Episode 78 | Hope-Fueled Leadership with Dr. Lindsey Hall

1
00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:02,960
What if leadership isn't about
pushing through until

2
00:00:02,960 --> 00:00:07,240
retirement, but about becoming
the version of yourself your

3
00:00:07,240 --> 00:00:09,880
life needs right now?
Welcome to the Lead with Hope

4
00:00:09,880 --> 00:00:13,800
podcast for leaders ready to
lead differently without losing

5
00:00:13,800 --> 00:00:16,920
themselves.
I'm your host, Brandy Kelly, and

6
00:00:16,920 --> 00:00:20,920
here we talk about real
leadership, the habits we build,

7
00:00:21,280 --> 00:00:25,400
the optimism we protect, the
purpose that grounds us, and the

8
00:00:25,400 --> 00:00:29,120
excellence that sustains us.
Today I'm joined by doctor

9
00:00:29,120 --> 00:00:32,320
Lindsay Hall, educator, mentor,
and coach.

10
00:00:32,800 --> 00:00:36,240
Her leadership journey spans
from the classroom to the

11
00:00:36,240 --> 00:00:39,320
superintendency.
And in this conversation,

12
00:00:39,400 --> 00:00:44,360
Lindsay shares powerful insights
on work, life, harmony, the

13
00:00:44,360 --> 00:00:48,320
invisible way women leaders
carry, knowing when to end a

14
00:00:48,320 --> 00:00:53,360
role with grace and integrity,
and why finding joy now matters

15
00:00:53,360 --> 00:00:55,480
more than ever.
If you're a leader who feels

16
00:00:55,480 --> 00:01:00,280
tired, stretched, or quietly
wondering is there a better way,

17
00:01:00,680 --> 00:01:04,640
this conversation is for you.
Welcome to lead with Hope.

18
00:01:04,760 --> 00:01:08,440
Before we get started, I want to
thank our legacy partner, Craig

19
00:01:08,440 --> 00:01:12,760
Williams, founder of Commissary.
As Spark Hope, we believe the

20
00:01:12,760 --> 00:01:17,080
story matters because story
shapes how we lead, how we

21
00:01:17,080 --> 00:01:19,640
connect, and how we show up in
the world.

22
00:01:20,120 --> 00:01:24,080
Commissary helps authors and
leaders bring clarity to their

23
00:01:24,080 --> 00:01:28,000
story and confidence to their
voice so their brand truly

24
00:01:28,040 --> 00:01:31,040
reflects who they are.
You can learn more about their

25
00:01:31,040 --> 00:01:34,400
work by visiting the link in
today's show notes or on the

26
00:01:34,400 --> 00:01:37,640
Spark Hope website.
Thank you, Commissary, for

27
00:01:37,640 --> 00:01:40,000
supporting the Lead with Hope
podcast.

28
00:01:43,440 --> 00:01:46,800
Welcome to the Lead with Hope
podcast where we explore the

29
00:01:46,800 --> 00:01:51,000
power of habits, optimism,
purpose, excellence in

30
00:01:51,000 --> 00:01:54,440
leadership and life.
Today, I'm honored to welcome

31
00:01:54,440 --> 00:01:58,160
Lindsay Hall to the show.
And Lindsay and I met at an ACE

32
00:01:58,160 --> 00:02:02,480
meeting A stands for allyship,
connection and engagement and

33
00:02:02,480 --> 00:02:06,200
it's a meeting that she hosts
monthly for school leaders.

34
00:02:06,360 --> 00:02:09,400
And I met her when I was still
serving as a Superintendent.

35
00:02:09,440 --> 00:02:13,160
I've been inspired by Lindsay
and I'm learning more about her

36
00:02:13,160 --> 00:02:17,560
now, what you're doing now and
your journey to where you are

37
00:02:17,720 --> 00:02:20,240
present day.
Well, thank you, Brandy, and

38
00:02:20,240 --> 00:02:22,360
it's been great to meet you and
get to know you.

39
00:02:22,360 --> 00:02:26,880
And I should say that you were a
guest speaker on our ACE Zoom

40
00:02:26,880 --> 00:02:30,320
meeting back in September and
did such a great job.

41
00:02:30,320 --> 00:02:33,960
And we got lots of positive
feedback about how inspirational

42
00:02:33,960 --> 00:02:37,680
and positive positive you were.
So it's been wonderful to be

43
00:02:37,680 --> 00:02:41,120
able to connect with you and I'm
honored to talk with you today.

44
00:02:41,120 --> 00:02:43,120
Thank.
Thank you for the invitation to

45
00:02:43,600 --> 00:02:47,120
do this.
OK, so I come from, I won't, you

46
00:02:47,120 --> 00:02:50,040
know, go into my whole family
history, but I do come from a

47
00:02:50,080 --> 00:02:53,600
family of educators.
And it's never what I thought I

48
00:02:53,600 --> 00:02:56,160
would do.
Even in college, I was pretty

49
00:02:56,200 --> 00:03:00,560
lost and wasn't exactly sure
what degree to get to get and

50
00:03:00,560 --> 00:03:06,760
didn't really know what I wanted
to to do and took kind of a long

51
00:03:06,760 --> 00:03:10,560
and indirect path to getting my
teaching certificate as they

52
00:03:10,560 --> 00:03:12,840
were called back in the day here
in Illinois.

53
00:03:12,880 --> 00:03:17,080
And my first teaching job was at
Danville High School here in

54
00:03:17,080 --> 00:03:19,920
Illinois.
And I had a great time there.

55
00:03:19,920 --> 00:03:24,840
It was a very large, diverse
high school and I got to teach

56
00:03:24,840 --> 00:03:27,800
health education all day, which
I really loved doing.

57
00:03:27,800 --> 00:03:33,920
And I had a female principal
who's very inspiring, very much

58
00:03:33,920 --> 00:03:35,840
a role model.
That was pretty rare.

59
00:03:36,200 --> 00:03:39,080
Still is that's not the majority
of high school principals are

60
00:03:39,080 --> 00:03:42,720
not female, but Ellen Russell
was really inspiring.

61
00:03:42,720 --> 00:03:46,600
And there's also a Dean of
students that I really looked up

62
00:03:46,600 --> 00:03:49,680
to.
And, and so I, I love teaching

63
00:03:49,760 --> 00:03:53,680
and I love teaching the subject
I, I taught, but I immediately

64
00:03:53,680 --> 00:03:58,760
got inspired to go get my type
75 at Eastern Illinois

65
00:03:58,760 --> 00:04:02,720
University and got, got that and
started looking for

66
00:04:02,720 --> 00:04:05,720
administrative jobs because I
just, I don't know, I felt a

67
00:04:05,720 --> 00:04:08,520
calling to do it.
It looked fun and interesting.

68
00:04:08,520 --> 00:04:14,720
And I'm someone who needs a lot
of kind of variety and change up

69
00:04:14,920 --> 00:04:18,120
during the day.
So that's certainly describes

70
00:04:18,120 --> 00:04:22,040
administration.
And a couple years later, I was

71
00:04:22,040 --> 00:04:24,840
fortunate enough to be hired as
a junior high assistant

72
00:04:24,840 --> 00:04:27,800
principal in Mohammed Seymour.
I ended up staying in Mohammed

73
00:04:27,800 --> 00:04:31,000
Seymour for 11 years.
Eight of those years I was the

74
00:04:31,000 --> 00:04:34,720
principal at the junior high and
just loved it.

