After years of coaching school leaders, I've noticed something:
The ones who avoid burnout aren't the ones with the easiest jobs.
They're the ones with the best operating systems.
James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, says it this way:
You either design your operating system — or it designs you.
Most school leaders I know are incredibly capable people running on a default operating system
Sleep and exercise happen when there's time
Reading happens on vacation.
Thinking happens in the shower.
Decompression is Netflix at 10pm after the emails are done.
The WHY that drove you into the work gets lost in the exhaustion
This isn't a you problem. It's a systems problem.
And systems can be designed.
For years, I let my operating system just happen.
I was busy. I felt productive. But the cracks were showing:
• Inconsistent in my health
• Big ideas that never got off the ground
• Chasing my tail most days
• Not becoming the person I actually wanted to be
I wasn't failing. I was just running on a default system I'd never chosen.
Here's what changed everything:
I stopped asking "What do I want to accomplish?" and started asking "Who do I want to BECOME?"
Then I built systems around that answer.
A physical system. An intellectual system. An emotional system. A meaning system.
Not willpower. Not hustle. Systems.
Here's the framework I've landed on that has literally changed my life — an Operating System that has been a game changer for me as a person and a leader:
𝗣𝗵𝘆𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹: Your body is the vehicle for everything else. When it's neglected, your leadership suffers first.
𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹: Leaders who stay curious stay alive. What are you reading, writing, thinking — on purpose?
𝗘𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹: Your emotional life is your root system. When it's shallow, you get uprooted by every storm.
𝗠𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴: Viktor Frankl said it best — he who has a why can bear almost any how. Are you still connected to yours?
Most leaders have a strategic plan for their school.
Almost none have one for themselves.
That's the gap. That's also where burnout lives.
I ask the leaders I coach to finish this sentence:
"I want to be a person of ___."
Not "I want to accomplish ___."
Not "I want to be known as ___."
Who do you want to BE?
Answer that first. Then build systems around it.
On May 19, I'm taking the Flourishing School Leaders Community Cohort through the full Operating System of You framework — what each system looks like in practice, how to audit where you are, and how to start building intentionally.
We'll cover:
→ How to define your Optimal Self (not your job title — YOU)
→ A Portfolio of Flourishing across key life areas
→ The 4 systems that shape who you're becoming
→ A framework for turning big dreams into today's action
If you have been running on empty or just getting along on a default operating system, this is the session for you
A session designed on purpose. Built for flourishing.
The best part is, you not only get this session on May 19th, by joining the Flourishing School Leader Cohort, you get every past session delivered to your inbox PLUS a full year of collaboration, inspiration, purpose, meaning, strategy, connection, and community with other school leaders just like you!
Now is the time to join us!
