
Take a listen to this interview that is filled with amazing ideas and strategies to create optimism around students and even each other. Kelsie and Byron bring the energy and enthusiasm that we all need all the time in the service of children and each other!
- List what’s strong with you.
- Describe the assets of the people you serve.
- Review what you heard and how you will apply it.
Book: Hacking Deficit Thinking: 8 Reframes That Will Change The Way You Think About Strength-Based Practices and Equity In Schools (Hack Learning Series)
You are a one person organization and you need a Board of Directors. Listen as we discuss a process that allows you to identify, collaborate with, and use a Board to support you, your leadership and those you serve.
- List your BOD
- Describe the gaps on your board of directors.
- Describe how you could use this tool to support others?
Take a listen to this great discussion between two ADHG (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Gifts) leaders and learners. We promise you'll walk away thinking a lot about our impact as leaders as well as ways in which you can be better for those around you.
"We teach what we most need to learn" Tim quoting someone---- "We teach kids so that we can learn life." Ted being philosophical.
How do we break age old cycles? Study the lessons of the past and learn how others found success. Dr King: learn, inquire, inspire, and move.
Not everyone is good at receiving the gifts that come from coaching, feedback, or failure -- some are not even good at receiving positive feedback. Take a listen as we explore the behaviors and tools needed to support your own leadership when receiving the gifts from people all around us.
- Identify which receiver you are
- Describe how you can apply this mindset and language to support others
- List where you can apply this for others
This year for your New Year resolution - we want you to be BRAVE:
Buffalo
Resiliently
Always with
Vigor and
Everywhere!
Listen as we explain how to confront the people with great negativity and grow your own engagement and happiness! 2023!!!
- Describe where you need to be brave
- List the opportunities to declare your intent to be brave this year
- List others who need to be brave.
In this episode Ted shares five books to give to others and/or read yourself over the upcoming winter break or summer break if you're in the southern hemisphere.
Influence in Action, Craig Weber
Blind Spot, Jon Clifton
The Courage to be disliked, Kishimi & Koga
Soundtracks, Jon Acuff
Your New Playlist, Jon, L.E, McRae Acuff
The power of recognition is incredible. Take a listen as we explore how to support others with a simple strategy. Also, Ted celebrates the 250th episode!
- List people you know who could get a boost from recognition
- Describe how you feel when you’re recognized.
- List what you’ll do today to be more of a camper.
Dr. Tim Hodges is the Executive Director of the Clifton Strengths Institute and Assistant Professor of Practice in Management at the University of Nebraska. Tim is someone who has a wealth of ideas and is practical in his approach to supporting and leading others. Take a listen to this great conversation and learn a little, laugh a bit, and lead better! Bio and Contact: Tim Hodges, PhD is the executive director of the Clifton Strengths Institute, professor in the UNL College of Business, and a Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach. He works with individuals and teams to maximize their strengths and increase performance, engagement, and well-being in their education, career, and throughout their lives. Dr. Hodges has enjoyed a 20-year career as a research consultant at Gallup, Inc. His work at Gallup has included leading research projects in strengths development, employee selection and employee engagement with a variety of clients in education and business. Dr. Hodges has delivered hundreds of presentations and written dozens of journal articles, research reports, and academic book chapters. HLH 115 730 N 14th Street Lincoln, NE 68588-0405 (402) 472-2035 hodges@unl.edu
Be grateful with intention this Thanksgiving. This episode rapidly describes a process tool for your Thanksgiving table. You can also apply the process at work, in the classroom, or at the office.
Find the Gratitude placemat here with all the Ted Tools: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1f_Dthgs8jVt_kkPIe0kUc1TIdkqjQF81
Too often we do not understand the world in which we lead and work. Take a listen as we look at how to increase our own understanding of our own world by touring it.
- Describe what systems you could tour
- List the people that would benefit from seeing the entire system.
- Describe where you’ve grown your perception.
This is a great discussion on the skills and tools to use to increase your ability to collaborate with others as well as to grow in your willingness to be candid and curious. Listen as we break down all the ways to increase your leadership for yourself and others.
Find info here: https://weberconsultinggroup.net/
Song: Michael Kameron- Tell me what that says about you
How do we break cycles of arguments or criticism? Get curious. Listen as we explore a strategy to end insane arguments and grow in empathy instead of frustration.
- Describe how you can break cycles of insanity through curiosity.
- List people you need to apply this process with.
- Describe past instances where you would have been successful engaging in curiosity verses simply engaging.
Failure is a scary word and a natural occurrence. How can we frame it in a playful and reflective way? Well, we quote Bob Ross in an effort to fuel the buffaloes around us! Listen as we explore the best ways to motivate others to find the Opportunities for Improvement (OFI's) all around them!
- Describe how you could employ Bob Ross quotes to support others.
- List opportunities for improvement, innovation or iteration that Bob could help you tackle.
- Describe the people within your life that could use a little boost.
Tired of never knowing what the moods or behaviors of your students will be? Let's do something about it and get proactive. Take a listen to this strategy to support building a predictable culture for student behaviors and learning.
- List who you need to get together in order to get this done.
- Describe the processes that need to be created
- List the data sets you’d want in order to have leading indicators on the students
Listen as we discuss the healthy habit of venting verses the unhealthy behavior of emotionally dumping. We'll explore the ways people act and behave when they need support and how to deal with it.
