Chris was a great 5th-grade teacher. He knew exactly how to handle a classroom.

Then, seven years ago, he got promoted.

He moved from the classroom to the admin office, and he hit a wall that almost every Ruckus Maker hits, but few admit to:

He spent years mastering how to talk to students. Suddenly, he had to relearn how to talk to adults.

As Chris told me recently:

"When you're a teacher... you're on the same level [as colleagues]. But when you're responsible for making things happen... that is not a skill set that anybody taught me."

This is the "messy work."

Chris realized quickly that he could figure out the budget. He could crack the schedule. But there isn’t a script for "Teacher who has been defensive for six months" or "Parent who is about to explode."

So, in the middle of the chaos (and specifically during COVID), Chris wrote three words on his whiteboard to keep himself sane:

Be Present. Be Curious. Be Creative.

It became his operating system. It reminded him to stop problem-solving too fast and start listening.

But here is the truth Chris learned after seven years in the Mastermind: A mantra on a whiteboard isn't enough.

When you are spiraling on a relational challenge, you can't just look at the wall. You need a squad.

Week after week, Chris brings those "adult problems" to the hot seat.

He gets "boots on the ground" feedback from leaders who have actually solved that specific problem—not theory from a textbook.

The result? Seven years later, Chris is the Head of Lower School. He recently got a message from a former student calling him a "legend."

That doesn't happen by accident. It happens because he stopped trying to navigate the "people work" alone.

If you are tired of applying "student strategies" to "adult problems," apply to The Ruckus Maker Mastermind.

The people work is messy. But it doesn't have to be lonely.

Keep Making a Ruckus,

Danny