75
00:04:34,720 --> 00:04:37,880
It's great school district.
And I, of course, I didn't know

76
00:04:37,880 --> 00:04:41,160
then that I would end up coming
back to Mohammed Seymour as a

77
00:04:41,160 --> 00:04:45,600
Superintendent in 2017.
But in between that time, after

78
00:04:45,600 --> 00:04:48,840
I'd I'd been in Mohammed Seymour
as the junior high principal, I

79
00:04:48,840 --> 00:04:51,960
moved up north with my family
and became the high school

80
00:04:51,960 --> 00:04:55,560
principal at DeKalb High School
and did that for four years.

81
00:04:55,800 --> 00:04:59,000
Then I moved into an assistant
superintendent's position there

82
00:04:59,000 --> 00:05:01,360
for three years, overseeing
human resources.

83
00:05:01,360 --> 00:05:04,240
Really high energy place to
work.

84
00:05:04,240 --> 00:05:08,040
A lot of days of just drinking
from the fire hose and trying to

85
00:05:08,040 --> 00:05:12,880
put out fires at the same time.
But I learned so much and really

86
00:05:13,360 --> 00:05:17,160
being a being an assistant
Superintendent in a district

87
00:05:17,160 --> 00:05:21,120
that size had 6000 kids really
prepared me well for my first

88
00:05:21,120 --> 00:05:23,720
superintendent's job, which was
in Morton.

89
00:05:25,000 --> 00:05:27,760
And this is Morton, IL over by
Peoria.

90
00:05:27,840 --> 00:05:30,640
And so I was Superintendent
there for five years.

91
00:05:31,400 --> 00:05:34,760
And then I finished my career as
the Superintendent, Muhammad

92
00:05:34,760 --> 00:05:39,800
Seymour from 2017 to 2022.
And I retired in 2022.

93
00:05:39,880 --> 00:05:42,600
So that's, that's my, that's my
professional life.

94
00:05:42,600 --> 00:05:47,480
I feel very, very fortunate to
have had a very understanding

95
00:05:47,720 --> 00:05:50,520
and supportive family.
As we know, these jobs are

96
00:05:50,520 --> 00:05:53,640
incredibly demanding, take a lot
of time away.

97
00:05:53,680 --> 00:05:57,600
At different points.
I was my children's principal

98
00:05:57,640 --> 00:05:59,240
either in junior high or high
school.

99
00:05:59,320 --> 00:06:00,960
I think the jury's still out for
them.

100
00:06:00,960 --> 00:06:03,760
They're in their 30s now,
whether that was a good thing or

101
00:06:03,760 --> 00:06:05,840
a bad thing.
But we talked during the day if

102
00:06:05,840 --> 00:06:08,000
they'd see me.
I wasn't, you know, completely

103
00:06:08,160 --> 00:06:11,880
disowned by by them.
But I also had the opportunity

104
00:06:11,880 --> 00:06:15,240
to earn my doctorate from the
University of Illinois along the

105
00:06:15,240 --> 00:06:18,400
way.
Just the variety and size and

106
00:06:18,400 --> 00:06:21,280
different types of school
districts I worked in was really

107
00:06:21,280 --> 00:06:25,000
something that I made my work
really interesting and fun.

108
00:06:25,000 --> 00:06:28,240
And I, I loved the jobs that I
did.

109
00:06:28,240 --> 00:06:31,800
They were, they were great.
So I feel very, very blessed.

110
00:06:32,040 --> 00:06:35,360
And now I work at Illinois State
University part time, which is

111
00:06:35,360 --> 00:06:38,080
wonderful.
And I feel retired, but I'm

112
00:06:38,080 --> 00:06:40,360
still working.
It's not the grind of being a

113
00:06:40,360 --> 00:06:44,680
Superintendent and it's not the
the high stress and pressure

114
00:06:44,680 --> 00:06:46,480
that goes with it.
But I coordinate the

115
00:06:46,480 --> 00:06:49,400
administrative licensure
programs in the College of

116
00:06:49,400 --> 00:06:52,880
Education.
And then I also do some coaching

117
00:06:52,880 --> 00:06:56,600
for IASA and principal mentoring
with IPA.

118
00:06:56,600 --> 00:06:59,880
And I present administrator
academies with one of my good

119
00:06:59,880 --> 00:07:02,400
friends as well.
So feeling really good about the

120
00:07:02,400 --> 00:07:04,120
space that I'm in.
Yeah.

121
00:07:04,280 --> 00:07:07,960
The space that you're in right
now is the space that I'm and I,

122
00:07:07,960 --> 00:07:12,040
I've, I've launched my business
and I'm still in full time, but

123
00:07:12,160 --> 00:07:15,440
I am able to pour into other
other people and just focus on

124
00:07:15,440 --> 00:07:20,000
that growth and helping people
to become the best version of

125
00:07:20,000 --> 00:07:21,680
themselves.
Because as you said, and you've

126
00:07:21,680 --> 00:07:25,760
got a wealth of experience in
different educational leadership

127
00:07:25,760 --> 00:07:30,040
roles.
It is a grind and there a lot of

128
00:07:30,040 --> 00:07:32,640
stress that is is put on your
plate.

129
00:07:32,640 --> 00:07:37,960
So speaking specifically for
women in leadership, I too, like

130
00:07:37,960 --> 00:07:43,080
you, have aunties.
I just finished my IPA Aspiring

131
00:07:43,080 --> 00:07:49,960
Mandatory webinar today.
And the aspiring women leaders,

132
00:07:50,040 --> 00:07:52,800
what would you say to them?
What's a piece of advice that

133
00:07:52,800 --> 00:07:54,720
you would give to them if
they're listening today?

134
00:07:55,120 --> 00:07:58,720
Oh boy.
Well, first of all, my first

135
00:07:58,720 --> 00:08:03,360
thought is you are needed in the
field, so please don't give up.

136
00:08:03,360 --> 00:08:06,920
And don't you know, there's and
there's so many different places

137
00:08:06,920 --> 00:08:12,080
to work and things to do in
public education as an

138
00:08:12,080 --> 00:08:15,800
administrator and as a building
leader or as a district leader.

139
00:08:15,800 --> 00:08:20,080
It's very important that you
find the right place to work and

140
00:08:20,080 --> 00:08:23,040
surround yourself with with the
right people, which I feel

141
00:08:23,280 --> 00:08:25,680
personally I was very fortunate
to be able to do.

142
00:08:26,680 --> 00:08:30,720
And there's tremendous guilt out
that women carry about giving

143
00:08:30,720 --> 00:08:32,840
enough.
I'm not giving enough anywhere,

144
00:08:32,840 --> 00:08:36,320
not to my job, not to my family,
not to my home.

145
00:08:36,799 --> 00:08:41,600
And there is a significant
mental load that women carry.

146
00:08:41,880 --> 00:08:44,120
I'm not saying that men don't
carry that.

