Everywhere I go, I hear the same thing from passionate, visionary, courageous school leaders:

Though they have a huge heart for leading schools, they are also feeling burnt out, exhausted, overwhelmed, undervalued, and isolated.

That is why I have been writing this series on creating your own Personal Operating System: to help school leaders put their own flourishing front and center

In the first newsletter of this series, I introduced the idea that every leader runs on an operating system. Either you design it—or it designs you

In the second newsletter, I discussed that the first step is to identify your Optimal Self—the answer to the question “I want to be a person of…”

In the third newsletter, I unpacked the six core areas in which I pursue flourishing in the areas I believe are most important to attain the vision of my Optimal Self: Physical, Intellectual, Emotional, Relational, Financial, and Spiritual

In the fourth newsletter, I did a deep dive into my own Physical Operating System, unpacking the routines I employ every day to ensure my physical self is operating at its highest optimization for personal and professional flourishing

In this newsletter, I want to unpack the second of my Personal Operating Systems:

The Intellectual Operating System—showing you how to feed your mind, sharpen your thinking, and sustain the curiosity that brought you into education in the first place.

From an early age, I gravitated to books, reading them over and over again, as often as I could. 

From the Lord of the Rings to Dickens, my childhood library was thick with tomes.

It is probably why I went into education in the first place: to have a vocation that allows me to continue pursuing the life of the mind

Books have been my guiding light, my source of inspiration, my place of comfort, my adventure, my peace, my depth.

Books have led me all over the world: From Oxford to Italy, Scotland to Harvard, Switzerland to Belize, books have literally paved the way for the life I have been blessed to live

Even in the busiest, most demanding seasons of leadership, I've found a way to protect the sacred practice of reading, both for professional and, most importantly, for my own personal edification.

I learned early on that if I'm not feeding my own mind, I have nothing nourishing to offer anyone else.

But here's what I also learned:

There's a massive difference between reading haphazardly and building an intentional Intellectual Operating System

Educational leadership is fundamentally intellectual work

Yes, it's also relational, emotional, and organizational work. 

But at its core, leading a school requires sustained, rigorous thinking.

You're not just managing a building or executing a plan.

You're imagining futures.

You're diagnosing complex systems.

You're synthesizing disparate information into coherent vision.

You’re making decisions about actual human beings in their most critical years of formation

And yet, the tyranny of the urgent conspires against the life of the mind. 

The constant meetings, the crisis management, the endless emails—they create an environment where shallow thinking becomes the norm and deep thinking becomes a luxury for which you don’t make time

Here's what I've learned over two decades in education:

Leaders who cultivate rich intellectual lives lead differently.

They lead with depth, not just competence.

They lead with vision, not just management.

They lead with wisdom, not just data.

They lead with heart, not mere reaction

Many times in my own leadership practice, I've reflected on what I've learned from my years of reading.

Perhaps it's something from a book on Abraham Lincoln; something from Christopher Hodgkinson, Nel Noddings, or Deborah Meier; or a scene in Voyage of the Dawn Treader that gives me inspiration as I handle a certain situation

**I can’t tell you how many times I’ve returned to the scene where Aslan “un-dragons” Eustace to make him whole again as a way to think about the power of student discipline as moral formation and not mere punishment

In fact, one of my favorite things to do with others (especially visionary leaders) is to discuss what books they are reading. “What are you reading now?” is one of the first questions I ask and get when I’m grabbing coffee with thinkers, leaders, educators, and like-minded persons who appreciate and value the contemplative life

You develop pattern recognition — Reading widely trains your mind to see patterns. You draw on the experts, elders, and masters who have gone before to give you wisdom and insight

You gain conceptual frameworks — Books give you mental models for understanding complexity. When you read Sir Ken Robinson or Paulo Freire or Parker Palmer or Mary Rose O’Reilley, you gain a wider, deeper framework from which to operate

You cultivate intellectual humility — The more you read, the more you realize how much you don't know. This is liberating. You get comfortable saying "I don't know, but let me think about that". Just saying that out loud in the midst of very serious decision making has given me so much clarity and integrity in the final outcomes I’ve had to make

You develop your own voice — Over time, you develop your own philosophy of education. Not borrowed talking points, but a coherent vision rooted in deep thinking. This, perhaps more than any other reason, is crucial for developing your own Intellectual Operating System. I have gleaned so much from reading others, but in the end, my voice as a leader has found its own footing because I’ve listened to the wisdom of others

You model what you want to cultivate — If you want a culture of learning in your school, you have to be a learner yourself. Your faculty will sense whether you're intellectually alive or running on old mental software. Plus, you can invite them into the life of the mind through shared readings (something we do both as a faculty and with families at Odyssey Leadership Academy)

You sustain yourself for the long haul — When you're engaged with big ideas, the work stays interesting. A rich intellectual life keeps you from burning out or becoming cynical. It gives you a sense of adventure as you navigate your own leadership Hero’s Journey

Conversely, here's what happens when school leaders stop cultivating their minds:

The life of the mind isn't an optional luxury for educational leaders—it's the fuel that sustains every other dimension of your work.