- Describe the difference between venting and dumping
- List people you serve that would benefit from learning the difference.
- Describe how you can support yourself by applying the process discussed.
Too often negative cultures swallow up good people who've been brought in to be agents of optimism. Take a listen to this process to hear how to approach your new staff or students in an effort to support their success and fuel an engaged culture.
- Describe your approach for measuring the pulse of the new to culture staff or students.
- List the people you need to interview
- Analyze your own answers to these questions.
Song: Tennessee by Trent Gaddie
How do you intentionally bring people together to share ideas and perspectives? Find out our approach on this episode about intentional connectedness.
- Describe how you can bring together others in an effort to grow leaders.
- List people that would benefit from coming together to learn and grow.
- Describe processes you could employ to challenge your perspectives.
Song: Andrew Hoyt- Can or Can't
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJ9EWH0bzfg
Using curiosity and inquiry daily can support expectations. Listen as we discuss how to use questions to create a culture with clear expectations.
- Describe your process to support regular reflection.
- List the people in your circles that would benefit from your consistent inquiry.
- Describe how you can apply this in your world.
Song: Louise, Lately: Drive
Empathy Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SE9NkJURKQE
How do we ensure that all kids are noticed and supported? Be intentional about empowering everyone!
- Describe the leaders within your school that would benefit from being empowered.
- List the stakeholders in your community that would benefit from a truly holistic approach.
- Identify the kids in yours school that would benefit from having a guardian angel like Mr. Taylor.
Does everyone know what they're supposed to be doing? The answer is -- no. This episode we explore how to increase success by ensuring people have clear descriptions of expectations, skills, and behaviors.
- Describe where in your life others would benefit from a clear line of site for their “job.”
- List those who would immediately benefit from a job description.
- Develop your own job description and get it validated by your colleagues and leaders.
44% of K-12 staff in the United States indicated they were always or very often burned out. Listen as we discuss a proactive process to support our educators and everyone else!
- Describe when you know you are burning too hot.
- List the processes you can employ to support your colleagues to proactively avoid burnout
- Identify the date you’re going to implement the process discussed.
Change is difficult. What if you could support change by thinking about and planning for everything that could go wrong? Now you can by -- what if'ing!
- Describe how you pack as a leader?
- List ways you could apply this process to grow ownership on your team or in your house.
- Describe how you plan for failure in the change process.
Looking to grow you inner leader? Take a listen and get to it!
Books:
Premonition - Lewis
Making Numbers Count - Heath
25 Attributes - Diviney
Aligned – Gentil
Strength to Strength – Brooks
Music:
Blossom Drearie
Jensen McRae
Paul McCartney
Andrew Hoyt
LeNesha and I have a great conversation about the importance of noticing everyone around you, bringing forward perspectives in teaching and making sure that at the end of the day we value, care for and see everyone around us.
LeNesha is a Teacher and an Author and a Speaker and a Mother and is Awesome!
See: https://laneshatabb.com
Listen as we discuss a process to help you frame the challenges you may be facing. Is the work ahead of you this week -- high life mission and high motivation towards the opportunity? If yes - -awesome - -if no -- listen as we explore how to take on that challenge.
This conversation will change the direction of your day. It'll impact how you think. It will prove that you can charge through anything!
Sometimes there is just a weird way that worlds collide. I met Marcus Allen at a conference in Florida and he is a genuine buffalo leader - -take a listen and learn a lot of new ways to frame leadership and life.
- Describe how you can advocate for the underdog.
- List ways in which our influence shapes those around us.
- Describe your blessings.
This is a must listen to help you reignite your love of leading and serving! Amber Harper and I had a ton of fun discussing how to create the conditions to have a Burned In v. Burned Out Mindset!
Amber: https://www.burnedinteacher.com/
How often do you look backwards on your calendar? Not enough. Take a listen to this great refection and process to help you help all you serve and yourself.
- List the teams, classes, groups that you could support with the think back process.
- Describe your moments over the course of the last year.
- List the hurdles you faced and how you overcame them.
How do we increase our value and feel appreciated? Take a listen as we discuss ways to demonstrate appreciation and be more impactful. Stop waiting to be appreciated and start appreciating your world.
- List people in your life that would benefit from appreciative strategies
- Describe how you can appreciate in value-- by appreciating others.
- List which of the 16 appreciation tactics you’ll apply.
Listen as we discuss how to increase your ability to be your authentic self. This episode offers a tool to increase your ability to avoid working in frustration and support others to do be the best version of themselves - -authentically buffalo!
- List the groups/teams/classes that would benefit from the Authentic Buffalo process.
- Describe the benefits of advocating for yourself.
- List others that would benefit from the opportunity to engage in the Authentic Buffalo process.
We need to seize the opportunities that present themselves when we fail. We need to grow from failure, celebrate failure and support those as they move forward and onward!
- Describe how you currently treat failure in your world
- List ways you can change your behavior to ensure risk
- Describe ways you can celebrate failure
How do we confront the negativity around us? We change our behaviors and we actually do it - -we take it on! Take a listen to the five step process to help others get over their addiction to negativity.
- Change your behaviors
- Stop accepting negativity
- Call it out
- Choose positivity
- Reinforce positivity & be an elevator!
The road to empathy is paved with reflective questions! Questions we need to ask ourselves and then those we are serving. Take a listen to this process which will allow you to grow for others -- especially at this time of the year.
- List those that would benefit from your empathy.
