The Red Bench Strategy: Staying Visible While Leading Well - Your Morning Boost

From the AWB Studios. This is your weekly Morning Boost, brought to you by AWB Education. We are proud to be featured on the forward Ed Network advancing voices shaping education. Join us as we amplify knowledge, widen reach, and broaden impact. Let's get ready to boost your week. Hi, welcome to your morning Boost, and a very happy day to all of you out there. I hope your coffee is hitting the spot and your morning is off to a smooth start. You know, we've been right here in the trenches with you this week. We're going to get things moving for our second semester. For me anyway, it's it's a unique challenge, and we're balancing that desire to launch new initiatives with the need to keep the daily wheels turning. I was actually reflecting on this balance during my commute the other day, and it reminded me that we don't have to build these systems in a vacuum, which is why I'm so glad to welcome back a friend of the show, Todd Bloomer. Todd, it is so good to have you back with us, and I think since the last time you and I spoke, you made a big Trandran. You were at the principal's office at Winston Churchill High. Now you're full time coaching and I believe director of school leadership for the Archdiocese of San Antonio, Texas. That's soun right, yes, sir. Last six months have been a whirlwind. Yeah, that's crazy. I've also been following your social media stuff, your man in the Arena journey, all of that. I mean, how's life been treating you now that your principal turned businessman turned director. How's this? How's this going for you? You know, I couldn't ask for anything better. The Good Lord has truly blessed me in every aspect of my leadership journey. And really, when you talk about one door opening, another door closing, this door opened up at the right time. It was right for me personally, right for my family, right for my journey. I love the people I work with. I love serving in the Archdiocese in San Antonio. Different from the big ISD the induspandit school district. Cos part of I wear a lot more hats, which has given me a lot of experience and from everything from coaching a principle, which I thought that would be my full time job, to being a kindergarten and second grade teacher the last month of my day, and I am not very good at that. I will just say that, God bless those elementary school folks. Yeah, I say that all the times. I wouldn't be any better. That is not kindergarten is not my age either. Give me the high school kids every day. Be the high school kids. Yes, one hundred percent. Yes, Oh that's awesome. Well is anything that you miss about that role that you used to have, anything in particular? I miss it every day, you know. I call my old secretary each morning on the way to work and we just talk. I do miss the interactions. High school is just different, and if you've been into high school, it's just it's just a different place. Kids are different. I do miss Friday night lights being here in Texas. I miss the interactions. I miss the big events. I miss walking around in the cafeteria and sitting down at the table and talking fantasy football with kids in the cafeteria. I miss interacting with teachers. I miss decision making at times. I miss you know, sometimes I miss an eighteen hour day. I mean, like on a Friday night, we'd be there at seven thirty in the morning, get done at ten thirty, eleven o'clock at night. Now, don't get me wrong, Friday at five o'clock driving home from work. That's not a bad deal either, in this new world that I have. But you know, for twenty nine years, your go go go all the time. Yeah, and then you slow up and then, honestly, just a little bit personally, you miss kind of being needed. You miss the part of somebody reaching out to you, someone saying help me. The value that I added to places. I'm finding it in different roles now, in different ways to be able to add value. But like I do miss that I do. Yeah, Well tell you what, go go go is still part of Todd Bloomer. I know that for sure. So we're going to. Go go go here right after a commercial break, Todd, when we get a chance to get back to you and really dive into you and what we can give for our listeners today as we start a great morning here on your Morning Booth. So hang on, listeners right back after this commercial break. This segment of Your Morning Boost is sponsored by Grunmeyer Leader Services. Since twenty thirteen, GLS has been a trusted partner for school districts across the Midwest, specializing in executive recruitment and leadership support. They believe that great schools start with great leaders and they are here to help you find a perfect fit for your district, transform your school's future with the right leader at help. Visit Grunmeyer leader search dot com to learn more. Grunmeyer Leader Services transforming education one leader at a time. All right, welcome back, everybody now. Finding the right fit for a leadership role is perhaps the most critical task in educational organization faces and that's where our sponsors today, Grunmeer Leader Services, that's where they come in. Whether you're a school board looking for your next superintendent or a district in need of a high performing principle. GLS offers a comprehensive, research based search process that pre prioritizes fit and future growth. So if you're looking to elevate your leadership team or seeking your next career move, visit them at www dot Grunmeyer leaders search dot com. They aren't just recruiters, they are partners and building stronger schools through better leadership. All right, Todd, Well, like I said, we're going to start diving into you a little bit and really start to understand some of the Todd Bloomer experience here for all of our wonderful listeners out there. But as we're kind of getting into the second semester, at least for me, it just started this week, and I think a lot of people around the country are kind of in that same boat. Anyway, as we're getting that momentum going, it's easy for primary goals to get buried under that logistical re entry of January. Looking at your blueprint for administrators, what is one specific cultural pillar we'll say a principle should do right now