The Culture Shift That Makes Turnaround Work Possible

I was listening to my favorite podcast, My First Million, and they were talking about a company’s values. Even though the show sits far outside the educational leadership world, it consistently sparks ideas for me. Some of my best thinking comes from studying business leadership.

Every school I led had values like honesty and trust as foundational pillars. But what if we added three more: fun, speed, and pride?

Is it possible to have a high-achieving school and a workplace that’s actually fun? I believe it is. Can a campus move quickly to solve problems and respond to formative data while still maintaining high expectations? Absolutely. And what if we embraced pride in the way we show up every day, from how we dress to how we maintain our building, taking genuine ownership in being part of this school?

It doesn’t have to be either-or. Maybe the list expands. Maybe your top five becomes a top eight.

Looking back, I fed off the energy of building places where people loved to work and students loved to learn. I just never named these three ideas as part of my core values.

What are your values right now? And could these three words help create the culture you’ve been searching for in this demanding world of educational leadership?