147
00:08:44,159 --> 00:08:46,200
What I'm saying is it looks very
different.

148
00:08:46,360 --> 00:08:49,520
Our roles at home are different
and we approach work

149
00:08:49,600 --> 00:08:53,200
differently.
And so I think I would tell

150
00:08:53,200 --> 00:09:00,320
female leaders just to be aware
of that and also know that that

151
00:09:00,320 --> 00:09:03,160
I'm going to, I'm going to use a
term from my friend and

152
00:09:03,160 --> 00:09:06,440
colleague, Doctor Donna Leak,
who's a Superintendent in the

153
00:09:06,520 --> 00:09:09,960
South suburbs of Chicago.
And she's also the vice chair of

154
00:09:10,160 --> 00:09:13,960
the isbee board right now.
And she's great leader.

155
00:09:14,160 --> 00:09:17,720
She calls it, she calls it work
life integration instead of work

156
00:09:17,720 --> 00:09:22,000
life balance because there will
be weeks and when you know

157
00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:24,360
you'll, you'll have a week
that's extremely busy and you're

158
00:09:24,360 --> 00:09:27,840
not home much, but then there'll
be other times when you can be

159
00:09:27,840 --> 00:09:29,880
home more.
And so I think just

160
00:09:29,880 --> 00:09:33,560
communicating with your family,
having a partner or some type of

161
00:09:33,560 --> 00:09:36,520
support system is, is very
important.

162
00:09:36,600 --> 00:09:39,880
Asking for help.
We are terrible at doing that.

163
00:09:39,920 --> 00:09:43,440
I was terrible at doing that
when my kids were were younger.

164
00:09:43,440 --> 00:09:45,640
And you don't have to do all of
this alone.

165
00:09:45,880 --> 00:09:49,600
And I would also say just
networking with other people and

166
00:09:49,600 --> 00:09:54,160
other women in the field and
leaning on each other for

167
00:09:54,160 --> 00:09:55,800
support and hope.
For sure.

168
00:09:56,000 --> 00:09:59,280
I read a book called Necessary
Endings by Doctor Henry Cloud

169
00:09:59,280 --> 00:10:06,320
and a lot of talk, a lot of
training, a lot of planning that

170
00:10:06,320 --> 00:10:10,840
goes into onboarding and getting
that right job and preparing to

171
00:10:10,840 --> 00:10:14,560
be an administrator.
But let's be honest, it's not

172
00:10:14,560 --> 00:10:17,480
always a good fit.
Sometimes we make that leap and

173
00:10:17,480 --> 00:10:22,560
we go to another school district
and we decide to leave as a

174
00:10:22,560 --> 00:10:26,960
teacher leader or a principal or
a Superintendent or maybe a

175
00:10:26,960 --> 00:10:29,480
different role.
And if the values don't align,

176
00:10:29,480 --> 00:10:34,120
if there's not that alignment
there, then sometimes endings

177
00:10:34,120 --> 00:10:37,000
are necessary.
And I believe that we need to do

178
00:10:37,000 --> 00:10:41,960
a better job helping people to
end with grace and with

179
00:10:41,960 --> 00:10:46,840
integrity so that there's not
the shame and the blame that

180
00:10:46,840 --> 00:10:50,240
goes along with that.
And I think women are very

181
00:10:50,240 --> 00:10:51,920
emotionally intelligent,
diligent.

182
00:10:52,120 --> 00:10:55,520
The vast majority of us are very
emotionally intelligent, very

183
00:10:55,680 --> 00:10:59,880
empathetic in our leadership,
the way that we lead.

184
00:10:59,880 --> 00:11:04,920
And I would love to see more
being done around ending with

185
00:11:04,920 --> 00:11:09,000
grace and integrity.
I fully agree we should quit

186
00:11:09,000 --> 00:11:12,840
more stuff, that's what.
I did, absolutely.

187
00:11:12,840 --> 00:11:16,920
In fact, I sometimes in coaching
conversations, you know, instead

188
00:11:16,920 --> 00:11:19,920
of talking about starting things
and adding more, the

189
00:11:19,920 --> 00:11:23,280
conversation I have sometimes is
what can you stop?

190
00:11:23,280 --> 00:11:25,960
Let's let's talk about what we
can stop doing that's not

191
00:11:25,960 --> 00:11:29,400
effective.
But I agree about, you know,

192
00:11:29,720 --> 00:11:34,240
graciously and gracefully
exiting a situation when it's

193
00:11:34,240 --> 00:11:36,560
not working out.
The reality is in the

194
00:11:36,560 --> 00:11:39,400
superintendency that just
happens.

195
00:11:39,400 --> 00:11:42,480
I think when when you explain to
other people who are not

196
00:11:42,680 --> 00:11:47,560
superintendents or who haven't
been, hey, my group of bosses

197
00:11:47,560 --> 00:11:50,400
changes over potentially every
two years.

198
00:11:50,400 --> 00:11:53,720
That's a really interesting
dynamic that a lot of other

199
00:11:53,720 --> 00:11:57,240
places don't have to and and
occupations don't.

200
00:11:57,400 --> 00:12:01,520
It's really foreign, but it's
our reality and can be really

201
00:12:01,520 --> 00:12:03,560
hard.
They don't understand that.

202
00:12:03,560 --> 00:12:06,720
And then in addition to that,
you talk about the mental load

203
00:12:07,120 --> 00:12:11,080
and you have 7 bosses who have
never been an educator for the

204
00:12:11,080 --> 00:12:13,480
most part.
Now sometimes during my

205
00:12:13,480 --> 00:12:15,120
superintendency, I was
fortunate.

206
00:12:15,120 --> 00:12:18,120
I had two people on the board
who had been educators.

207
00:12:18,120 --> 00:12:21,520
They had been or were teachers
at the, at the time that I

208
00:12:21,520 --> 00:12:25,360
served as a Superintendent, I
had a primary teacher on the

209
00:12:25,360 --> 00:12:29,480
board and I had a college
professor who had been a teacher

210
00:12:29,680 --> 00:12:33,040
in a public school system.
And so I was fortunate and I and

211
00:12:33,040 --> 00:12:36,520
that was that was felt in the
discussions that we we had

212
00:12:36,520 --> 00:12:42,440
around academics and achievement
scores and, you know, things

213
00:12:42,440 --> 00:12:46,120
like standardized testing, But
not everybody has that.

214
00:12:46,120 --> 00:12:50,640
Sometimes the whole board may be
farmers or business owners or

215
00:12:50,640 --> 00:12:54,160
people that have never worked in
education before.

216
00:12:54,600 --> 00:12:58,400
And you know, you and I both LED
in different school districts

217
00:12:58,520 --> 00:13:03,360
during COVID, which presented a
whole nother dynamic, a more

218
00:13:03,360 --> 00:13:07,560
political dynamic to the
landscape of education.

219
00:13:07,760 --> 00:13:11,640
Talk to us a little bit about
the tension that you felt as a

220
00:13:11,760 --> 00:13:15,800
Superintendent with a difficult
board during COVID.

221
00:13:15,880 --> 00:13:17,360
Yeah, it was bad for everybody.
So I.

222
00:13:18,040 --> 00:13:19,560
Want.
I mean no one.

