We celebrated with family recently up in the mountains of Western North Carolina. We watched football games, played cornhole, took naps, and enjoyed delicious food.

Some like to ride through the mountains, while others love the test of climbing them. Some aim for mountain top experiences, while others struggle in the valleys.

Mastering the mountain is crucial for each of us to overcome the fears and to discover just how high we can truly go. Are you ready?

It was fairly early during the massive disruption of the COVID pandemic that we found an even deeper calling for our organization. Debate raged over how to manage schools in the midst of the crisis, with a very vocal contingent endlessly condemning administrators and teachers.

Like many schools and businesses, we were hanging on by a thread trying to survive. We love educators and could sense the exasperation and fatigue, so we started to create and share our Weekly Encouragement for Educators email along with professional development resources to encourage educators in their calling and commitment. 

Checkout the backstory behind this transformation from Tammy's perspective. 

Unhealthy competition and adversarial alliances will usually degrade school culture and limit the ability to learn and improve. While some tensions can be destructive, not all are bad. 

It may sound counterintuitive, but creative tension can be used strategically to elevate our personal and school growth potential. When we purposefully challenge our thinking, we're often able to access untapped potential. 

It all starts with a journey that gets us outside of our comfort zone. This is mine...

As educators, our mission in this life-changing work is way beyond just surviving. We want to thrive! But achieving that high level of experience requires energy and passion combined with habits of excellence that sustain both. 

Being human is hard. Educating humans is even harder, as we guide children, parents, fellow educators, and others into greater levels of growth and maturity.

Some days this seems like an impossible task because we encounter people on the team who can at various times be frail, fickle, and/or fantastic. This produces a wide range of relational challenges since we are so reliant on each other. Let's explore these characteristics and the impact of limited relational intelligence in more detail.

Part of the adventure of life and leadership as an educator is really listening to people and learning the rest of the story, where we let them safely reveal their thoughts and motivations to deepen trusted connections.

Problem solvers get much of the glory: Heart Surgeons, First Responders, Plumbers, and so on. Their ability to fix us, resolve the crisis, and get us back on track is vitally important.

Certainly, problem solvers are vital, but what if more investment was made in Preventive Measures? That would require prioritizing decisions, habits, and accountability to reduce risks and improve performance. The peace of mind is worth it!

Cultivating respect and trust is fundamental to the mission of every school, but spending so much time together and knowing each other so deeply can produce a fragile environment.

Research and experience demonstrates that the more people learn about each other, the less they tend to like them. So how do we overcome this inclination, moving beyond contempt to thrive in our differences?

How can we better utilize our campus features and the design of our classrooms and gathering spaces to foster community and advance our mission? 

That's the motivating question for school leaders across the country in every genre of education who are looking for a competitive edge while also elevating the quality of learning and engagement. Building on the momentum of stronger enrollment and philanthropic commitment, they are exploring methods that are uncommon within the education space but appear to offer powerful distinctives.

Culture, more than any other strategy or program, is the one sustainable competitive advantage that enables greater joy in school leadership and long-term impact throughout the community.

Interpretive Master Planning (IMP) is uncommon among educators, but it offers a transformative approach to school design that aligns closely with strategic planning and campus master planning.

In light of the leadership's desire to create a beautiful culture and campus, this approach to designing physical spaces and experiences offers a significant advantage for competitive differentiation and life-changing impact.

Learn more about the process and benefits of IMP through this infographic.