The 100 Percent Principal Podcast

If you've ever stood in front of your staff in August full of hope and found yourself rationalizing data in May — this episode is for you. In this episode, I'm breaking down why the leadership playbook is keeping you and your teachers stuck in the same loop every single year — and why the only thing that actually breaks it isn't a new program, a new framework, or a new acronym. It's a 100% Vision. I'll show you exactly what that means, why it changes the math for your entire school, and how principals like Trina, Francina, Kevin, and Ashley used it to get results most people said weren't possible.

You have a School Improvement Plan. You might not have a vision. And that difference explains everything about why your year keeps ending up in the same place. Most principals think the gap between the year they planned and the year they got is a follow-through problem. A staff problem. A prioritization problem. It isn't. It's a clarity gap — and your SIP, no matter how well-written, can't close it. In this episode I walk you through exactly what separates a school improvement plan from a 100% vision, why that distinction matters more than any strategy you'll set this fall, and the three questions that will tell you immediately whether your vision is clear enough to actually run your building. If your staff works hard but the initiatives still stall, if you're the only one who can see what's possible, if October keeps breaking your momentum — this episode is for you. 📩 Get the full newsletter every Friday: 100percentprincipal.com Resources mentioned: Learn more about the upcoming free one-hour session on May 28th at 7pm ET called the 100% Vision Session: https://buildershipuniversity.com/visionlab/ Subscribe to The 100% Principal Newsletter — one thing every Friday you can take straight into Monday: 100percentprincipal.com This episode comes from The 100 Percent Principal Weekly—my newsletter where every Friday I share one thing you can take straight into Monday to move the needle toward 100%. You're listening to The 100 Percent Principal Podcast, where those ideas come to life. Subscribe at https://100percentprincipal.com/

You've given the feedback. Done the modeling. Sent them to PD. And some of your teachers are still making the same mistakes they were making in September. Before you write that final evaluation, I want you to consider something: are you judging their decisions — or are you examining their choices? There's a difference. And it changes everything about how you develop teachers. What you'll learn: In this episode of The 100% Principal, I'm sharing Issue #005 of the newsletter — and it starts with something Michael Beasley said in an interview that made me put down my crochet hook mid-stitch. One sentence that named something I've been trying to articulate for years about the way we treat the people we lead. We'll talk about: Why the reflective questions we were trained to ask in post-observation conferences are failing your teachers The difference between a will problem and a skill problem (and why it still comes down to choices) A simple four-level framework for matching your support to where your teachers actually are What it costs you when you don't make this shift This is one of those episodes that's going to make you rethink something you've been doing all year. Resources mentioned: 📖 Never Underestimate Your Teachers — https://mindsteps-inc.myshopify.com/products/never-underestimate-your-teachers 📬 Subscribe to The 100% Principal Newsletter — https://100percentprincipal.com 🏫 Learn more about Buildership University — https://buildershipuniversity.com Subscribe to The 100% Principal Newsletter — one thing every Friday you can take straight into Monday: 100percentprincipal.com This episode comes from The 100 Percent Principal Weekly—my newsletter where every Friday I share one thing you can take straight into Monday to move the needle toward 100%. You're listening to The 100 Percent Principal Podcast, where those ideas come to life. Subscribe at https://100percentprincipal.com/

You've spent real time on your vision. You can articulate it. Your staff has heard it. You believe it. And your master schedule is quietly working against every word of it. Why? Because nobody taught you to look at the schedule the right way: as a mirror for your vision, not a logistics problem to survive. And once you see it that way, some problems you've been fighting for years turn out to have a twenty-minute solution. In this episode I'm going to show you how to read your master schedule the way I read it, and what to do when what you find doesn't match what you say you believe. In this episode I break down: Why your master schedule is the most honest document in your building The one question that changes everything about how the scheduling process starts The scheduling decision that made teachers start recommending students for honor without anyone asking them to What "change your core values or change your schedule" actually means, and the principal whose teachers changed the schedule themselves once they saw the misalignment The specific 15-minute move you can do this week to find the gap between your vision and your schedule What you'll learn: In this episode I'm going to show you how to read your master schedule the way I read it, and what to do when what you find doesn't match what you say you believe. I break down: — Why your master schedule is the most honest document in your building — more honest than your vision statement — The one question that changes everything about how the scheduling process starts — The scheduling decision that made teachers start recommending students for honors — without anyone asking them to — What "change your core values or change your schedule" actually means — and the principal whose teachers changed the schedule themselves once they saw the misalignment — The specific 15-minute move you can do this week to find the gap between your vision and your schedule 🤔 QUESTION OF THE DAY: Pick one thing from your vision. Now ask yourself: does it have protected time in your master schedule? Resources mentioned: Subscribe to The 100% Principal Newsletter — one thing every Friday you can take straight into Monday: 100percentprincipal.com Get your copy of the Master Scheduling Playbook here This episode comes from The 100 Percent Principal Weekly—my newsletter where every Friday I share one thing you can take straight into Monday to move the needle toward 100%. Subscribe at https://100percentprincipal.com/

Most principals walk out of a hiring interview with a feeling. A 100% Principal walks out with evidence. In this episode, I'm breaking down the three-stage hiring system that changes who applies, who you interview, and who actually shows up in your building every day. What you'll learn: Why your job posting is filtering for the wrong people (and how to fix it in under 5 minutes) The one question that reveals what a candidate actually believes — versus what they know to say Why a sample lesson in the second interview is the least useful thing you can ask for — and what to do instead The real cost of a will-based misalignment hire and why it almost never shows up in year one Resources mentioned: How to Hire Your Next Master Teacher Playbook — https://mindsteps-inc.myshopify.com/products/how-to-hire-your-next-master-teacher-playbook The 100% Collective — https://buildershipuniversity.com/collective Subscribe to The 100% Principal Newsletter — one thing every Friday you can take straight into Monday: 100percentprincipal.com