- Describe how you can apply this process for others.
- List a behavior you need to change in order to become more empathetic.
How can we reduce anxiety, build trust and increase our own leadership and the leadership of others? By telling stories!
- List the best storyteller in your life and reflect on what makes them so good.
- Describe a strategy you can employee to grow connectedness through stories
- List how you can support others sharing their stories
We only have a set amount of time in every school year. This school year so far has been tough and many days we feel like we're losing. So -- let's make a comeback!
Take a listen to how we can end the year with a win!
- List strategies you can employ to launch into the 4th quarter.
- Describe how you can celebrate the ordinary.
- List people you can team with to get this done!
The SaLT principle is a simple way to increase the capacity of everyone around you. Be Situationally aware, look for opportunities to Lift others and Teach new ways.
- Describe how you can practice the SaLT principle
- List those who would benefit from you applying the SaLT principle with them.
- Describe how you could benefit from a little lift.
Learn the phenomenal qualities of Generation Z and find out a strong approach to help with their greatest deficit -- their mental health.
- Describe how you will apply your knowledge of GEN Z.
- List a process you can employ to increase predictability.
- Describe one change you can make today to support the mental health of all those you serve.
Looking for some good books and new music? Here you go!
Books:
- Uncommon Leadership: Ben Newman
- Success Through Your Eyes: Christina Wenman
- No Rules Rules: Reed Hastings & Erin Meyer
- Invisible Child: Andrea Elliot
- The Second Mountain: David Brooks
- The Lyrics: Paul McCartney
Songs:
- You Right Next To Me: Brad & Kate
- Nashville Girl: Andrew Hoyt
Help engage those around you by showing them how often they receive recognition and praise. Too often, people become disengaged because they do not recognize how they are truly seen by others.
- Describe ways you can increase recognition amongst those you serve
- List your strategy to help others see how they are recognized
- Reflect on how often you are seen by others
Dr. King gave two speeches that are important to understand in modern times and we need to answer his call! First, be the best you can be and second, be in your moment and appreciate the darkness - -because that is when the stars shine brightest.
- List ways in which you can heed the call and be the best version of yourself.
- Describe how you can increase your mindset and be in the moment for others
- Reflect upon the idea of being the best in the moment and what you’ll need to do today in order to do that.
Why do we all feel that we have no time, we need more time, and that others take our time? Employ a process to learn how you use time, how to get more back, and how to support others who having their time taken or wasted.
- Describe where you believe you have lost time
- Reflect upon your daily use of time
- List a process you can employee to review your time.
Problems are everywhere and many of us think that we have to address all of them. Nope -- we need to learn how to support others by having the courage to empower people to address their own issues and bring problems back to the source and utilize a lot of people in the resolutions.
- Describe problems you are currently facing that you can bring to the problem.
- List ways you can bring the problem to the wisdom of the crowd.
- Reflect upon what you need to do different to allow this process to work for you.
What is stopping you from improvement? Usually - -you are. Take a listen as we explore the science and the strategies needed in order to actually make the improvements we all HOPE for in 2022!
- List who you will ask to hold you accountable.
- Describe what it is you want to improve this year.
- Describe who you could support as a accountability coach
What do young adults and kids identify as qualities in those they admire? Take a listen to this great reflection and learning to remind yourself why we matter in the lives of others and how everyone is always watching!
- Describe how you can model leadership qualities.
- List ways in which you can increase your understanding of young buffaloes.
- Describe how you can increase your empathy for the young.
Flip the script to a positive narrative. Rake a listen as we explore how to collect all the good things going on in an effort to create a positive climate all around you. This is a goo New Year habit opportunity to fuel optimism.
- Describe how you can “count up” the good things?
- List ways you can capture the positives, the endearing’s, and the enlightening moments around you.
- Develop a process for finding the good in each day.
Not certain how you're going to get through it all? Take a listen to this technique to help you negotiate your obligations and frame each day so that you can be "present."
- List your process for reflecting on what you need in the moments of your day.
- Describe how you can proactively negotiate your obligations and objectives.
- List the mindsets you need for today.
As we head into Thanksgiving - -take a moment to reflect with me on the power of all that has happened FOR us this past year and how the scars of the challenges make us stronger.
- List the life moments that you will grow upward from.
- Describe which scars you are grateful for.
- List ways you can help others see that these crazy days are actually an opportunity for growth and gratitude.
What is my purpose for others during these trying times? Simple - -reflective and thought provoking episode to get you to reframe what you get to face.
- Describe how you can shift from why to what.
- List your purposes.
- Reflect on how you can support others identifying their purpose.
Did we make a strategic mistake this year when we brought everyone back together and assumed everyone would transition well? I think we may have -- which is why this episode explores a tactic to reset the year and rewind with kindness.
- List the random acts of kindness you will do today.
- Identify two other people you can create kindness tactics with
- List the people in your world who need to do this the most.
Life is currently filled with "what if's." How about we begin to address them and support normalcy in the process? Take a listen to a tactic to help address the anxious chatter in the minds of those you serve.
- Describe how you address the what ifs in your head.
- List the strategies you could employee for others to increase normalcy and high expectations.
- Describe one way you’ve addressed your what ifs.
How do you help people who get stuck and drop their head when they get frustrated. What is your process to support failure in your organization. Join us for a reflection and tool to help you develop a "fix it" way of life.
- Describe your process for creating a culture that works towards failure as an option.
