Beth Mohler

Principal, Rutledge Elementary School | Austin, Texas

Beth Mohler is starting her seventh year as Principal of Rutledge Elementary School, part of Leander ISD in Austin, Texas. The thing that keeps her coming back to her mission is that spark of learning when a student is really “getting it.” She explains what she loves most: “When you can look at a kid and see that ‘magic moment’ of when learning is happening.” Beth adds that Leader in Me gives kids the tools to take that moment of learning and turn it into the start of something even bigger.

Beth is a conscientious leader who takes her role seriously, and this is on full display when it comes to inspiring trust. “This is at the heart of everything. My new favorite phrase is ‘I trust you.’ It’s just incredibly empowering to say that to someone.” If you noticed there, it’s not just about having others trust you, but giving it back in return. Mutual trust strengthens a school.

Trish Hassell, who in her role with FranklinCovey has worked closely with Beth in her school, also describes this veteran principal as masterful at creating a vision her team can follow. Beth, despite her obvious strengths at inspiring trust, calls creating vision the most exciting of the Essential Roles of Leadership.

One of many areas in which Beth shares a powerful perspective relates to Habit 5, Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood. When it comes to this Habit, we often focus on the first part, but it’s equally important to follow through on the rest of it―in being understood. This closely relates to Beth’s strength in giving and inspiring trust. If she can show her faculty that she understands them, and then also show that she trusts them to understand her, their relationships can flourish.

Betsy Wierda

FranklinCovey Coach | Jacksonville, Florida

Betsy Wierda is a FranklinCovey Coach based in Jacksonville, Fla., and has spent seven years in this critical role. She currently supports more than 50 schools in Florida and Georgia, and believes the best thing about her job is helping schools determine what measurable results they can―and should―be able to achieve in their work with Leader in Me, and then assisting them along that journey.

“It’s all about the schools and what they want,” She goes on to describe why it’s so powerful when school leadership brings someone in to help their educators. “I’m not only bringing help, but also bringing hope,” she explains. This process shows educators that their school and district believes in―and is investing in―their success.

Betsy encourages education leaders to take a close look at Habit 5, Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood: “Empathic listening is life-changing. It’s a highly effective practice to say, ‘no autobiographical listening, no probing, just listening.’ This can change relationships and really can change the world.” She also encourages educators to commit to Habit 7, Sharpen the Saw, even when it’s difficult. “If you’re not well physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally,” she explains, “you can’t live your purpose. Caring for ourselves can be a daily, private victory.”

Betsy is a big believer that educators should deeply understand the Paradigm of Change. Especially in a difficult time marked by anger and unrest, how can we take ownership of our mood and decide that “change starts with me?” We must look at our circle of influence and “carry our own weather.” What can we control and what is out of our control? An honest look at these factors leads to empowerment, leadership, and change.

Brad Starnes

Superintendent, Wabaunsee School District | Alma, Kansas

Brad Starnes is Superintendent of Wabaunsee School District in Alma, Kansas, which became the first Leader in Me district in the state four years ago. As a believer in both mental health support as well as social-emotional learning for his students, it’s huge for Brad to know that LiM is a CASEL-endorsed program. Combined with a grant that allows him to have a mental health liaison and case worker in the district, these elements allow for excellent, well-rounded support.

When he thinks about the best part of his job, the answer is easy: “Having the opportunity to influence lives. We got into education because we care about kids.” Leader in Me provides a “common sense model,” in Brad’s words, but he explains that the teaching of the Habits has to be intentional, which relates not only to education but also how students can use them for goal-setting in other areas of life.

Habit 1: Be Proactive, stands out to Brad because it teaches students they are responsible for their own destiny. “It’s a great ‘ground floor’ to understand and push forward with,” he says. This leads directly into Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind, because once students get over the hurdle of feeling they are in control, now they can decide where they want to go. He believes in empowering students to lead their own learning, which allows them to reach their full potential.

When it comes to his leadership style, Brad consistently focuses on inspiring trust. “Your word is your word. We can solve anything if we understand that from the beginning,” he says. Trust is earned, and earned continuously, and when a leader can keep this in mind, the sky’s the limit.

Daniel de los Reyes

Principal, Darwin Elementary School | Chicago, Illinois

Daniel de los Reyes is currently the Principal of Darwin Elementary School in Chicago and his journey to reach that position can serve as an inspiration to every educator with big goals. In less than nine years, he made the jump from paraprofessional to teacher to assistant principal to principal, and it all started because someone saw his potential and believed in him.

“I wasn’t particularly interested in becoming a teacher at the time, but others in my school saw my interactions with students and saw something in me. They gave me the information to get a grant, go back to school, and get certified.” After Daniel became a teacher, his classroom had the highest reading scores in a 32-school network for three years running. When reflecting on his journey, he now encourages others to begin with the end in mind. Set your goals and you can achieve them.