223
00:13:19,800 --> 00:13:23,840
No one wanted or no one was
functionally, you know, very

224
00:13:23,840 --> 00:13:28,400
well during that whole era.
But in 2019, prior to the

225
00:13:28,400 --> 00:13:32,560
pandemic starting and school
shutting down in the 2019

226
00:13:32,720 --> 00:13:38,080
election, in April of that year,
my board experienced A turnover

227
00:13:38,200 --> 00:13:42,760
and three people were elected
who were frankly just very

228
00:13:42,760 --> 00:13:46,080
difficult to work with until I
retired three years later.

229
00:13:46,160 --> 00:13:48,560
You know, in hindsight, I'm sure
some of it was me.

230
00:13:48,560 --> 00:13:51,600
I I had made some decisions
prior to their election that

231
00:13:51,600 --> 00:13:55,200
they didn't agree with and so
had other members of the board

232
00:13:55,200 --> 00:13:59,360
and, but they clearly had their
own ideas about how decisions

233
00:13:59,360 --> 00:14:01,720
should be made and how meetings
should be run.

234
00:14:01,720 --> 00:14:07,480
And it was very much in contrast
to what is best practice and to

235
00:14:07,480 --> 00:14:10,920
what some of the principles are
of running effective meetings

236
00:14:10,920 --> 00:14:16,240
and agenda building and having
kind of working agreements about

237
00:14:16,240 --> 00:14:18,200
how we're going to communicate
with one another.

238
00:14:18,200 --> 00:14:22,760
And so that was that happened a
year before we shut down.

239
00:14:22,920 --> 00:14:26,720
And so when you're when you're
bored is struggling to get along

240
00:14:26,720 --> 00:14:30,040
and work together and work with
the Superintendent, when a

241
00:14:30,040 --> 00:14:34,320
worldwide pandemic hits and you
close down schools, the problems

242
00:14:34,320 --> 00:14:38,840
are kind of exacerbated.
And it's not like you start

243
00:14:38,840 --> 00:14:44,640
getting along all of a sudden.
So the the difficult board was

244
00:14:44,720 --> 00:14:49,880
difficult enough on its own, but
then we overlaid everything that

245
00:14:49,880 --> 00:14:55,240
came with COVID-19 as it relates
to schools and communities.

246
00:14:55,440 --> 00:15:00,480
And my board was very kind of
politically split also on the

247
00:15:00,480 --> 00:15:05,240
directives we were receiving and
things like masks and COVID

248
00:15:05,240 --> 00:15:10,440
testing and, you know,
quarantining students.

249
00:15:11,040 --> 00:15:15,000
So it was a, it was a constant.
The only, I mean, the word that

250
00:15:15,000 --> 00:15:17,600
comes to mind is battle.
And we were having, we were

251
00:15:17,600 --> 00:15:21,520
having five and six hour board
meetings before the pandemic.

252
00:15:21,600 --> 00:15:23,800
That's not appropriate.
No one should be making

253
00:15:23,800 --> 00:15:28,760
decisions to me after about 9:00
at night, let alone 11:00 PM.

254
00:15:28,760 --> 00:15:31,960
I'm certainly, admittedly, I'm
not at my best.

255
00:15:31,960 --> 00:15:34,760
No one, no one is.
And so it was, it was an

256
00:15:34,760 --> 00:15:37,280
embarrassment to our community,
to be very honest.

257
00:15:37,280 --> 00:15:41,240
And from my standpoint, my board
president and I were working

258
00:15:41,240 --> 00:15:45,840
together to try as much as we
can and as much as we could to

259
00:15:46,240 --> 00:15:48,680
have some positive working
relationships.

260
00:15:48,680 --> 00:15:51,160
And at some point, there's a lot
of things that are just out of

261
00:15:51,160 --> 00:15:53,560
your control.
I mean, I tried like, I don't

262
00:15:53,560 --> 00:15:56,360
know what seemed like hundreds
and hundreds of different

263
00:15:56,400 --> 00:16:00,080
angles, strategies, ways to try
to just communicate more

264
00:16:00,080 --> 00:16:04,040
effectively with these three
people and nothing, nothing

265
00:16:04,040 --> 00:16:06,480
really worked.
And at the end of the day, the,

266
00:16:07,520 --> 00:16:10,840
you know, the impact is on the
children who attend your

267
00:16:10,840 --> 00:16:13,200
schools.
And, you know, if we're talking

268
00:16:13,200 --> 00:16:17,640
about role modeling and being
effective leaders and being in a

269
00:16:17,640 --> 00:16:20,600
position that's very visible,
our, our board meetings were all

270
00:16:20,600 --> 00:16:23,400
live streamed.
We, it was a bad optic.

271
00:16:23,400 --> 00:16:27,480
And my goal was to just be as
gracious as I could.

272
00:16:27,480 --> 00:16:30,240
It was extremely difficult.
And I know there's times that I

273
00:16:30,240 --> 00:16:34,240
lost my patience.
And so, you know, I had

274
00:16:34,240 --> 00:16:38,960
originally planned to retire in
2023, that my contract was a

275
00:16:39,320 --> 00:16:41,440
contract that took me to my
retirement.

276
00:16:41,440 --> 00:16:46,400
And in the fall of 2021, I just
had a realization that I needed

277
00:16:46,400 --> 00:16:49,360
to retire a year early and for
my own health.

278
00:16:49,360 --> 00:16:53,080
And when I say my own health, I
mean mentally, physically,

279
00:16:53,080 --> 00:16:57,560
emotionally, socially, every
aspect of my health needed to be

280
00:16:57,560 --> 00:17:00,600
addressed.
And I did not, I didn't see the

281
00:17:00,600 --> 00:17:07,920
value in just kind of crawling
through my last year of, of

282
00:17:07,920 --> 00:17:11,480
being a Superintendent.
I needed just to get out.

283
00:17:11,480 --> 00:17:15,040
And so I did.
I November of 21, I made that

284
00:17:15,040 --> 00:17:19,359
decision and literally came home
at like 12:30 AM from a board

285
00:17:19,359 --> 00:17:22,680
meeting and crawled into bed and
I just told my husband I'm, I'm,

286
00:17:22,920 --> 00:17:24,880
I'm done at the end of the
school year.

287
00:17:25,960 --> 00:17:29,720
And I think he, I don't remember
the exact response, but it,

288
00:17:30,160 --> 00:17:35,440
there was not disappointment it
expressed, but you know, kudos

289
00:17:35,440 --> 00:17:39,000
to him for kind of letting me
find my my own way.

290
00:17:39,000 --> 00:17:43,240
But I wasn't sleeping.
One of our kids was having very

291
00:17:43,240 --> 00:17:47,320
serious health issues with a
grown kid, but we were caring

292
00:17:47,320 --> 00:17:49,240
for him.
And it was, it was a lot.

293
00:17:49,240 --> 00:17:53,840
And I just realized my family,
my family needed a much better

294
00:17:53,840 --> 00:17:59,960
version of me, and not so did.
I yeah, kudos to you for making

295
00:17:59,960 --> 00:18:03,920
that bold step because with one
year left, a lot of people would

296
00:18:03,920 --> 00:18:08,480
just continue to push through.
I mean, that's our culture.