- List the people in your classroom/organization that could benefit from a "fix it" metaphor.
- Describe your approach to supporting those who have their head dropped.
The most empowering term in the world: yes. Too often we fail to allow others to take the risks they need to take in order to find success. Take a listen as we break down the real difference in life between yes & no.
- List one thing you need to say yes to.
- Describe a yes with conditions opportunity you are facing.
- Reflect on the times you’ve said yes and it’s worked.
We are living in a period of prolonged intensity and people are getting frustrated with positive people. Take a listen as I break down what to do to support yourself through this period and more importantly how to support others.
- List ways you can navigate intensity.
- Describe one way you can cope with the intensity.
- Identify people you can create relief with and have some fun.
How do you create intentional processes to support cascading engagement in your world and allow for people to collaborate, calibrate and validate their leadership? Want a process? Here you go!
- Describe your current process for cascading problem solving in your world.
- List the members of your crew.
- Identify your captain.
We need to get better at understanding the needs of those around us. Take a listen as we review Maslow's Hierarchy of needs and how to apply it in the realm of engagement in the classroom and the workplace.
- List the ways in which you can support others on the hierarchy.
- Describe where you think you operate most days on the hierarchy.
- Frame for yourself a process so that you can engage those you serve so they can reach the summit.
Join us for a discussion on how we can better support the weird world we are living in by focusing on both sides of the coin. This episode focuses on the idea that we are in an "AND" world right now that is fueling debate and conflict. However, we focus on how to charge into this storm optimistically!!!!
- Describe your strategy to support others in an AND world.
- List people you need to go and support
- Reflect upon your AND’s and seek out others who can create lift for you.
If you focus on looking for leadership, you will see that it is all around you! Join us for the 200th episode and a strategy to grow leadership in every environment!
- List leadership that has already occurred around you today
- Describe your worldview and how you see leadership
- Describe how you will reinforce the leadership that is all around you.
How do you show up in any given situation? Join us for a discussion and assessment tool to help you frame every day and interaction so that you are: optimistic, energetic, and motivated!
- Describe how you show up?
- Describe your process for assessing how others show up.
- Reflect on what you need to do if you are not prepared to show up.
Spotify: Ted Neitzke IV
What is your complement to criticism ratio? Take a listen as we reflect upon how we've forgotten the art of reinforcement in our leadership.
- List behaviors you need to change within yourself to get the most of those around you
- Describe a way that you can complement others
- Track your compliment v. criticism ration this week.
Join me for a conversation with David C Brousseau, MD - professor and chief of emergency medicine, at the Medical College of Wisconsin as we discuss how to approach this school year. Hear his advice around protecting ourselves, what he is seeing and what he believes will happen as we move into the fall and winter.
The start of Season 4
Take a listen as we discuss a great way to start the school year. Disrupt the traditions of compliance and start the year in Olympic style!
Join me for a wonderful conversation with Eva who was born in 1936 and experienced WWII as a child. Her life and her story will move you, deepen your understanding of the experiences of Jew’s and Jewish children during the holocaust and motivate you to be an advocate for tolerance. Eva is an inspiration for her perseverance and mindset. She lived through WWII, a revolution and came to the United States as a refugee.
- Listen as she describes her hope filled journey.
- Describe how you fuel your life with hope.
- List your reflections about perseverance and humanity.
The first day of a new job or on a new team is never easy. However, on this episode we offer a strategy to turn the first day into a first date. It's all about giving the new person choice and voice and eliminating as much compliance as possible. Engage early and retain great people!
Take a listen as Dr. Jared Horvath – author and friend of the podcast -- have a discussion about his thought provoking new book: Ten Things Schools Get Wrong And How We Can Get Them Right. Authored by David Bott
Book: https://www.10thingsbook.com/
Books:
Positive Intelligence- Shirzad Chamine
How to Change- Katy Milkman
10 Things Schools Get Wrong- Horvath and Bott
Love Your Enemies- Arthur Brooks
How is our instinctive need to make judgements hurting our ability to move forward with others? Listen as we answer this question and address micro judgments and how they fail us in the long-run with others.
- List ways in which your micro judgements have been proven wrong over time.
- Describe a process to increase your curiosity about others.
- List your deep three.
If you could tell the 8th grade you - -what the future has in store - what would you share? Join us for a reflection and process to help those you serve use all the wisdom around them to be successful in the future.
- List would you tell the younger version of yourself at the different intersections of life
- Describe how you can fuel the next generation with your knowledge.
- Explain one thing you can do different upon reflection.
Listen as we explore a process that allows you to engage others in your own success. The Overview Effect Process will help you and help you -- help others.
- List the three people you would take with you anywhere.
- Describe what you all value.
- List your opportunities for improvement.
It is teacher appreciation week and we have a lot to appreciate! Take a listen as we discuss the impact teachers have had this past year - -the most extraordinary year in modern times. Please share this with parents and teachers!
- Describe how you can reinforce to educators their contributions and values.
- List teachers who made a difference in your life
- Develop a process to routinely recognize the impact that others have on you and those you love and serve.
Right now there are too many people who do not know if they're making a difference. After a full year of not doing anything like we used to - -it is critical for you to find a way to collectively recognize the extraordinary efforts of those you serve.
- List the strategy you will employ to support your buffaloes and allow them to recognize their contributions.
- Foreshadow what you think others will write on their prompts.
