Word: Curiosity Sentence: Curiosity is the doorway to empathy, learning, and better leadership. Passage: Somewhere along the way, as our kid brain quiets and our adult brain takes over, curiosity starts to fade. We trade questions for assumptions, wonder for certainty. And yet, staying curious is one of the few practices that keeps us learning about…

Word: Energy Sentence: Energy is the bond that keeps us connected, and the force that keeps us going. Passage: Leaders hold a quiet power in the energy they give off and the energy they receive. And when fall turns to winter, it’s harder to bring the same level of presence you had earlier in the year.…

Word: Gratitude Sentence: Gratitude is more than appreciation; it’s how we pay forward what others once gave to us. Passage: My first real mentor came by luck. She was a district instructional coach on a building walkthrough with the chief of schools, the principal, and a few other district leaders. She took a seat in the…

Word: Perspective Sentence: Perspective is not about how high you climb, but how clearly you see. Passage: In any profession, there are steps on the ladder. For me, it went from teacher to department chair to instructional coach to assistant principal to principal and now district leader. Each role came with more responsibility, but also a…

A short climb to the balcony can change how you see the whole dance floor. Word: Reflection Sentence: The future can be changed only by your own reflections of the past. Passage: If everyday life is a dance floor, we spend our days dancing with all kinds of people: colleagues, friends, and family. The dance can…

The Match each week: One word. One sentence. One passage. Word: Culture Sentence: The behavior of the leader becomes the culture of the team. Passage: You can walk into a school, company, or home and feel its culture before anyone even says a word. Culture is the energy of human relationships and how they shape the…

If The Match has sparked something for you, I’d be grateful if you shared it with someone. That’s how this community grows. Word: Consistency Sentence: Consistency creates credibility; inconsistency creates liability. Passage: Early in my life, I didn’t realize how much my lack of consistency was costing me, both personally and professionally. I thought my titles—administrator,…

A small spark each week to help you live with heart and keep your fire lit! Word: Joy Sentence: Joy often grows from the soil of struggle. Passage: Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about joy. The absence of it in our lives is something I find intriguing. The further I move from my youth, the…

The Match Newsletter: A small spark each week to help you keep your fire lit. Word: Patience Sentence: Patience is the pause that turns reaction into wisdom. Passage: When I was a kid, my grandmother loved to tease me with an old line: “Patience is a virtue found seldom in a woman and never in a…

Each Week: One Word. One Sentence. One Passage. Word: Hope Sentence: Hope is the pulse that keeps our hearts moving forward. Passage: In my 20-plus years in education, I’ve met thousands of kids, and the one thing I always found in them was hope. They came from every corner of the world—some who spent years in…