297
00:18:08,640 --> 00:18:11,000
Our culture, yeah, just keep
pushing.

298
00:18:11,000 --> 00:18:13,480
You can do it.
Keep pushing, showing up.

299
00:18:13,720 --> 00:18:18,440
And they shame us when we
prioritize the things that we're

300
00:18:18,440 --> 00:18:21,200
for in this life.
I've just started reading a book

301
00:18:21,200 --> 00:18:23,640
by Jeff Henderson called What
You're For.

302
00:18:23,760 --> 00:18:26,600
And when you know what you're
for, what your priorities are,

303
00:18:26,600 --> 00:18:31,440
when you're value value aligned
and you know what you're for, I

304
00:18:31,440 --> 00:18:35,440
think that magnifies our purpose
and our life.

305
00:18:35,800 --> 00:18:41,640
Not defined by those roles like
Superintendent or principal or

306
00:18:41,640 --> 00:18:44,400
even, you know, even mom and
dad.

307
00:18:44,400 --> 00:18:49,200
I mean, we are more than that.
And so kudos to you for

308
00:18:49,200 --> 00:18:54,600
acknowledge you and for making
that bold step and then also

309
00:18:54,600 --> 00:18:56,440
coming on the show and talking
about it.

310
00:18:56,440 --> 00:18:57,720
That took a lot of
vulnerability.

311
00:18:58,560 --> 00:19:01,760
I have to say that I got a lot
of positive feedback.

312
00:19:04,160 --> 00:19:10,080
You know, I was it was just
barely not fully vested in TRS

313
00:19:10,080 --> 00:19:13,760
and I guess one thing that was
surprising to me is I had a

314
00:19:13,760 --> 00:19:18,240
number of people like ask me
about that and that struck me as

315
00:19:18,720 --> 00:19:22,280
a none of your business.
I'm can manage my finances,

316
00:19:22,320 --> 00:19:25,520
thank you.
But and like I've thought this

317
00:19:25,520 --> 00:19:27,800
through also.
This was not an impulsive

318
00:19:27,920 --> 00:19:31,120
decision.
There just came this very clear

319
00:19:31,120 --> 00:19:36,240
vision.
Thought like whatever money's

320
00:19:36,240 --> 00:19:39,320
left on the table, I don't care
about.

321
00:19:39,600 --> 00:19:41,560
Yeah, it's not worth.
It I don't yeah.

322
00:19:41,560 --> 00:19:46,040
And I love, I love some of the
ways that, that you worded

323
00:19:46,040 --> 00:19:50,600
about, you know, just your, your
values aligning and my, my

324
00:19:50,800 --> 00:19:56,720
values were like, I'm, I don't
want to impair myself anymore.

325
00:19:57,280 --> 00:19:57,920
Right.
Yeah.

326
00:19:57,920 --> 00:19:59,080
Did you?
You know I can't.

327
00:19:59,320 --> 00:20:01,280
You don't know what that stress
is going to.

328
00:20:01,280 --> 00:20:04,560
Do yeah.
In my last year of the

329
00:20:04,560 --> 00:20:07,520
superintendency, I started
dealing with a lot of health

330
00:20:07,520 --> 00:20:13,080
issues and I'm fine, but I'm
still navigating some of the

331
00:20:13,080 --> 00:20:16,920
ramifications of that heavy
mental load.

332
00:20:16,920 --> 00:20:21,680
And I won't go to detail with
that, but it stress takes a toll

333
00:20:21,680 --> 00:20:25,240
on your life.
And when my mom was just 44

334
00:20:25,240 --> 00:20:28,040
years old, I got to see that
play out in her life.

335
00:20:28,280 --> 00:20:30,840
And she didn't press through,
she pressed through.

336
00:20:31,040 --> 00:20:34,880
She just kept going.
And you know, she was of a

337
00:20:34,880 --> 00:20:40,240
different generation than I am,
but end result six months after

338
00:20:40,240 --> 00:20:43,040
a diagnosis with cancer and she
was dead.

339
00:20:43,200 --> 00:20:48,360
And so I think for me, seeing
that first hand and seeing what

340
00:20:48,360 --> 00:20:53,640
stress can do when it's when it
starts having those health

341
00:20:53,640 --> 00:20:56,200
issues, pay attention.
And I would say that to the

342
00:20:56,200 --> 00:21:00,080
listeners too, if your body is
sending you signs, if you're not

343
00:21:00,080 --> 00:21:04,480
sleeping, if you're not eating,
if you're having intestinal or

344
00:21:04,480 --> 00:21:08,920
digestive issues to the point
that it's impairing your daily

345
00:21:08,920 --> 00:21:14,240
functioning, consider making a
change because you only get one

346
00:21:14,240 --> 00:21:19,440
shot at life.
And we all carry a lot

347
00:21:19,760 --> 00:21:21,760
government load.
We carry trauma.

348
00:21:21,760 --> 00:21:24,120
Some of us, we carry heavy
burdens.

349
00:21:24,520 --> 00:21:28,440
And you know, for me, grief has
been part of my experience for

350
00:21:28,440 --> 00:21:31,640
you, Lindsay, I know it's been
part of yours as well.

351
00:21:31,640 --> 00:21:35,200
So when you reflect back on your
journey and you look at

352
00:21:35,200 --> 00:21:39,560
everything, what would be your
biggest takeaways or or what

353
00:21:39,560 --> 00:21:43,960
would be your moment that you
can now talk about?

354
00:21:44,280 --> 00:21:46,880
Sure.
Yeah, well, I'm thank you for

355
00:21:46,880 --> 00:21:50,960
sharing those stories and you
know, about your mom.

356
00:21:52,200 --> 00:21:57,360
I, you know, when, when the
stress was so high during COVID.

357
00:21:57,360 --> 00:21:59,000
And for me, it was not just
COVID.

358
00:21:59,000 --> 00:22:04,400
It was also dealing with, with
my board again, who had very

359
00:22:04,400 --> 00:22:08,120
conflicting views on just how to
move forward and how to have

360
00:22:08,120 --> 00:22:11,400
school.
I just want to say I had some

361
00:22:11,480 --> 00:22:13,560
amazing people I was working
with.

362
00:22:13,560 --> 00:22:19,640
I have an amazing family and I,
I would say that, you know, I, I

363
00:22:19,640 --> 00:22:24,120
was able to find joy different,
different things that were not

364
00:22:24,120 --> 00:22:29,960
work and, and I, but I also
found there were ways, there are

365
00:22:29,960 --> 00:22:32,760
ways I could still find joy in
doing the work.

366
00:22:32,760 --> 00:22:34,720
And I think that that's
something, you know, we talked

367
00:22:34,720 --> 00:22:37,520
about.
What advice or what would you

368
00:22:37,520 --> 00:22:43,120
say to administrators or people
thinking about going in into the

369
00:22:43,120 --> 00:22:45,520
field?
And that is you, your, your life

370
00:22:45,520 --> 00:22:51,600
is right now.
Finding, finding joy and purpose

371
00:22:52,040 --> 00:22:57,560
is so important now as opposed
to I'll do it later or I'll do

372
00:22:57,560 --> 00:23:04,320
it when I retire or any number
of things that we, we kick kind

373
00:23:04,320 --> 00:23:06,760
of kick the can down the road.
I mean, we do, when you think

374
00:23:06,760 --> 00:23:10,120
about it, we do a lot of
countdowns in schools.