- Describe how you can grow others by helping them recognize their ability to make a difference.
Do not celebrate with a countdown. Instead, take a listen to these suggestions to ensure you end the school year at a peak and you capture all the lessons learned from the weirdest year ever!
An AAR is centered on four questions:
- What was expected to happen?
- What actually occurred?
- What went well and why?
-
What can be improved and how?
-
List how you will create a peak moment to end the year.
- Describe what you can do in an effort to capture all system experiences
- List the strategy you will employ in order to empower those you serve at the end of the journey.
What is the strategy to get those around you to be their best? A nudge. Take a listen as we explore the power and influence you have when you make suggestions, are intentional about succession, and you support someone with reinforcement.
- List people in your life that have nudged you.
- Describe how it feels when you realize success as a result of the encouragement of others.
- List ways you can be intentional in nudging.
Four books to read over break or in the coming weeks. All four will grow your inner buffalo, fuel your wisdom and energize your leadership. Must reads for Spring Break!
Positive Intelligence: Shirzad Chamine
Chatter: Ethan Kross
Think Again: Adam Grant
Lincoln’s Mentors: Michael Gerhardt
Who are these mysterious people that everyone calls "they?" Take a listen this week as we explore how language can change culture and mindset by eliminating the words "THEY & BUT" and including the words "WE & AND."
- Describe how you will shift the culture from “they” to “we.”
- List ways you can support an AND culture.
- Describe how you can support those you serve by employing a rapid contract when you have interactions with others.
As we near the potential end of the pandemic - are you increasing your intentionalness in life? Are you leading with hope and optimism. Take a listen as we review four ways to be better when this is all over.
- List ways you can renew your impact though your own humanity.
- Describe how you can optimize every situation.
- List how you will be purposeful and enrich your world.
Life is filled with opportunities to get to work with others. However, many times there is an underlying conflict that exists. Don't avoid it - -learn about it and engage people who are your opposite!
- Describe your current cultures ability to confront each other in order to be excellent.
- List your strengths or colors.
- Describe one way you can support greater empathy
Charlie Berens is a hilarious and fun person. He is famous for his genuine nature and the ways in which he presents the midwest. I got to sit down with him and have a discussion about his life and career as well as a few laughs. Was it fun? You betcha!
- Describe how you maintain optimism while chasing your vision and dreams.
- Describe how you maintain your humility.
- List your favorite refections from Charlie.
When you view others for their assets - they rise to new levels. Especially, when they've grown to believe that what you see as an asset - is what they see within themselves - as a deficit.
Take a listen as I discuss the lessons learned from a legendary choral director.
- List strategies you employ to move forward when you error.
- Describe how you can employ Bill Ross’s leadership lessons.
- List people in your life that supported your leadership coaching.
This episode focuses on the science and behaviors of getting and giving support. In these stressful times we need to be willing to help and receive help. Take a listen and grow your own empathy on why it is so hard to ask for help.
- List what stops you from asking for help
- Describe what you can do to support a culture of seeking and supporting help.
- List times you’ve helped others without an expectation of reward
Within each of us is a leader with influence. Imagine if your influence caused a kid -- to change the world. Take a listen to one of my favorite stories from the civil rights movement of the 1950's.
- List people who have influenced you in your life and leadership.
- Describe ways that influencing others can change the world.
- Describe how Claudette changed the world.
We all have room to improve when we communicate. Take a listen to why we should assume when communicating with others.
Two why's and a couple of what's!
- Why is this important?
- Why are we doing this?
- What does this mean for me?
- What are the consequences of inaction?
Reflections:
- Describe how you can avoid communicating with assumptions.
- List how you can apply two whys and a couple of what’s.
- Describe your process for avoiding the frustration of assumptions.
Many of us are in organizations with lots of people and that means lots of personalities. Take a listen as we explore a way to view your world with more empathy. Which role do you play: fan, referee, coach or player?
- Describe which roles are prevalent in your organization.
- List which roles you play most often in your organization.
- Describe which of the stakeholders you have the least empathy for and analyze what you’ll do different.
This week, learn about a process to help you reflect and gain perspective on your life. Grade yourself on the 11 categories that actually determine your overall life GPA. A great process for you to use with those you love and serve.
Category 1: Self. Your own personal health and safety.
Category 2: Immediate Family. The proverbial spouse/partner and your children and loved ones.
Category 3: Original Family. The people you grew up with.
Category 4: Friends. The health of your friendships.
Category 5: Money. Right or wrong, the scorecard most people pay attention to.
Category 6: Career. How fulfilling your work is.
Category 7: Creativity. Your innate creativity outside of work.
Category 8: Discipline. Having the self-control to implement your goals.
Category 9: Lifestyle. Are you actually having any fun?
Category 10: Leadership – Are you influencing and serving?
Category 11: Buffalo – How is your optimism and attitude?
Episode of Smartless: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OtqR89AG0w
We have created a lot of innovations in 2020. Take a listen as we explore a process to ensure we don't forget or lose all of them.
- List what you’ve become proficient in that you were not a year ago.
- Describe a process that you can employ to collect new wisdom.
- List the matrixes that you need to create.
Join us for a discussion about giving the greatest gift to others. How you and your daily interactions make a difference and hear about the four conditions needed to make it all stick.
- Describe how you have had your life changed by someone else’s wisdom.
- List opportunities you have to support the learning of others.
- Describe the ways in which you can increase opportunities for those you serve.