So the question isn't whether you have time to cultivate your intellectual life.

The question is: Can you afford not to?

My goal is simple but specific: To stay both personally and professionally curious, creative, and informed

Here's what that looks like for me:

I read every single day, structured into two distinct rhythms:

Morning Reading (30 minutes): 6:30-7:00am

Evening Reading (30-60 minutes): 9:00-10:00pm

The key? I don't leave reading to chance. It's protected time, non-negotiable as a workout or meeting.

I journal 4-5 times per week, usually after morning reading.

This isn't diary-style processing—it's thinking on paper.

I use a simple structure adapted from Stoic practice:

This transforms how I lead. Instead of just reacting, I'm actively learning. Instead of moving from crisis to crisis, I'm building pattern recognition and wisdom over time.

Writing is thinking. When I write, I'm forced to clarify what I actually believe.

I block time for:

Like reading and journaling, I don't leave writing to chance. It's blocked on my calendar. Protected. Non-negotiable.

Here's what I’ve been saying throughout this series: If you don't design the system, it won't happen.

Here's how I've structured my Intellectual Operating System:

🗓️ Time-Blocking Is Non-Negotiable

Every Sunday, I block:

These go on my calendar first, before meetings, before obligations.

📱 I Protect These Hours Ruthlessly

Morning reading = phone stays off 

Writing blocks = email stays closed 

Evening reading = no TV, no scrolling

Distraction is the enemy of depth.

🎯 I Choose What I Read With Intention

I curate reading around three categories:

I keep a running list of books organized by category. When I finish one, I know exactly what's next.

And YES: There's always a "brain drain" book thrown in to let my mind wander and unwind. Fiction lets my mind just "be" in the presence of a rich story, compelling characters, and fun adventure! It’s important to have these in the mix so you let your mind relax and just enjoy a good story! Right now, I’m reading Project Hail Mary (affiliate link) by Andy Weir, author of The Martian.

Every book I read, every insight I journal, every essay I write—it's all in service of becoming the kind of thinker and leader my world needs

People always ask me for the books I’d recommend, especially for school leaders

Here’s three of my favorites (affiliate links involved)

Educational leaders who invest in their intellectual growth lead with clarity, vision, and depth.

Leaders who stop learning become stale, reactive, and brittle.

Ask yourself:

What am I currently reading that's stretching my thinking?

What intellectual habit could I build this week that would compound over time?

If I could design my ideal reading and thinking rhythm, what would it look like?

You don't need to adopt my exact system.

But you do need a system.

Maybe yours looks like:

Start somewhere.

Build one habit.

Let it compound.

Your leadership—and your brain—will thank you.

You can have all the physical vitality and intellectual clarity in the world, but if you can't manage your emotions, your leadership will be limited.

In the next newsletter in this series, I'll share how I've designed an Emotional Operating System that helps me stay grounded, regulated, and present—even in the midst of conflict, crisis, and chaos.

Until then, keep growing and blessings on the path

Scott

Here's the reality: 85% of principals experience job-related stress. 48% are dealing with burnout. 30% leave within five years.

You don't have to be another statistic

As a practicing school leader myself, I know the long hours, the difficult decisions, the weight of leadership. I also know what it takes to not just survive, but to actually flourish in this work.

1-on-1 Leadership Coaching — I become your personal sounding board, champion, and cheerleader. Someone who stays in contact to cheer you on, offer a safe space to vent, a shoulder to lean on, and a place to dream big dreams. I help you design the operating systems that keep you thriving for the long haul and offer thoughts and insights as you lead your school towards deeper flourishing and vitality

Whole-School Consulting — I have a HUGE heart for seeing entire schools transformed to be places of innovation, flourishing, care, belonging, and purpose. To help you get there, I come alongside your entire leadership team to build cultures of innovation, health, and transformation. From strategic visioning sessions to faculty development workshops, keynotes to retreats, I partner with schools ready to reimagine what's possible.

If you need someone in your corner—a champion, advocate, and guide who actually understands the work because I'm still doing it—let's talk!

Schedule a free 30-minute discovery call and let's explore how I can support you and your school.

P.s. Everything I'm sharing in this newsletter series is also drawn out in robust detail in my resource: The Flourishing School Leader's Field Guide — a 120+ page workbook that unpacks my personal operating system and walks you through creating yours.

The Flourishing School Leader’s Field Guide has:

In this field guide, you’ll find proven strategies to rekindle passion, restore purpose, and create an ecosystem of trust and flourishing in your school community.

Whether you’re feeling inspired and want to sustain your momentum—or exhausted and in need of renewal—this field guide is your companion for leading with courage, clarity, and care.

It’s essentially everything I cover in my coaching sessions in a DIY guide for ONLY $40 bucks!!