375
00:23:10,600 --> 00:23:12,920
I could go to and I could go
into a school right now, find a

376
00:23:12,920 --> 00:23:15,440
teacher who's retiring at the
end of this year and they could

377
00:23:15,440 --> 00:23:20,840
tell me, yeah, I've, I've got 95
days, 14 hours and 3 minutes

378
00:23:20,840 --> 00:23:24,880
left the countdown, right?
Or yeah, I've got 18 days to

379
00:23:24,880 --> 00:23:27,600
Christmas break.
And we get into that mindset of

380
00:23:27,600 --> 00:23:30,960
just thinking that somehow
something's much better down the

381
00:23:30,960 --> 00:23:34,360
road.
And, and sometimes it is and

382
00:23:34,360 --> 00:23:36,600
sometimes life just continues to
happen.

383
00:23:36,600 --> 00:23:40,360
And so my family went through a
very difficult time shortly

384
00:23:40,360 --> 00:23:43,400
after I retired.
I, of course, was looking

385
00:23:43,400 --> 00:23:46,120
forward to not being a
Superintendent, just to be very

386
00:23:46,120 --> 00:23:47,520
honest.
I mean, I was just looking

387
00:23:47,520 --> 00:23:51,560
forward to not working the
hours, not having the pressure,

388
00:23:51,720 --> 00:23:55,680
trying to, for me, my top
priority was I, I've got to get

389
00:23:55,680 --> 00:24:00,400
my sleep in order that that for
me was what was really, really

390
00:24:00,400 --> 00:24:02,920
hurting me.
And about seven months after I

391
00:24:02,920 --> 00:24:06,400
retired, one of our kids kids
was diagnosed with a malignant

392
00:24:06,400 --> 00:24:09,480
brain tumor.
And it was a very, pretty

393
00:24:09,480 --> 00:24:13,000
aggressive brain tumor.
It was pretty nasty from the

394
00:24:13,000 --> 00:24:16,080
very beginning.
And the outlook in the life

395
00:24:16,080 --> 00:24:20,160
expectancy after the diagnosis
was it was like 3 to five years

396
00:24:20,160 --> 00:24:22,840
and best case, kind of best case
scenario.

397
00:24:22,840 --> 00:24:28,560
And so we started on a, this
journey, this my stepson F,

398
00:24:28,600 --> 00:24:37,240
who's at the was 37 at the time.
And you know, we partnered with

399
00:24:37,240 --> 00:24:41,840
Jeff's mom, my husband and I
and, and did a lot of driving to

400
00:24:41,840 --> 00:24:45,720
get him to where he needed to go
for radiation and chemo and

401
00:24:46,760 --> 00:24:49,640
rehab.
But the, the tumor, I mean, the,

402
00:24:49,840 --> 00:24:53,680
it's just the word vicious comes
to mind because it impaired him

403
00:24:53,680 --> 00:24:56,360
physically in so many ways.
It was on his brain stem.

404
00:24:57,440 --> 00:25:01,400
And so things at the beginning
of his treatment looked hopeful

405
00:25:01,600 --> 00:25:05,320
and then they started to not
look so hopeful after about six

406
00:25:05,320 --> 00:25:09,560
months after diagnosis.
By January of 2024, he was

407
00:25:09,560 --> 00:25:13,880
receiving Hospice care and he
passed away in March of of 2024

408
00:25:13,880 --> 00:25:19,600
and he was just 37.
And I will say that an

409
00:25:19,680 --> 00:25:22,920
experience like that puts many
things in perspective.

410
00:25:25,880 --> 00:25:29,320
There's a great quote from a
rabbi and I, I can't remember

411
00:25:29,320 --> 00:25:32,320
his last name, but the quote is,
if you're going to go through

412
00:25:32,320 --> 00:25:34,320
hell, don't come out empty
handed.

413
00:25:34,320 --> 00:25:37,760
And I've taken that to heart and
I that there were a lot of

414
00:25:37,760 --> 00:25:41,760
things to, to learn.
And just this morning I I read

415
00:25:41,760 --> 00:25:45,880
in one of my devotionals that
quote that said, there's a

416
00:25:45,880 --> 00:25:50,880
message in the mess.
While we are heartbroken and we

417
00:25:50,880 --> 00:25:54,720
could do podcasts on grief
because it's just such a weird,

418
00:25:54,720 --> 00:25:58,480
strange journey.
We will always be heartbroken

419
00:25:58,480 --> 00:26:01,200
about this, but we have other
parts of our family and our

420
00:26:01,200 --> 00:26:04,120
lives that are very joyful.
We've got grandchildren and our

421
00:26:04,120 --> 00:26:07,040
other children are who are
grown-ups, but they're they're

422
00:26:07,040 --> 00:26:09,720
thriving.
But that journey is it's hard

423
00:26:09,720 --> 00:26:13,280
and it's it's awful to watch
someone who's going through it

424
00:26:13,280 --> 00:26:16,280
and you feel very, you feel
helpless, but you.

425
00:26:17,080 --> 00:26:18,720
I'm so sorry.
Thank you.

426
00:26:18,840 --> 00:26:21,800
Family has.
Experienced that and it's it is

427
00:26:21,800 --> 00:26:25,680
grief is a weird thing and in my
life, you know my brother

428
00:26:25,680 --> 00:26:28,800
Brandon drowned so he was here
one day on the next.

429
00:26:29,000 --> 00:26:32,040
My mom had cancer.
She died, you know, after five

430
00:26:32,040 --> 00:26:35,640
months after the diagnosis.
My dad had Parkinson's.

431
00:26:35,640 --> 00:26:39,560
He suffered with that disease
and it just a decline.

432
00:26:39,800 --> 00:26:43,440
But I've always, always said
that cancer, it strips us.

433
00:26:43,480 --> 00:26:46,600
It strips us of.
I remember I helped my mom use

434
00:26:46,600 --> 00:26:49,160
the restroom.
I combed her hair, I bathed her.

435
00:26:49,160 --> 00:26:52,360
I did everything for her.
She said it stripped her of

436
00:26:52,480 --> 00:26:55,640
everything.
But I agree with you, Lindsay,

437
00:26:55,640 --> 00:26:58,640
especially in those difficult
moments.

438
00:26:59,040 --> 00:27:02,480
If we will allow it, life will
teach us.

439
00:27:02,960 --> 00:27:04,680
I'm being on a devotion right
now.

440
00:27:04,680 --> 00:27:08,040
It's called women speaks.
Life is always speaking to us

441
00:27:08,040 --> 00:27:12,840
and God is to us.
Through those moments, we grow.

442
00:27:12,840 --> 00:27:16,760
That's when we grow the most is
during that time of adversity.

443
00:27:16,760 --> 00:27:21,680
And you have definitely had your
fair share of adversity.