Ted Lasso: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8U_Nt0QNNo
Oh how quickly we forget. Take a listen as we explore how to support your reflection and gratitude with a buffalo style process that'll get you thinking of how amazing 2020 has actually been.
- What is the most important lesson you’ve learned this year?
- What is the best thing that has happened?
- What is a skill you learned?
- What did you enjoy the most?
- What advice would you give your "last-year self?"
Each day there is someone or some group needing an advocate. Will it be you? Take to hear the story of an advocate and find inspiration in her actions.
- List ways in which you can advocate for the underdog.
- Describe a process you can employ when people are working against someone or a group.
- List ways in which you will change your behaviors in order to
In order to be a selfless leader you need to be selfish -- on occasion. Listen as we explore the need to put yourself first once in a while -- by treating yourself!
- Identify the last full day you had filled with your passions.
- List the people who fuel you and the last time you had hours of uninterrupted time with them.
- Describe the last day – full day -- you were disconnected from a device.
- List the days you’ll take micro “treat yourself” breaks.
- Describe yourself when you’re frayed.
- List the people in your life that you can depend upon to make you realize that you’re in need of a little selfishness.
Take a listen as we discuss what fuels optimism and how to make the most out of this years Thanksgiving season! It's not about what we don't get to do this year. It is about -- what we got to do!
Hope
Drive
Love
Each other!
Take a listen this week as we look at how incredibly influential you are in an online world.
- Describe how you provide memorable moments when you are on the TV - -I mean online.
- List ways you can increase engagement in a blended world.
- Define for yourself – how you want to influence others.
The last few weeks I have been able to present to students in different classrooms about leadership, life, and happiness. Take a listen as I explain the lessons I shared with the students. Buffalo+UBU+YOLO+Content+Confident=Happy.
It is so easy to find a person or persons to blame when things go wrong. But that is not leadership. Leadership is about moving forward and chasing the problem. Take a listen to learn about the two types of blame and how we need to stop fixing blame on others and focus instead on fixing IT!
- Describe the two types of blame.
- List ways you can increase accountability in order to avoid blame.
- Describe how you can use the “fail fast stop lights” to facilitate a blame free conversation.
In every organization there are personalities. However, there is always one group of people that work constantly and without seeking "credit." Take a listen as we explore the importance of taking care of the ducks in your organization.
- Describe what you will do to switch your energy to the ducks.
- List strategies you can use to reinforce and support the ducks in your classroom, school or organization.
- Describe how you can elevate the ducks within your organization.
Get a piece of paper, a pen and stretch out your wrists. Why? Because you’re about to get hit with a gazillion tips and tricks to support online instruction. Take a listen as Catlin energetically goes through her strategies to support online instructional engagement and design! Go to her website for immediate ideas an d applicable tactics for learning.
Dr. Catlin Tucker is a bestselling author, international trainer, and keynote speaker. She was named Teacher of the Year in 2010 in Sonoma County, where she taught for 16 years. Catlin earned her doctorate in learning technologies at Pepperdine University. Currently, Catlin is working as a blended learning coach and education consultant. Catlin has written a series of bestselling books on blended learning, which include Balance With Blended Learning, Blended Learning In Action, Power Up Blended Learning, and Blended Learning In Grades 4-12. She is active on Twitter @Catlin_Tucker
This conversation gets us talking about how to create a blended environments, the conditions needed to be successful and previews some of Heathers newest innovations and ideas.
Heather Staker is an adjunct researcher for the Christensen Institute and president of Ready to Blend. She is the co-author of Blended: Using Disruptive Innovation to Improve Schools (San Francisco: Wiley, 2015) and co-founder of Brain Chase Productions, which produces online-learning challenges disguised as worldwide treasure hunts for students in grades 1-8.
This is a great listen to help you help children, staff and yourself with organization and the skills needed to learn, work and organize your daily life.
Sarah Ward, M.S., CCC/SLP has over 25 years of experience in diagnostic evaluations, treatment and case management of children, adolescents and adults with a wide range of developmental and acquired brain based learning difficulties and behavioral problems not limited to but including:
Attention Deficit Disorder • Verbal Learning Disabilities • Non-Verbal Learning Disabilities • Asperger Syndrome • Other Social-Cognitive Learning Disabilities • Traumatic Brain Injury • Acquired Brain Injury
Check it out: https://efpractice.com/
When you're stuck and the team is unable to move forward together - -what do you do? Give this episode a listen and hear how to shift your the groups your serve with a simple process.
- List where you could apply this process.
- Describe your SWOT.
- List those you could train to run out this process.
In this episode we will explore the different ways to engage others in addressing the issues you face. We all too often look past the people with the answers and that leads to greater issues.
- List the legacy experts in your life.
- Describe how you can engage them in your improvement processes.
- Develop a process to engage the legends in your world.
When an organization acts under pressure for too long -- it can have significant and unforeseen consequences. Hear a story that could be your "canary in a coal mine" moment.
- Describe how you could bring the problem to the problem.
- List collective commitments you have.
- Analyze those you serve and identify where you need to step in and provide renewed purpose by identifying shared commitments.
New Song: Well Pennies: Everybody Wants To Rule The World
Many of us work with people that are pessimistic or "difficult." Why? Take a listen to this perspective and hear a couple of tools that may be applicable to you in your daily life and leadership.
- List the behaviors about yourself that you don’t care for and compare them to your triggers.
