“A leader can’t make excuses. There has to be quality in everything you do. Off the court, on the court, in the classroom.” – Michael Jordan

Leaders are leaders. The venue isn’t important . . . the approach is what sets leaders apart. Leaders listen, observe, and synthesize what is required in any given situation. Leaders don’t make excuses for failures . . . they find solutions for the future.

True leaders bring a quality to the situation that supersedes skill, which increases the skill level of everyone around them. For us, leaders embrace the Power of the Team recognizing that we are stronger together. Don’t make excuses . . . demonstrate leadership qualities in everything you do.

Be on time, bust your butt. Play smart and have some laughs while you’re at it. – Whitey Herzog

Whitey Herzog is a Hall of Fame baseball coach. I love this quote because it speaks to both culture and accountability.

Too many people in today’s society selfishly ignore the discipline of time management. When you take time for granted, when you disregard the schedule of others, you clearly show that you are more important that everyone else. When you are late it doesn’t matter what you say, your actions are loud and clear . . . “you aren’t important enough for me to respect.”

Of course, there are times when unavoidable situations create delays. From weather delays to accidents on I-270 . . . there are times any of us can be late. But, and this is a big but, there are ways to mitigate many situations by planning and scheduling effectively. Each of us must be reasonable with our scheduling. We must learn to say “no” to some commitments in order to values those commitments that we schedule. We must be mindful of our own time, place guardrails in our own schedules to ensure we truly demonstrate respect for others.

When you are habitually late, you are saying to those with whom your work, and those in your life, that you don’t care enough about others to plan effectively.

What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals. – Henry David Thoreau

It isn’t the reward, but the process that makes us better people. When you achieve a goal you get a reward. You may get recognition, a pay raise, a trophy, or simply a pat on the back. The reward for achieving the goal is nice, but it isn’t what is most important.

What is most important are the lessons learned and the skills developed through the process of achievement. We embrace the learning process because each event is an opportunity to learn; each experience is a hook on which we can retrieve information. In our minds-eye, our experiences make us who we are. When we keep our eyes and ears open, when we listen and learn, the path to achievement is building the foundation for future success.

When we blame others or make excuses, we give up the power to change. When we give up the power to change, we stop growing.

It is so easy in today’s world to blame other people. We can tweet, post, or email our complaints. We can blame anyone . . . everyone else for what inconveniences us. We can make ourselves feel better by placing the blame on someone else. It is easy . . . it has increasingly become the norm. Students, and some parents, find someone else to blame for any failure or struggle. “It’s the teacher’s fault, the coach doesn’t like my kid, and I can’t step-up because they will take it out on my kid” are all common refrains from the song of blame.

When excuses are introduced into the narrative, when we blame other people, it is the first step to longterm failure. By blaming others . . . by making excuses . . . we retreat from truly growing. When we blame someone else, we fail to embrace what is required of us. We give up . . . we embrace a fixed mindset.

When you find yourself wanting to make an excuse, when you hear yourself blaming someone else, stop and ask, “what can I do to improve my situation.” Don’t abdicate authority over you by pointing a finger at someone else. Instead, look in the mirror and reflect on what you can control . . . YOU!

“It’s supposed to be hard. If it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great.” – Tom Hanks, A League of Their Own

The journey to being elite isn’t easy. Raising your level of performance from good to great is much more difficult than improving from average to good. Sure, as educators we can be happy with our current level of student instruction. We are good, people are moving to our community, and our students are graduating prepare for college. It would be east to keep doing what we are doing . . . it is what our constituents want us to do.

It is hard to push ourselves to the next level. It is challenging to face the real demands of preparing students for success in a future that is unclear. We face unending obstacles and new social challenges. Our students population is getting more diverse and politicians create more and more obstacles to truly doing good work. What makes us great . . . what sets us apart . . . is how we embrace the challenges. We stay true to our values and strive to truly pursue excellence.

Adversity is another way to measure the greatness of individuals. I never had a crisis that didn’t make me stronger. – Lou Holts

We measure success in a myriad of different ways. There are successes that are easy to quantify and celebrate. There are victories that are clear and accomplishments that are public. What makes us stronger are the obstacles we overcome and the crisis we manage.

It is easy to lead when things are going well. It takes a true leader to navigate mission critical events. When you lead a team through one of these times, when you learn and succeed, that is when your true greatness shines. Stay true to your values, stay clear in the expectations, and create the best outcome available to you.

Clarity demands simplicity and focus.

One of the greatest challenges in life is being clear with expectations. When we are clear . . . when our purpose and expectations are aligned . . . it is easy to achieve results. When we are conflicted, or when we send mixed messages, the results are poor.

The key to clarity is often simplicity. Don’t overcomplicate the simple . . . don’t get ahead of yourself in the process. Keep each task . . . each goal . . . as simple and focused as possible. Leadership requires each of us to be clear in our goals and steadfast in our values. Keep life as simple and focused as possible.

Take time to evaluate your daily routines; be intentional in your behavior.

Why do you do what you do? From every meeting to every email . . . from that text message to a colleague to the picture you post on Facebook . . . are you acting with purpose. Do you stop at a coffee shop on the way to work out of habit or with intentional reasoning behind the visit? I’m not judging; I stop to get coffee every morning. I am simply asking you to think about each action.

Routines are great – they can keep us productive and important. Routines can also perpetuate ineffective, inefficient behavior. Take time to day to think about your routines. Which behaviors are healthy and important? Which routines, if changed, can lead to growth and improvement? A growth mindset demands intentional actions on our journey.

Your time is valuable; don’t get caught in the weeds.

Our instant communications, constant information world offers a myriad of distractions and obstacles that keep what is most important in the forefront of our minds. From alerts to texts, from Facebook to YouTube . . . it is easy to get caught wasting time on unimportant things. We get caught in the latest gossip or drama without even thinking about it . . . it is the unintended consequence for our technological world. It is our autopilot response to the everyday.

Get off autopilot . . . don’t simply troll twitter or enter that FaceBook thread. Be intentional with your time. Build real relationships with friends and family . . . truly expand your knowledge about important subjects. Be in the moment with your children, your spouse . . . give them your full attention. It is worth it.

We get sucked into the Internet and streaming information, and it’s time to just unplug and look within. – Jonathan Cain

It’s summer . . . time to enjoy sunshine, long days, and warm nights. There are times when we all need to just unplug and reflect on where we are today. We create the expectation of constant availability, like the world will fall apart if we can’t receive an immediate text or post.

The truth is there are times we should be disconnected. Our jobs will still be there if we are unable for a day. The world will continue to rotate on its axis if we don’t tweet or respond to emails. We will benefit from hours alone with friends, family, and our thoughts. When we look within . . . when we give 100% of our attention to the now . . . we are able to seek renewal and reflection.

Go for a long walk on the beach without your phone . . . turn off your email alerts and notification. We can all live without the instant news update or traffic alerts . . . take the time to unplug and look within.