Summary

Improvement plans often create a second job for the principal: tracking every action, checking every artifact, and carrying the responsibility for someone else's growth. In this episode, Jethro shares a clip from My First Million featuring executive coach Joe Hudson, then translates the idea into school leadership.

The central shift is simple: put the responsibility for improvement where the work is happening. Leaders still provide clarity, support, and accountability, but the person who needs to improve should show the evidence, invite the feedback, and own the next steps.

Chapters

• 0:00 — Why improvement plans can become the principal's problem
• 2:01 — Joe Hudson on putting the responsibility for change where it belongs
• 6:49 — Translating the idea into school leadership
• 10:40 — Listening before deciding what the problem is
• 13:20 — Why principals cannot carry every classroom-level task
• 15:10 — A challenge for school leaders

Show Notes

• **Featured idea:** Put the ball in the other person's court. Ask them to demonstrate the improvement rather than making the leader responsible for every step.
• **Leadership practice:** Before creating a plan, find out whether the person sees the problem and understand the context behind the behavior.
• **Reflection:** Where are you carrying someone else's task because it feels faster or safer than giving them ownership?
• **Source podcast:** My First Million on Overcast
• **Referenced segment:** 31:18–36:06 of the linked episode.
• **Connect with Jethro:** transformativeprincipal.org

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Summary

Project paideia is an edited Transformative Principal episode prepared for release. The episode includes Jethro Jones's recorded introduction followed by the completed interview video.

Show Notes

• Production card: https://app.basecamp.com/3104101/buckets/44850879/card_tables/cards/10432571173
• Transformative Principal: https://transformativeprincipal.org/

About Transformative Principal

Transformative Principal explores practical ideas and conversations that help school leaders create stronger learning communities.

We’re proud to be sponsored by IXL.

IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve student performance on state assessments

🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

Developing the Leader Within with Christopher Grode

School leaders can spend an entire day solving problems and still have little time for the leadership work they want to do. Mike Caldwell talks with Christopher Grode, Ph.D., about creating routines that make room for that work and finding people who can offer an honest outside perspective.

Drawing on 19 years as an Illinois superintendent and his research with executive coaches, Chris describes how his view of leadership development changed. He shares his monthly "90 for 90" review, a five-minute morning journal, and the habit of revisiting earlier entries to see what mattered over time. They also discuss his "leadership gateway" of attitudes, behaviors, practices, identity, and purpose, along with the challenge of separating your identity from your job during retirement.

Practical ideas from the conversation

• Track how much of your day goes to reacting and managing, then consider where you want to make more room for leading.
• Try "90 for 90": spend 90 minutes each month reviewing the next 90 days, including family time and personal commitments.
• Use a weekly review to see what got in the way and choose priorities for the week ahead.
• Keep a short morning journal: name three priorities, then return the next day to record what happened.
• Review past journal entries to put today's pressures in perspective and notice changes in your leadership.
• Find a coach, mentor, or trusted peer who can ask honest questions and help you examine your assumptions.

About the guest

Christopher Grode, Ph.D., is a retired Illinois superintendent who served in the role for 19 years. He also worked as a teacher, principal, and assistant superintendent for finance. His doctorate is in industrial-organizational psychology, and his dissertation examined executive coaching strategies for superintendents. He is the author of The Leader Within.

Resources

• Christopher Grode on LinkedIn
• The Leader Within at Bloomsbury

We’re proud to be sponsored by IXL.

IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve student performance on state assessments

🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.