and audit right now to ensure that their school stays proactive rather than falling into a reactive slump. This absolutely the second semester is a sprint. It's a marathon that you're running a sprinter's pace and so you know, typen that belt because before you know it to be spring break and then before you know it's the end of the year, and it's just it's just the fastest sprint in the world. You know. The best advice I could give someone in the second semester of their journey is to ensure that the people realize what is important. And you're crystal clear about your expectations and your priorities. And that's basically threefold. I would think as we're coming back in January, it's important that we revisit with our student body the importance of expectations, staying strong to the mission, coming to school, academics, behavior, all of those type of things. You're talking specifically to seniors about getting across the finish line. You're talking to freshmen about earning credits to be able to become sophomores, and so it's so important that you're able to really recommunicate that. And that can look like a whole whole group assemble in the auditorium, that can look at small classrooms that you're going in to talk to students. And I've done both. We've had full group and we've also gone in to talk to kids into classes individually. So I think that's so important. I think second, it's so important that the teachers are reminded of the goals and visions that we set out in August. And if you think, and this is where I fill in some traps early on in my career, the administrative quicksand that I talk about, I said, you know what I told them in August. I don't need to remind them in January. These are professionals. They remember, and if we don't continue to bring up where we're going. This second semester also is difficult because it is so fast and furious. There is so many things that are going on teachers and administrators. We could get completely worn down in that. So I like to tell stories. I like to paint pictures. I like to bring data to life by talking about individuals by talking and telling stories, and there are always stories of success. As a principle, you're also building hope and you're building optimism that we can finish this, and so thank you. You're communicating that to your students. You're communicating that to your teachers. You're inspiring, you're building, You're you're building them up, you're being their champion, you're being their cheerleader. And lastly, you want to ensure that you're communicating the same expectations to your parents. The three parts and in my book, I talk about the Bloomer Triangle of success, all three parts being so important. But it's so important that we remind parents about laws about attendance because you know what, we're losing it and kids might not be coming to school and want to make sure kids fall don't fall under that compulsory attendance laws. We want to talk about, hey, we got big events coming up. Let's make sure make good decisions at these events because it could affect your graduation. We want to educate parents as freshmen about what they can take as sophomores and juniors and seniors advanced place classes, but also some of the CTE courses that we have. And so it's so important was we come back to that second blueprint for success, that second semester a blueprint for success. Nobody should ever read the principal's mind. We should communicate our expectations clearly, consistently and in multiple, multiple modalities to our parents, our students, and our staff. I'll tell you what what really sticks out to me there And I say this with my own staff all the time about Hey, second semester, it's a good time to reset with kids. We forget it's a good time to reset with everybody. I mean, that's what you're saying, right' it's principles, it's teachers, it's parents. I think we forget about that piece that's really really important. It's also important as you know that of your admin team, your counselors, your your head football coach, your band director, those key people that are part of your success, they need to understand and you need to ensure that we're all on the same page, we're speaking the same language for what we have. But also one of the things I also strongly would consider that second semester is is if I wanted, you know, two hundred Todd Bloomers like, I don't want that, like I want to make sure that I'm also empowering these people to make key decisions and to empower them to be a part of the success. So in that clear vision we're casting, I'm also casting. Hey, here's the guardrails. But you finished the job. You make it you You make it special because I don't have all the answers, and if I have all the answers, we're in a bad spot. So I need all of you to be able to be a part of the success and drive us across that finish line. You've often discussed the shift from being a manager to being lead learner on campus. I think is actually what I've heard you say. When the middle of the school year like this, it just brings this flood of everything. It's valuations, it's state testing prep coming up. We're already starting to talk about that in my school. I mean, what's your best advice for the leader who wants to stay visible in the classroom and deeply connected to the instruction. I think, do you call it your red bench strategy? No doubt? Yeah, yeah, So how do you do that rather than just getting stuck behind a desk in this mountain of paperwork? I mentioned that I that I call my secretary each morning, and that relationship between principal and secretary has to be you know this, She's got to be able to finish my thoughts. I have to be able to finish her thoughts. I have to empower her to make decisions, and she has to fiercely guard my time. And I'm a people person, like I'm a red bench kind of guy, where I am accessible by all. But show me your calendar and I'll show you what's important. Is an adage that I like to use. And here's how I started. Every Monday, I blocked off my entire Monday, and Monday was a classroom instruction day, and unless the superintendent called me, which he did at times, and unless the school was literally on fire, which we've had that an opportunity. We've had