S10 E5: Feelings are Data - What Your Gut is Trying to Tell You About Your School (with Erica Ebert)

What if the best self-care strategy for school leaders isn't another wellness activity, but learning how to lead from a more regulated place? In this episode of The School Leadership Show, I sit down with Erica Ebert to move beyond the "yoga your way out of it" clichés and talk about what real self-care and regulated leadership look like in schools. Drawing on her 28 years of K-12 experience, Erica shares how mindfulness, self-awareness, and compassion can help leaders better understand themselves, their teams, and the cultures they create. We also discuss why "regulated leaders regulate rooms," and why predictable, psychologically safe environments may be the most powerful form of care leaders can provide. Consider this Erica's official audition as a future guest host. I'm excited to bring her into more conversations as we continue exploring what it means to do the work before the work. Visit Erica's website: ericaebert.com If you have questions, feedback, or suggestions for future episodes, including great non-education books with lessons for school leaders you can email me at Dr.mike.doughty@gmail.com. I would really appreciate it if you could leave a rating and review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. It helps a lot. And if you found this episode helpful, please share it with your colleagues. If you are interested in sponsoring the podcast, feel free to contact me directly at Dr.mike.doughty@gmail.com. Stay connected with me here: Official Website: theschoolleadershipshow.org YouTube: youtube.com/@theschoolleadershipshow Facebook: facebook.com/theschoolleadershipshow Instagram: instagram.com/theschoolleadershipshow Chapters: 00:00 Welcome and Introductions 01:14 Erica's Path to Mindfulness 02:33 Mindfulness Basics for Leaders 05:45 Awareness and Compassion Wings 07:33 Feelings as Data 10:59 Why People Resist the Work 14:23 Safety Isn't Declared 16:29 Leading Systemwide Change 23:38 Self Care vs Strong Systems 26:38 Rapid Fire and Wrap Up