- Read and analyze the book Feeling Great by David Burns.
- Describe how you can support others who may be working through cognitive distortions.
Book: Feeling Great, Dr. David Burns
Everyone experiences a shift in their ability to be confident. When life is constantly unpredictable it is the job of leaders to support others to build and then maintain their confidence. Take a listen from the lessons of a 15-year-old.
- Describe how you can allow others to lead so they gain confidence.
- List how you can reinforce the efforts taking place all around you.
- Describe how you can create the opportunity to review how far you’ve all come together.
Being aware of tone deafness is a critical and important skill for people. Especially when reflecting about your own behavior as well as your ability to coach others who lack awareness of the damage they are doing to others by leading from the wrong perspective - -self importance.
Take a listen as we reflect upon how to best be in the moment for others and not appear to be tone-deaf.
- Am I in the frame of mind to be present for those in front of me?
- Can I be who they need in order for them to succeed?
- If I were them – what would I need from me?
As leaders we need to make certain that those we serve have meaning in their days. Listen as we explore how powerful and easy it is to increase ownership and engagement in the moment.
- List symbols you can provide to support mindfulness.
- Describe permissions you need to give so that people can move forward.
- Describe your process so that you can design time for pause
Song: Andrew Hoyt - I Wanna Dance With Somebody
The only thing that is predictable in life is that it is unpredictable. Take a listen to get a better understanding of how to deal with the weirdest start to school EVER! The key is simple - embrace the moments of normal.
Create the quadrant tool and complete it.
List ways you can support others as they enter a new season daily.
Describe what is within your control and how you can support others as they face storms.
We are facing a situation of temporary insanity -- high anxiety, uncertainty, and unknowns. So what do you do? Be buffalo - -take a listen to these processes and leadership skills to support you in your quest to be a leader.
- Describe how you can help identify lanes.
- List the expectations you have for others.
- Describe a process for checking in on expectations.
What if you could forecast your future? Well, this is as close as it gets. I spoke with two school leaders from Australia who are already in the third quarter of the school year. Take a listen as the share with us how they've dealt with Covid while instructing in person.
Take a listen to a conversation about race between an African-American man (Justin) and a white man (Ted). We cover everything from how we learned about race, our experiences and exposures, how we talk to our kids, how we talk about race with others, what biases exist, how our parents talked about race, why black lives matter and why the future will be better.
Take a listen to this conversation with Dr. Jared Horvath about ways to engage the brain in online and blended learning environments. It is powerful in many ways and he shares a variety of tactics and considerations for educators and leaders as we prepare for uncharted educational and business environments.
Check out his additional offerings here: https://www.lmeglobal.net/
Here are three texts you need to read that will help you advocate for others as well as three songs to fuel your soul for the summer.
List the books you’ll read this summer to fuel yourself.
Describe your process for fueling yourself.
List music that you could share with me to get me dancing on the trails, laughing to myself, or relaxing with a book.
Books:
Stamped From The Beginning
Think Like A Rocket Scientist
We Need to Talk
Artists:
Lennon Stella
Havana Swing
Ben Folds
Simple Minds
When times get tough there is only one thing to do—persist! Take a listen as we explore the behaviors and strategies needed in order to make perseverance a reflex!
- Describe your willingness to follow a process to reflect and build strength.
- List the people in your life that you can draw together to collaborate around you.
- Describe your feedback process.
The world is in chaos and it is all our fault. The problem – no process. Take a listen to the process that could help us all grow. Simply take a walk and change your language!
- Identify the gaps in understanding that you have about other people.
- List where you will go on your walk in order to close those gaps.
- Describe what you will do to stop the argument AND include the perspectives of others in your own mindset.
https://www.audubon.org/news/what-beatles-song-blackbird-was-really-about
We can do better. As our nation faces unparalleled times and challenges it is up to us to make real and micro changes in order to move forward. Join us for a discussion on "what" needs to be done in order for us to be who we need to be for each other.
- Describe what you need to do to demonstrate leadership on a micro level in order to create change.
- List the behaviors within yourself that need to change.
- Describe how you can create the conditions on the smallest level to increase the tolerance of the world in which we live.
There are people in our lives that make a difference for us. We often remember what they've done later on in the journey. Take a listen to this episode and reflect upon how memorable your leadership will be in the lives of others.
- Who got you here?
- Describe how you will instill service and honor in others.
- List the ways that you take interest in those around you?
How are you preparing yourself and others to return to the herd as we are being released from quarantine? Take a listen oas we explore a few mindsets and concepts to support you and others.
- Describe your process for measuring and monitoring the anxiety of those you serve.
- List how you can support choice in the reentry plan
- Describe your approach to monitoring the energy of those around you.
What are the qualities of great families? Take a listen as we share our list of ingredients that make up the recipe for a great family.
- List the ingredients that are a part of your family.
- Describe where you can improve.
- List the qualities of great families that you know.
Take a listen as we look at the different leadership styles within your organization. Proactive (fire inspectors) and reactive (Firefighters) people together is pretty normal – but we need to strike a balance to make the organization successful for the long haul.
From Dan HEath's new book: Upstream -
- How will you unite the right people?
- How will you change the system?
- Where is the point of leverage?
- How do you create early warning systems?
- How do you know you’re succeeding?
- How can you make change and avoid doing harm?
- Who will pay for what doesn’t happen?