Beginning with the end in mind also leads into his belief in the importance of Habit 4: Think Win-Win. Daniel explains that professionals need to remove their ego from the equation and concentrate on shared objectives. Getting out of the typical mindset of zero-sum games and “getting my piece of the pie” and instead working in collaboration. “You have to live it before you give it,” he says.

Daniel is in his seventh year working with Leader in Me and describes the program as essential to the success his school has experienced. When they first started, enrollment was decreasing and behavioral infractions were on the rise. “Aren’t you sick of getting the same results? Aren’t you sick of not doing what we know we can do for our kids?” The school asked these questions, took proactive steps, and they’ve been on the rise ever since.

Dr. Isabel Govea

Principal, Harkness Elementary School | Sacramento, California

Dr. Isabel Govea is the Principal of Harkness Elementary School in Sacramento, Calif. She describes the role of Leader in Me in her school as taking on even greater importance in the present time, when addressing social-emotional needs in both kids and adults is so essential. “As a leader, I need emotional intelligence to be able to lead my staff. It’s important for the school community to know and understand our philosophy so everyone sees how they can contribute to our success,” Isabel explains.

When it comes to students, Leader in Me provides a process for working with each learner regardless of individual needs and “opens the door for academics to flow in,” she adds. To ensure her school is continuously improving its ability to meet the needs of all students, Isabel focuses on developing the leaders in her school. She’s passionate about coaching potential by finding and fostering talent in the adults around her.

In the way Isabel approaches leadership, Habit 2: Begin With the End in Mind, becomes especially relevant. “I’m a planner,” she says. “I like to provide people with a clear goal that we’re working toward.” She also explains how this leads directly into Habit 3: Put First Things First. She sets a goal, works backward to plan the steps, and then gets everyone working on step one together.

Isabel believes deeply in the Paradigm of Education, that developing the whole person is more important than a narrow focus only on academics. “In order to get academic gains, you have to develop the whole person of everyone in the building―staff, faculty, kids,” she says. “Everyone has aspirations and when you infuse support in everything you do, you have that intrinsic motivation for people to flourish.”

Jill Scheulen

FranklinCovey Coach | St. Louis, Missouri

Jill Scheulen is a FranklinCovey Coach based in St. Louis, Missouri who has been supporting Leader in Me schools and districts across the Midwest for eight years. Her approach revolves around recognizing and encouraging the strengths of each person, and putting those strengths together to create an even more powerful whole. “I truly believe 1 plus 1 can equal 100 if we value differences and seek third alternatives,” she says, when describing her use of Habit 6: Synergize. Everyone has genius. When we unleash it and value the unique genius in others, we each get better and create a stronger whole.

Some define genius in a narrow way, she explains, but to really live out the Paradigm of Potential, in which we recognize that everyone has genius, we seek to understand the unique genius that every individual brings with them. The result of this is synergy, where the whole is much more powerful than the sum of its parts. Synergy occurs when differences are valued, and the willingness to explore third alternatives is celebrated, Jill explains. She loves the process of helping schools achieve the results they desire, for both personal and professional success for stakeholders. “When people become even more effective, opportunities and ideas are unleashed within them, and they begin to see their own greatness, as well as the greatness in others. When we recognize strengths in others, we see change for the better,” Jill says.

When it comes to the 4 Essential Roles of Leadership, it’s hard for Jill to pick just one―they all make a difference in her work. But when forced, she highlights the role to Coach Potential. “I strive to coach the person, not the situation,” she shares. “When processing through the various challenges of the pandemic, I truly understand this even more than before.” Emotional intelligence is a key that helps coaches make a difference in unlocking human potential.

Mathew Portell

Principal, Fall-Hamilton Elementary School | Nashville, Tennessee

Mathew Portell is entering his sixth year as Principal of Fall-Hamilton Elementary School in Tennessee’s Metro Nashville Public Schools. When asked to name what he loves most about his job, he immediately names the connections to students, teachers, parents, and others in the community. “It’s about connections with fellow human beings of all roles in the school and community, and seeing growth among all of us.”

Seeing growth in everyone relates closely to the work Mathew and his team are doing with Leader in Me. The process empowers each stakeholder and provides an opportunity to identify the innate genius in everyone, he shares. It also relates to his dedication to both creating vision and coaching potential, two of the essential roles of a leader. “It’s about identifying others’ strengths and helping them be part of creating the vision. Voice is important in that process.” When Mathew puts them into action, these roles fit together seamlessly.

Speaking of voice, Mathew identifies Habit 8, Find Your Voice, as the Habit with the highest resonance for his students. He’s currently working on helping his students with restorative self-advocacy and group advocacy, and notes how powerful it becomes when kids learn to speak up for themselves and their peers.

Mathew is a high-energy, proactive leader who adheres to the belief that change starts with me. “I’m an activator,” he says. “In education, everyone is waiting for someone else to do something different, but if something is inequitable, I’m not going to wait―I’m going to disrupt.” Education systems may be large and ingrained, but each leader has the power to drive change.

Dr. Shaun Nelms

Superintendent, East High School and Professor, University of Rochester | Rochester New York

Dr. Shaun Nelms is in a hybrid role as Superintendent of Rochester, New York’s East High School and a Professor at the University of Rochester. Beginning in 2014, he has led a school transformation effort at East HS, in which Leader in Me has played a significant part. The effort began with establishing core values to change how students engaged with one another, as well as establishing a culture and climate of which all stakeholders are aware. When everyone understands the culture, “they call out when actions don’t match the culture they seek to establish,” he says. As a result of culture-first efforts, the school has had a tremendous decrease in suspensions, to go along with equally impressive increases in graduation rate and parent engagement.

Shaun believes that everyone can be a leader and has turned this belief into a distributed leadership model that identifies and creates spaces to ensure everyone in the school steps into a leadership role. Lorna Washington, the Assistant Superintendent of Strategic Planning, describes him as skilled at creating vision for the faculty. “He’s great at contextualizing the effort,” she says. “We’ve made the commitment to investing in culture and climate to make everything else easier to navigate.”

This approach is consistent with Shaun’s feeling that the best part of his job is the idea of building capacity in others. “Five years from now, we want the systems and structures created to be owned by the people who created them,” he says. Shaun and his team focus on ensuring opinions are truly valued, giving support so people can take chances without operating in fear, and celebrating their competence daily.

Habit 3, Put First Things First, resonates in East High School. “Define what the ‘first things’ are, and anchor actions back to those elements,” Shaun says. “Keeping in mind mission and vision, how do we evaluate and determine our approach?”

Dr. Tiffany Brown

Principal, Wendell Smith Elementary School | Chicago, Illinois

Dr. Tiffany Brown is in her ninth year as Principal of Chicago’s Wendell Smith Elementary School. She’s a high-energy leader who’s skilled at creating an inspiring vision and cultivating the potential in each of her students. “As a principal, you set a vision, but when students really begin to see the fruits of their labor, that’s when the vision comes alive,” Tiffany shares. “The best part of my job is seeing the light bulb go on when the kids ‘get it.’”

In every aspect of her work, Tiffany is a school leader who focuses on developing the whole person. She didn’t inherit any staff when she took on the principal role, so she worked on building a team and continuously building their capacity. She’s a believer in coaching each person’s potential to take the school from good to great. This begins by hiring people with unique talents, and who are passionate about their gifts, and ensuring there is a distributed leadership model that puts each staff member in a position to be influential and successful.

Tiffany’s take-charge attitude benefits her school community, especially in maintaining momentum through challenging circumstances. She applies Habit 1: Be Proactive to this end, which has been an important part of planning for success through the Covid-19 pandemic. “With the current state of public education, you have to be proactive to plan effectively for the new year,” she says. “You have to be intentional about how you’re going to support families.”

Habit 4: Think Win-Win, is also key to Tiffany’s approach. Having a plan and a positive attitude calms everyone and keeps them on track. She believes in being positively solution-oriented and getting the whole community on board.

Tom Mahoney

Superintendent, Oregon CSD | Oregon, Illinois

Tom Mahoney, Superintendent of Oregon CSD in Illinois, lives by the mission of his district and makes it personal. The district aims to educate students to be lifelong learners who are productive, responsible citizens and Tom delivers on this through his personal mission statement: Lead, Grow, Serve. It’s always about growth and taking personal responsibility for that growth: “I take me with me wherever I go,” he says. “So if I’m not making me better, things aren’t going to get better.”

This also leads into Tom’s investment in empowering students to own their learning. “Self-efficacy has enormous effect size on students,” he explains. With the industrial model, we aren’t often designed to promote students’ self-direction and it can be a challenge for teachers. But once it clicks, things take off.

This paradigm is personal for Tom, as he was considered a “bad student” in his own school days. He struggled with reading and was considered fidgety and a daydreamer, and by the time he got to college his GPA was suffering. It was at this point that he asked, “Am I going to let the things people say about me become reality? Or am I going to own this?” He then learned to take ownership of his learning and raised his GPA from a 1.8 all the way to a 4.0.

When it comes to the Essential Roles of a Leader, Tom highlights a big one: Coach Potential. “This is what I love to do and what I believe is really my role. I can’t touch every classroom, so I want to develop our principals to develop our teachers, then develop teachers to develop students.” When you can unveil someone’s gifts, that they don’t even see yet in themselves, you can touch every life down the line.