that at times. I spent my Monday in classrooms and that started my week on a great note. And as leaders out there, we don't have a lot of meetings tends on Monday, you know, district level meetings, those kind of things. And if I had a parent meeting or something else, I could delegate that to an assistant principle because this is where I was valued. This is what I valued the most was instruction. And then I also built in time in my calendar on Tuesday through Friday, and I would put the names of friends of mine that I grew up with in New York on the calendar, and that meant that period I'm going to be in classrooms. And my secretary knew the game. So if someone came in and she looked and said, hey, Thursday, you're meeting with your buddy Derek, well she could move that to second period or fourth period because she knew that was something like that. So I would tell you the way to do it, first of all is people before paper. When kids and teachers and staff are on campus, you need to be out in the hallway. You need to be at your red bench because people need to see you. I got a crazy belief that teachers want to see their principal every single day. And I had nine buildings on my campus. It was so difficult to see every teacher every day. But that was the mindset that I had, And on a day where I wasn't there, I wanted someone to say, haven't seen you, Not that they're calling me out, but they generally enjoyed having their principal around. They generally enjoyed me being in the hallway because I also supported them when they had student issues or took care of issues that were coming up for you name it. So you have to drive yourself and then at the end of the day, my secretary would come in to me every once in a while and say, you know what, you need to get out and you need to go see teachers because you're cranky or something's wrong with you. Or if I had a tough parent, she would say, you know what, get out to this building or that building, or you know what, go see the football coach and go see how he's doing. Because you have to have those people that push you, and when you do, then you're in classrooms and there's that silly adage, hire great people and get out of their way. That's silly, you know, it's dumb. Hire great people and walk alongside them. If I hire you as a great chemistry teacher, I was terrible in chemistry, I want to go learn from you. I want to be around you like that is so exciting to be able to do, and so it brought me passion. I trusted my leadership team to handle other issues that I might not wanted to deal with. Let let's be honest or or I knew they could do it because I'm also preparing them to be the next principle. So if I did everything, we couldn't go from there. So I wanted to be in classrooms. I wanted to be around teachers. I wanted to be around kids. It gave me get great joy, and I pushed myself to be out and anytime. The red bench red bench set outside Churchill High School. I started my day there every morning after the kids got into first period, and that's where I met with people. And in Texas, you can't stay out there too long, right, it gets too dang hot around here, but not eight forty five to nine thirty. It was okay, And if you came to the office looking for me, my secretary would say, hey, Bloomer, someone's coming to the red bench, or they would just tell people is he at the red bench. And when I retired, I got a plaque on my red bench. It was like the nicest tribute, like the legacy that I left. And teachers still send me pictures today of them at the red bench with my plaque. That's cool. And I'll tell you what that's that's your reminder right there. Like you said, I mean, there are times in this job it's tough. I mean, then just to this right, it's hard to remember that those are real small times. The rest of the time that we have is the time that's really valuable to us why we got in this job in the first place. I like that right there about. Yeah, you might have a tough meeting. We'll turn around and go right back to your why, go right back to what you're doing there so that you understand the purpose behind your work. That's awesome. That's really cool. Thank you kind of need to figure out a red bench too. I like that idea. That's really awesome. Well, we've chatted before about the long term nature of this work, and there's research from the Learning Policy Institute it highlights principal stability is key to to teach your retention. It certainly has a strong correlation there for the leader that is listening now, who might be feeling that that midwinter fatigue already, what's one actionable habit that you've used throughout your career in San Antonio to keep your energy high? Which I'm thinking that's probably not a huge problem for you to keep that energy high. But if I'm struggling with that at that midweek right now, what's what's something I can do to keep that outlook optimistic for my staff? Well, well, first thing is visibility on the campus. We know, we got into this job around kids and teachers, and as we become administrators, we become further and further away from why we started. And a lot of times what happens in the office bad stuff, like the bad phone call, the bad interaction. Like so if we play office all day long, all we deal with is negative stuff. And so early on in my career that's all I was doing, and then all of a sudden's six point thirty at night, seven o'clock at night, I'm going home, I'm eating poorly. I'm going you know, I'm not taking care of myself. So while you're on campus, take care of yourself by being in classrooms. But when you're off campus, like you have to be right with God, you've got to be right with your family, and you've got to be right with yourself physically. So every morning I start, I'm so proud of myself. Every morning I start, and I'm on a cal ripkin like street right now. Since since Memorial Day, I haven't missed a day. I work out every day, and it's either running, it's either lifting weights, or I just jarned hot works. And hot works is a different adventure when you do a cycling or rowing class at one hundred and thirty degree heat. So I start my day that day, and then by six I've got a great workout in. I come back, I read the Bible. By seven o'clock, I have