444
00:27:22,040 --> 00:27:26,760
But when you think about how you
still find the joy in the

445
00:27:26,760 --> 00:27:30,880
journey, what are the things
that give you those glimmers of

446
00:27:30,880 --> 00:27:38,120
hope that that joy in your life?
Yeah, and I think it's it's very

447
00:27:38,120 --> 00:27:42,720
important to feel all of the
emotions, most importantly the

448
00:27:42,720 --> 00:27:46,200
hard ones.
So, you know, in finding joy,

449
00:27:46,720 --> 00:27:49,800
that doesn't mean ignoring other
stuff.

450
00:27:49,880 --> 00:27:54,760
And you know, I wish this hadn't
of that Jeff had not lost his

451
00:27:54,760 --> 00:27:58,480
battle with cancer because he
was a blessing to this world and

452
00:27:58,480 --> 00:28:04,680
to other people.
And he brought he brought joy in

453
00:28:04,680 --> 00:28:06,880
in so many ways to so many other
people.

454
00:28:06,880 --> 00:28:09,040
He was very involved in
community theater.

455
00:28:09,080 --> 00:28:12,800
He directed some productions
with the Penguin project with

456
00:28:12,800 --> 00:28:16,640
Special needs kid.
I mean that his heart was so big

457
00:28:16,640 --> 00:28:22,200
and in in just progressing
through the whole journey.

458
00:28:22,440 --> 00:28:25,480
There's just little things along
the way that that you take with

459
00:28:25,480 --> 00:28:28,040
you that are are very they're
meaningful.

460
00:28:28,040 --> 00:28:30,640
And that's what I meant by, you
know, don't come out of hell

461
00:28:30,640 --> 00:28:33,160
empty handed.
You still need to go through it.

462
00:28:33,160 --> 00:28:36,040
But there's definitely some
things that we think about and I

463
00:28:36,040 --> 00:28:40,120
will say this, that after going
and you know, and, and

464
00:28:40,120 --> 00:28:44,040
continuing our journey without
one of our four kids here with

465
00:28:44,040 --> 00:28:46,840
us, it makes everything with my
school board seem really dumb.

466
00:28:46,920 --> 00:28:49,920
Just to be very, I mean, just to
be very honest, like the, I can

467
00:28:49,920 --> 00:28:54,120
just think of some of the
debates, arguments and silly,

468
00:28:54,120 --> 00:28:57,240
silly things that we were
talking about that were very

469
00:28:57,240 --> 00:29:00,560
rapidly put into perspective.
When you have a terminally ill

470
00:29:00,560 --> 00:29:05,520
child and get again, I, I say
child, he was a grown child.

471
00:29:05,520 --> 00:29:07,680
But you know, you always look at
your kids.

472
00:29:08,000 --> 00:29:10,400
They always have kids.
They're always have children no

473
00:29:10,400 --> 00:29:13,560
matter how old they get.
And you're right.

474
00:29:13,560 --> 00:29:15,800
I mean, it's all about that
perspective.

475
00:29:15,800 --> 00:29:19,600
It's like that.
It definitely puts the important

476
00:29:19,600 --> 00:29:23,320
things in life into perspective.
Yeah, and we're not.

477
00:29:23,320 --> 00:29:27,680
You know, we are and we're one
of millions of families who

478
00:29:27,760 --> 00:29:31,200
faced battles with with cancer
and other tragedies.

479
00:29:31,200 --> 00:29:35,920
And I just hope that, you know,
people, people just think about

480
00:29:35,960 --> 00:29:37,840
that sometimes.
This is part of life.

481
00:29:37,920 --> 00:29:41,480
It's survivable.
It can be, there's hard days,

482
00:29:41,480 --> 00:29:44,600
but there's also, there's also
good days and there's the,

483
00:29:44,600 --> 00:29:48,040
there's glimmers and there's
there's people who say and do

484
00:29:48,040 --> 00:29:50,200
wonderful things.
There's also people who say and

485
00:29:50,200 --> 00:29:53,040
do pretty strange things, but
you have to kind of say like,

486
00:29:53,240 --> 00:29:55,080
I'm pretty sure they meant well,
but.

487
00:29:55,480 --> 00:29:56,400
Really.
Yeah.

488
00:29:56,400 --> 00:29:59,200
And I'm just grateful that you
shared your story.

489
00:30:00,920 --> 00:30:04,360
Let's pause for just a moment,
because I want to tell you about

490
00:30:04,360 --> 00:30:08,200
a partner who truly aligned with
the heart of this podcast,

491
00:30:08,760 --> 00:30:09,600
Converse.
Siri.

492
00:30:10,400 --> 00:30:13,600
Here on Lead with Hope, we
talked a lot about clarity.

493
00:30:14,000 --> 00:30:18,400
Clarity of purpose, clarity of
voice, and clarity of direction.

494
00:30:19,040 --> 00:30:21,920
And that's exactly where
Commissary comes in.

495
00:30:22,480 --> 00:30:27,000
They help leaders, educators,
and change makers uncover the

496
00:30:27,000 --> 00:30:30,480
story behind their work and
share it in a way that feels

497
00:30:30,480 --> 00:30:34,920
honest, meaningful, and deeply
aligned with who they are.

498
00:30:35,520 --> 00:30:38,880
If you've ever felt the nudge to
write a book or find your

499
00:30:38,880 --> 00:30:43,000
message or build a a brand that
actually reflects your values,

500
00:30:43,280 --> 00:30:48,040
not just your resume, Commissary
doesn't rush you or box you in.

501
00:30:48,520 --> 00:30:52,360
They walk alongside you, helping
you shape your story with

502
00:30:52,360 --> 00:30:56,160
intention and integrity.
You can learn more by clicking

503
00:30:56,160 --> 00:30:59,760
their link in the show notes or
visiting them through the Spark

504
00:30:59,760 --> 00:31:02,560
Hope website.
A big thank you to Craig

505
00:31:02,560 --> 00:31:07,080
Williams at Commissary for being
a legacy sponsor of this podcast

506
00:31:07,400 --> 00:31:09,880
and for investing in stories
that matter.

507
00:31:10,280 --> 00:31:14,000
Because when we share our
stories with clarity and hope,

508
00:31:14,600 --> 00:31:20,880
real change happens.
I thank you for the opportunity.

509
00:31:21,040 --> 00:31:24,720
Sometimes our stories are what
somebody else needs to know to

510
00:31:24,720 --> 00:31:31,520
hear so that they have the fuel
to get through the next day, the

511
00:31:31,520 --> 00:31:36,000
next moment, what whatever
they're facing, because you know

512
00:31:36,000 --> 00:31:37,920
what?
You've you've faced it.

513
00:31:37,920 --> 00:31:39,480
You've faced the difficult
board.

514
00:31:39,480 --> 00:31:43,200
You have faced the life changing
diagnosis.

515
00:31:43,200 --> 00:31:47,640
You've you've faced the loss of
of a child, which I can't

516
00:31:47,640 --> 00:31:52,120
imagine anything worse than that
as a mother, but you've survived

517
00:31:52,120 --> 00:31:53,880
it.
And I think through sharing our

518
00:31:53,880 --> 00:31:58,400
stories that gives other people
hope and hope.

519
00:31:58,400 --> 00:32:03,200
So as we've so out this podcast
today, what's giving you hope in

520
00:32:03,200 --> 00:32:05,160
the world right now?
What's giving me hope?

