FocusED Show Notes with Guest Julia Bialeski

Julia shares that her book Leading with Grace was inspired by her personal and professional transitions within public education, reflecting on the impact of leadership roles on her growth and identity.​

She describes the “leadership lifespan” concept—emphasizing that leadership is temporary and every position involves unique phases and resets, regardless of prior experience.​

Julia talks about how pivotal and formative challenges, like becoming a principal just before the pandemic, reshape leadership perspectives, emphasizing the importance of calm, communication, and empathy during crisis.​

She acknowledges that meaningful reflection often happens after difficult moments, not during them, and encourages leaders to create mechanisms for regular reflection, such as notes apps, calendar logs, or journals.​

Julia highlights the value of having others help identify one’s strengths, and how post-crisis reflection can reveal qualities like strategic thinking and effective listening that may be overlooked in the busy moment.​

Julia stresses the power of consistency over intensity, encouraging leaders to track small daily wins and progress for long-term growth.​

She recommends creating a “time sanctuary” with protected personal routines, sharing how her morning routine keeps her energized and clear-headed for leadership decisions.​

Julia is a strong advocate for habit formation, minimizing decision fatigue through automation of daily routines, and finding what works individually for each person, citing books like Atomic Habits and The Miracle Morning.​

She discusses boundaries as essential for well-being, sharing recent reads and insights about setting personal limits and organizational support structures.​

Julia recommends integrating reading into daily routines to foster continuous professional growth, preferring physical books and sharing tips for making time for reading over distractions like TV or scrolling.​

She underscores the point that “leaders are readers,” encouraging ongoing curiosity and deep dives into “pockets of interest” for lasting impact.​

We hope you enjoy this episode of FocusED with Julia Bialeski and don't forget to follow us at TheSchoolHouse302.com for podcasts, blog posts, books to read, and more.

This episode of FocusED was brought to you buy Bullseye. If you're an instructional leader who wants to up your game with better feedback and stronger tracking systems, book your demo for Bullseye today. Tell them we sent you!

FocusED Show Notes with Guest Hedreich Nichols

Hedreich, author of Finding Your Blind Spots: Eight Guiding Principles to Overcome Implicit Bias in Teaching, joins the show to discuss the need for systemic change in education.

Hedreich shares stories from her childhood and her son’s experiences in school, highlighting the pressure and discomfort that comes from expecting students of color to represent entire groups, especially during heritage months.

She urges educators to recognize that there is not one “history,” but multiple “histories”—valuing diverse perspectives and voices in the classroom.

The episode explores strategies to build inclusive learning environments, such as expanding our “us” circles, fostering empathy for all groups (including those who may feel unfairly blamed), and acknowledging America’s persistent social divisions.

She explains that everyone has “blind spots”—unconscious biases and stories we tell ourselves, often based on upbringing and past experiences. She shares techniques for self-reflection, like identifying emotional triggers and exploring their origins.

Storytelling is highlighted as a powerful leadership tool. Hedreich advises school leaders to use personal and community stories to bridge differences, build relationships, and promote meaningful change.

The conversation encourages listeners to reimagine broken relationships and to “go first” in mending divides—whether in family or professional settings.

The episode concludes with a reminder that building equity and inclusion is about embracing complexity, remaining open to new perspectives, and taking personal responsibility for growth as educators.

This episode is brought to you by Bullseye. If you're an instructional leader who wants to get more out of your walkthroughs, go to Bullseye.education today.

FocusED Show Notes with Guest Matthew Woods

Dr. Woods starts the conversation with the fact that collaborative leadership means that we’re all coming to the table with perspective, and it’s important to recognize that everyone has a unique contribution to the team.

Matt discusses a pitfall when we invite people into our offices to air their grievances--it’s not as simple as it sounds.

We talk about the limits of our decision-making at each level of the leadership ladder, and sometimes people in the field don’t realize those limits.

It was great to hear him talk about setting a vision and then letting folks set goals to reach that vision.

He says that great leaders are the ones who identify the right people for the right aspects of a problem.

Matt uses his experience at the school and district level to share how we can scale collaborative leadership within a system.

Don’t miss what he says about a literacy initiative across the curriculum and monitoring that during walkthroughs.

He tells a story about teachers who were hungry for support and the collaboration that came from it. It reminds us of Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink.

Matt says that the first strategy of a leader is to assess the current conditions. Before making any changes, we have to understand the environment.

He talks about his response to others when they say, “Matt, you need to slow down.” He gets energy from the speed and intensity of his work.

Matt discusses the inception of his podcast and what he hopes others will take from it.

Leadership can be tough but it’s a privilege. ~ Dr. Matthew Woods

Books We Recommend Based on this Podcast with Matthew Woods

How Leaders Decide by Greg Bustin

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie