Play-It-Safe Principals Hate This Question

OFF CAMPUS

• 🥇Teacher First: Chris “Doc” Jones is able to accomplish remarkable things on campus because he takes care of his teachers first. Listen to this week’s episode here.

• ☠️ FROM Dull to EXCITING: Are you committing one of the 3 deadly meeting sins?

• 😩 Where’s the teachers? An interesting discussion about teacher attendance. We get on our students if they don’t show up at school. What do you do if it’s your teachers?

• 😰 The Biggest Threat: Might be you. If you don’t adapt. Are you pivoting or panicking?

DO SCHOOL DIFFERENT

🪞The Mirror and The Room

The most dangerous room in a school isn’t a classroom.

It’s the one principals step into every morning without realizing it.

A room with no windows. No oxygen.

And, sometimes, no one else.

We call it leadership.

But let’s get honest. Most principals walk into that room alone.

The Mirror Doesn’t Lie

The first thing in the room is the mirror.

Every day, it reflects back what you believe about yourself as a leader.

Play-It-Safe Principals look in the mirror and see a firefighter. A manager. A cog in the system.

Ruckus Makers see something different.

They see a builder. A challenger. A creator of campuses worth showing up for.

The difference isn’t the job.

It’s the identity behind it.

When you look in the mirror, do you see a leader you’re proud of—or one just trying to survive?

Who’s In the Room With You?

Now look around.

Who’s in the room with you?

Is it full of people who challenge you, support you, sharpen you?

Or is it an echo chamber?

“That’s just the way we’ve always done it.”

Here are the three rooms most principals find themselves in:

1. The Empty Room

   • No support. Just grind.

   • Every decision, every fire, every conversation shouldered alone.

2. The Echo Room

   • Everyone agrees. No one pushes back.

   • False harmony at the expense of growth.

3. The Ruckus Room

   • Courageous dialogue. Creative tension. Real progress.

   • The room where uncomfortable truths lead to undeniable breakthroughs.

The question isn’t whether you’re in a room.

It’s whether it’s the right one.

Safe rooms produce safe leaders. Brave rooms produce legendary ones.

The Dangerous Pattern

Here’s what most people miss:

• Mirror without a Room = Self-awareness with no support. That’s burnout.

• Room without a Mirror = Noise without reflection. That’s stagnation.

You need both.

The mirror to tell the truth. And the room to hold you accountable to it.

The Difference Between Play-It-Safe Principals and Ruckus Makers

Play-It-Safe Principals walk into rooms built by the district.

Ruckus Makers design their own rooms, and fill them with the right people.

They know leadership doesn’t have to feel like solitary confinement.

And that the best leaders don’t go it alone. They go together.

That’s exactly why we built The Ruckus Maker Mastermind.

It’s the room where principals stop playing defense and start building legendary schools.

If you’re looking for that kind of room, you can apply here.

Want to See What It Looks Like?

Jordan was one of those leaders.

She looked in the mirror and didn’t like what she saw.

So she stepped into a different room.

She asked harder questions. She made braver moves. And the moment she joined the right room. Everything changed.

If you’re ready to step into the mirror—and into the room—you need to read Jordan’s story.

👉 The first two chapters released for free on our Substack this weekend.

TIP OF THE WEEK

3 Ways to Make Your Leadership Simpler This Week

Simple solutions are elegant.

Schools are great at making things complex.

Here’s 3 ways you can add simplicity into your leadership this week:

#1: The one screen rule

If you are writing something to staff, does it fit on one screen without scrolling?

Draft your message and view it on your phone. Or send a test message to yourself.

No scroll optimizes the chances your message is read.

#2: Improve one process each meeting

Invite your team to tell you what is broken, stagnant, not working, and so on …

Then prepare for a VERY long list. Prioritize the list and work on the most important issue.

Solve an issue each time you meet, and you’ve created the most helpful meeting of the week.

#3: Choose your BIG 3 and let the rest burn.

With a tighter focus you’ll go further.

Most principals try to do too much. Let’s say you have 10 projects to work on.

What’s better? Making little progress on all ten? Or completing three?

Plus, if you attack your BIG 3 in the morning, the rest of the day feels like “bonus time” and you’ve already won the day.

ALBA