What is normal in these weird times? What can we do to support ourselves and others when we are feeling anxious or wondering about so many things we can’t control? Process, process, process! Take a listen as we review how to get wonderings out of the minds of those around us and how to support those you serve and love in these strange times.
- List strategies that are working to help keep you engaged and informed.
- Describe what the organization could do to help you have enough information so that you feel empowered and informed about the future.
- Describe what you are wondering about the organization.
Happiness is ….. a choice. Take a listen as we break down strategies from positive psychology to help you recognize that happiness is always present and available. This episode looks at what real happiness is and explores how to support yourself and others as we move through both good and challenging days.
- Describe how you can grow your happiness by adhering to PERMA.
- List ways you can guide others to happiness using PERMA.
- Describe your strategy for increasing happiness/mindfulness.
In this episode I interview Danielle Peiffer and her son Blake Peiffer. Danielle is a daughter, sister, wife and mother who has competed in triathlons and Ironman competitions in Hawaii and Switzerland as well as all over the United States. I wanted us to get her advice on how to race through COVID. Take a listen to this competitive optimist and her son as she gives us advice for how to win during the long haul.
- Be patient
- Be realistic
- Be willing to slow down to speed up
- Be on the look out for the little motivators
- Be in control
Are we normal? Are you normal? What is normal?
This episode shares the perspectives of our current world situation from the viewpoint of my family. Join us for an interview with Charle, Grace and Megan and hear how they are each dealing with all of the unknowns.
- Describe how you can process with your family what is going on.
- List strategies you can employ to fuel optimism moving forward.
- Describe what it will take for you to support those you love in the upcoming weeks.
Five things to do while quarantined. Five games to play to engage others while working virtually, four books to read to grow your mind, three artists to listen to feed your soul, two exercises for the body and one goal. Take a listen!
Games:
- Over Under- The game of guesstimates
- Word Teasers- American Trivia
- Joe Name It – not your average party game
- Who’s Most Likely To….
- Mixtape- The Songs and Scenario Game.
Books:
- Do Better Work, Max Yoder
- You’re Not Listening, Kate Murphy
- You Are Awesome, Neil Pasricha
- Option B, Sheryl Sandberg
Music:
- Harry Styles: Canyon Moon
- Old Dominion: Said Nobody
- The 1975: You and Me Together
App: Nike Training
Take a listen to this interview with Roger Berg, a school psychologist with over 30 years of experience supporting children, teachers, and families. Roger and I discuss the ways in which parents can support their children as we convert kitchens into classrooms. Roger offers practical parenting advice and shares ways for parents to act in a "teacher mode" as well as how to break some negative behavior cycles. Roger describes the conditions needed for children to change their routines and parents to support this new and hopefully temporary normal. This is a quick and practical conversation that will leave parents the with skills needed in order to help their children through the quarantine.
Leaders are people who have great influence. Take a listen to the way in which one person greatly influenced me and what we can all learn from Jim.
- Describe how you live in amazement.
- Can you adopt a point A mindset?
- Stop today and demonstrate gratitude for those you love.
Ending Song: The Starling by The Well Pennies
Take a listen to this interview with Dr. Dave Brousseau, Professor of Pediatrics and Pediatric Emergency Medicine at Children’s Wisconsin. Dr. Brousseau is on the front lines of this pandemic and has great advice and shares his knowledge of what we should all do to protect ourselves and others. Dr. Dave sheds light on the facts around the disease and why the quarantine is so important. He also explains why going to the emergency room for testing for Corona Virus is a bad idea. “Sometimes when you can’t see things you assume it’s not affecting you.”
Dave’s bio: https://chw.org/physician-directory/b/brousseau-david-c
How do you live with an unknown future and support children and yourself? Take a listen as we share practical steps to support those you love and serve. There are six steps to help you help children who are home for the next few weeks.
- Describe the way you will institute the six steps.
- List routines you will institute to support you and those you love and serve
- Describe your strategy to maintain empathy.
Take a listen as we break down the qualities of Generation Z. They may just be the greatest generation in a while!
- Knowing what you now know - -what will you do different in order to support the Gen Z’rs in your life?
- Describe the differences between you and the Gen Z’rs
- List the qualities of a Gen Z’r
New music at the end: Dear- You Look Happy Now https://music.apple.com/us/album/you-look-happy-now/1500098111?i=1500098117
Do you live with a sense of wonder and appreciation? Do you have a process to capture your learnings from each journey? Take a listen to this week’s episode and hear how to better reflect in order to move forward with success.
Describe what you’d tell you’re fourth grade self to these prompts:
What did you sweat that you shouldn’t have?
What did you wait too long to address?
What sacrifice is worth it?
What should you start earlier?
What life experience should you take more time to absorb the joy of?
One thing that you’re never going to believe that you did!
Each of us impact and influence others. When we do, we need to be thinking about who we are and what we bring to others. Take a listen as we explore the six sides of your influence.
- Describe why cornerstones change the direction of others.
- List your strengths, faults, priorities, loves, values, and motivations.
- Reflect upon how you could guide those you serve to articulate their six sides.
We are needed by others with frequency – kids and adults. But how do you respond? This episode will help you grow as a leader through reflection. The challenge: Be who you would need in the moment someone else needs you. Take a listen.
- Describe what it means to be there for others.
- List supportive and guiding questions that you could employ to support others.
- Describe what you need from others when you need them and then - -be that