521
00:32:05,160 --> 00:32:09,120
Well, it's, you know, it is
interesting that we would talk

522
00:32:09,120 --> 00:32:12,280
about that word this week
because Sunday was the first

523
00:32:12,280 --> 00:32:14,560
Sunday in Advent.
And for those of us that

524
00:32:14,560 --> 00:32:18,800
celebrate Christmas, this the
word of this week is hope.

525
00:32:19,000 --> 00:32:24,800
So I, I think our world is in a
really troubled place right now,

526
00:32:24,800 --> 00:32:29,440
But I, I see people doing good
things all the time, like you

527
00:32:29,480 --> 00:32:33,360
and doing this podcast and just
making a positive difference in

528
00:32:33,360 --> 00:32:35,280
the lives of others.
And I think we just have to

529
00:32:35,280 --> 00:32:39,400
remember that there's these
giant global problems that I

530
00:32:39,400 --> 00:32:41,280
can't fix.
You can't fix.

531
00:32:41,280 --> 00:32:44,400
Like, you know, we can't even
fix other people.

532
00:32:44,400 --> 00:32:47,920
We can't fix other people in our
family if we wanted to, but we

533
00:32:47,920 --> 00:32:51,560
can, we can individually make
decisions for the.

534
00:32:51,640 --> 00:32:55,600
And I think that that that just
brings hope and joy and love

535
00:32:55,600 --> 00:32:58,960
into and kindness into other
people's lives.

536
00:32:59,080 --> 00:33:01,520
So I think that's important to
remember this week.

537
00:33:01,520 --> 00:33:04,920
But I so appreciate the
conversation with you, Brandy.

538
00:33:04,920 --> 00:33:07,240
Thanks.
Well, I appreciate you coming

539
00:33:07,240 --> 00:33:09,240
on.
And that's a great reminder,

540
00:33:09,240 --> 00:33:11,840
Lindsay, that the big things are
the little things.

541
00:33:12,000 --> 00:33:16,680
It's in those simple acts of
kindness, things that we do just

542
00:33:16,680 --> 00:33:20,080
to brighten somebody else's day.
We are the light.

543
00:33:20,080 --> 00:33:22,360
We can choose to be the light of
the world, world.

544
00:33:22,360 --> 00:33:26,120
And so I hope that if you're
listening to the show today,

545
00:33:26,360 --> 00:33:31,440
that you will choose to go out
and do a random act of kindness,

546
00:33:31,520 --> 00:33:35,040
share some some light and some
hope in the world today.

547
00:33:35,040 --> 00:33:39,240
So Lindsay, as we end today, if
the listeners want to get in

548
00:33:39,240 --> 00:33:40,880
touch with you, how would they
do that?

549
00:33:41,000 --> 00:33:42,960
I would love that.
I think the easiest way is

550
00:33:42,960 --> 00:33:53,800
probably my personal e-mail is
LA Hall HALL 21864@gmail.com.

551
00:33:53,960 --> 00:33:55,640
Well, thank you.
You can also find me on the

552
00:33:55,640 --> 00:33:57,400
Illinois State University
website.

553
00:33:57,760 --> 00:34:01,800
I will add your information in
the show notes, but thank you

554
00:34:01,800 --> 00:34:04,800
for coming on the show today.
I've enjoyed our conversation.

555
00:34:04,800 --> 00:34:07,600
Me too and I hope we can stay in
contact.

556
00:34:07,640 --> 00:34:09,560
Yeah, absolutely.
Thank you, Brandy.

557
00:34:10,560 --> 00:34:13,880
If you're listening today and
thinking I love what I do, but

558
00:34:13,880 --> 00:34:16,360
I'm exhausted, hear this
clearly.

559
00:34:16,760 --> 00:34:19,159
You're not broken.
You're a capable leader

560
00:34:19,159 --> 00:34:23,760
operating an unsustainable
system and there is a better way

561
00:34:23,760 --> 00:34:27,080
to lead.
That's exactly why I created the

562
00:34:27,080 --> 00:34:31,000
Hope Fueled Leadership
Kickstart, A focused, high

563
00:34:31,000 --> 00:34:34,880
impact private coaching
experience designed to help you

564
00:34:34,880 --> 00:34:38,239
reclaim your clarity,
confidence, and sense of

565
00:34:38,239 --> 00:34:41,719
purpose.
Through targeted assessments and

566
00:34:41,719 --> 00:34:46,679
deep dive coaching around your
mindset, habits, purpose, and

567
00:34:46,679 --> 00:34:50,960
passions, we build sustainable
leadership systems that support

568
00:34:50,960 --> 00:34:55,840
excellence without costing you,
your health, your family, or

569
00:34:55,840 --> 00:34:59,200
your identity.
By the end of this experience,

570
00:34:59,240 --> 00:35:02,000
you'll lead with your
personalized hope and action

571
00:35:02,000 --> 00:35:04,960
plan.
A clear, practical road map to

572
00:35:04,960 --> 00:35:09,920
help you lead with confidence,
connection, and courage, even in

573
00:35:09,920 --> 00:35:13,040
complex environments.
I would be honored to walk

574
00:35:13,040 --> 00:35:16,640
alongside you as we design
leadership practices that

575
00:35:16,640 --> 00:35:19,600
prevent burnout and create
lasting impact.

576
00:35:20,440 --> 00:35:23,600
If you're ready to lead with
clarity, confidence, and hope,

577
00:35:24,080 --> 00:35:29,160
visit sparkhopeedu.com and book
your free discovery call today.

578
00:35:29,680 --> 00:35:36,000
I'm excited to get started, and
I'm cheering for you as we close

579
00:35:36,000 --> 00:35:38,880
today.
Remember this, the world needs

580
00:35:38,880 --> 00:35:41,600
your leadership now more than
ever.

581
00:35:41,640 --> 00:35:46,560
If this conversation encouraged
you, challenged you, or reminded

582
00:35:46,560 --> 00:35:50,320
you that you're not alone,
here's one simple way you can

583
00:35:50,320 --> 00:35:52,840
help us spread hope.
Follow the Lead with Hope

584
00:35:52,840 --> 00:35:55,560
podcast and leave us a five star
rating.

585
00:35:55,680 --> 00:35:59,800
Those few seconds help this
message reach leaders who need

586
00:35:59,800 --> 00:36:02,880
it most.
And if today's episode resonated

587
00:36:02,880 --> 00:36:06,800
with you, share it with a friend
or a colleague, someone who

588
00:36:06,800 --> 00:36:11,040
could use a reminder that they
matter, that their work matters,

589
00:36:11,360 --> 00:36:13,640
and that hope still belongs in
leadership.

590
00:36:13,760 --> 00:36:16,760
Change doesn't start with
systems or titles.

591
00:36:17,160 --> 00:36:19,800
It starts with you.
Fill your life with hope.

592
00:36:19,880 --> 00:36:25,000
Embrace your purpose, and never
underestimate the power of your

593
00:36:25,000 --> 00:36:27,240
light to lead the way for
others.

594
00:36:28,120 --> 00:36:30,080
I'm cheering you on always.