done everything that matters to me in that day. I've worked out, I've taken care of myself physically, I've taken myself mentally and spiritually. And now I'm ready for my day. And that there's an unbelievable grounding to myself that makes me feel like I can do anything that I come across when I come on to campus. And lastly, I came a realization crazy doesn't make an appointment, it just shows up. I can't prevent anything. Not one principle can prevent anything that occurs on your campus. It's how you handle it. It's how you deal with it, how you lead through it. And that realization came over twelve years as being a principle, But I really attribute it to being right by God to say God is in command. God is in control and he will guide me. And I have faith and trust. My wife loves me, my children love me. At the end of the day, if some parents says I'm a terrible principle, I realize at home I got people that love me and need me at home to be a good version of myself. Also, now with that said as a principle, just like right now, if our superintendent called us right now, we would have to hit pauls in what we're doing and answer the phone. It's because that's our job. But when we're home, like be home, be the best husband you can be, be the best spouse you can be, do fun stuff. And I'll end it with this every single Sunday, my wife and I do Sunday Fun Day, and we do that with a couple of friends of ours. We go walk in San Antonio because we live downtown. We don't drive. We go walk somewhere. We grab a burger, we have some fun, we watch some football, we laugh. It's our time to be together and we keep that time sacred. And that's important because Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday we may not be able to connect much, but Sunday is our day. From twelve to about five o'clock, that's our time. Don't make plans with anything else. And so when you're on campus, be in classrooms. When you're at home, be the best dad, husband's spouse, brother's son, anything you can be. Make sure you're taking care of yourself physically, try to eat better. If you're religious, the Bible is there for you to be able to do that. And lastly, if you're having those blues, reach out to someone else. Like we've all been there before. Sometimes you just need to talk something out with somebody. And I will gladly offer myself to anybody that's out there saying, hey, I'm struggling, what have you done? And I'm not judging. I'm speaking from experience, So what I'm going to share with you is things that I fell in the quicksand and I pulled myself back out. Also, where's your kid headed after high school? We are from carpool to college. Two accomplished educators, college and career consultants and parents. You guide families through the entire journey from freshman year planning to senior year's success. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Well Bloomer. It's a pleasure having you back on the show today. Man, this is awesome. I mean your perspective, just intentionality in general, it's always hit home for me. I really love your social media lines on that too, and just everything you got going on. It's really good talking about the importance of, you know, kind of auditing what we're doing here, and how are you how are you kicking off that second semester. I think that's very important to be making that conscious choice and tell you right now that that's got to be a T shirt. That crazy doesn't make an appointment, it just shows up that. Let me go. That is absolutely amazing. It's the truth to right, tell me it's not You're not wrong. I am not arguing, it's just kind of it kind of disappointed myself. I hadn't thought of that one before. That's that's priceless. That's feel free to use it. Yeah, well I'm planning on it. That's great. So Bloomer, how do people get in touch with you if they want to know more about you? Fine? I mean, I'm talking about your stuff on social media and we're gonna we'll link all of that stuff into our show notes of course today and help other people get to see see your work. But why got a chance here? Tell us where to find you? You know, Instagram and TikTok. Right now are my jams like I start my day after the Bible at todd Underscore Bloomer Underscore author and I try to post a daily video every morning there. And that's why I've connected with so many people out there. Got a website todd Endbloomer dot com. You could reach out there. You can buy my book on Amazon, The Blueprint you Know, How to Survive and Thrive as a school administrator. I'm working on book two, The Blueprint two point zero, So I'm excited about that. Anybody that reaches out, I'll respond back that day. If not later that the next day to be able to help you with what you have. But social media really is the best way to be able to connect. Yeah, oh that's awesome. A lot of good stuff out there. You Well, I'm gonna leave us all with a quick note here today. So it kind of reminded me as you're talking here about a story that my dad told me many many years ago, and he was talking about a principle, and I think for him it was a manager but we'll say it's a principle. I think it's fitting here. Used to keep a small stone in his pocket every day, and anytime that he got overwhelmed by the managerial part of the job, you know, whether it's the budget or the paperwork or whatever it was, he would just, you know, find that stone and touch that stone remind him of his rock, which was why he always had his why with him. He had his rock with him. And for us sometimes that might be those students walking through the door, and every time every time you maybe feel a little friction, like you talked about, get out there, see that building, find your why again. That's opportunity for us. Rock. That's all, find your rock. I love it awesome. Well, Bloomber. Thanks again, Thank you everybody for listening to us here on Your Morning Boost. To be back again next week. With even more. That concludes another episode of Your Morning Boost, an AWB Education production. To find more incredible content, be sure to check out other amazing education shows on the forward Ed Network where they are truly advancing voices and shaping education. Join us again next week. Until then, keep boosting your impact.