Help Me Understand with Stand Tall Steve

The Assistant Principal Podcast

Power Quote: “Climate is the emotional state felt within the physical space”

Description:

I had so much fun recording today’s show. My guest stands tall (literally and figuratively) in the realm of helping school leaders develop positive culture and climate. If you are a regular listener, you know I have my own specific framework on school culture, so stay tuned to the end of the show where I will reflect on commonalities and differences between the approaches. I hope you have as much fun listening as I did recording, but before we get into it…

Sponsor Spot 1:As a loyal listener to this show, you know I am a big advocate for short, targeted observations, so I’m excited about digiCOACH sponsoring this podcast. digiCOACH makes it easier to follow up on observations with meaningful feedback. I love that you can focus on specific elements and that there is a ready-made bank of items to use for telling teachers what they are doing well! You can learn more about digiCOACH at digiCOACH.com or click the link in the show notes.

Show Intro

Guest Bio:

Stand Tall Steve (aka Steve Bollar) is an educational thought leader, former Superintendent of Schools, principal, author, and a school culture and motivation expert. He is a renowned speaker who has inspired countless individuals and organizations to achieve their goals and unleash their full potential. Drawing on his extensive experience in education and leadership, Steven delivers powerful and inspiring messages that challenge audiences to think differently about their lives and their work.
In 2023 Steve earned a place on Global Gurus World's Top 30 Education Professionals. He is the author of the book Stand Tall Leadership, the school culture and climate book series Ideas, Ideas, Ideas and a contributing author in Because of a Teacher.
Husband of one. Father of three. Owner of two dogs & 10 fish, Stand Tall Steve openly shares his knowledge, experiences, and creativity with others. He currently speaks to schools, organizations, businesses, and communities across the globe about how to think differently about schools, education, and life.
Ladies and gentlemen… Stand Tall Steve!

Warmup questions:

• We always like to start with a celebration. What are you celebrating today?
• Is there a story that will help listeners understand why you are doing what you do?

Questions/Topics/Prompts

• Climate and culture
  • Let’s define culture
  • What do people get wrong when it comes to culture
  • Simplest ways to build a better culture?
• Leadership team
  • How do we balance supporting and growing teachers with managing all the stuff?
• Thinking big – how do we inspire hope AND acknowledge the real chaos and negativity out there?
• It’s a rough time – what are you hearing from people in the field and what’s your message to them?

Sponsor Spot 3:I want to thank IXL for sponsoring this podcast…
Everyone talks about the power of data-driven instruction. But what does that actually look like? Look no further than IXL, the ultimate online learning and teaching platform for K to 12. IXL gives you meaningful insights that drive real progress, and research can prove it. Studies across 45 states show that schools who use IXL outperform other schools on state tests. Educators who use IXL love that they can easily see how their school is performing in real-time to make better instructional decisions.
And IXL doesn’t stop at just data. IXL also brings an entire ecosystem of resources for your teachers, with a complete curriculum, personalized learning plans, and so much more. It’s no wonder that IXL is used in 95 of the top 100 school districts. Ready to join them? Visit ixl.com/assistant to get started.

Closing questions:

• What part of your own leadership are you still trying to get better at?
• If listeners could take just one thing away from today’s podcast, what would it be?
• Before we go, is there anything else that you’d like to share with our listeners?
• Where can people learn more about you and your work…

Sponsor Spot 4:Before we wrap, I’d like to thank Kaleidoscope Adventures for sponsoring today’s show. Lots of companies can help you organize class trips, but Kaleidoscope helps you organize adventures – because isn’t that what student trips should be? Kaleidscope is a full-service tour company offering a range of adventure opportunities and they excel at customizing trips based on your unique context, needs, and goals. Kaleidoscope offers exceptional travel experiences for students (and their group leaders). Thinking about student travel? Reach out to Kaleidoscope using the link in the show notes.

Summary/wrap up

There are a lot of great things in today’s show but I want to focus this summary on the core concepts Steve talked about of values, culture, and climate.

• 6 dimensions: overlap of people’s values and org. purpose = core values?
• Inner forces (aka culture): similar and different from Steve’s “climate”
• My climate experience… Building walkthrough
  • Reception
  • Facility (esp. art)
  • Student – student
  • Student – teacher
  • Teacher – teacher
  • Admin visibility
  • Four quadrant door peaking

Thank you to our sponsors!

• IXL: https://www.ixl.com/assistant
• Kaleidoscope Adventures: https://www.kaleidoscopeadventures.com/the-assistant-principal-podcast-kaleidoscope-adventures/
• digiCOACH: https://digicoach.com/

Guest links:

Website: www.standtallsteve.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@standtallsteve1330

www.withinourranks.com

https://www.youtube.com/@withinourranks

Frederick’s Links:

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://www.frederickbuskey.com/

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/strategicleadershipconsulting

Daily Email subscribe: https://adept-experimenter-3588.ck.page/fdf37cbf3a

The Strategic Leader’s Guide to Reclaiming Purpose: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C...