Extraordinary Leadership Lives in Ordinary Moments: Lessons from a National Distinguished Principal on Leading School Turnaround
What does sustainable school leadership actually look like, especially when you’re turning around a school?
In this episode, I’m joined by Amanda Spight, a National Distinguished Principal, for a real conversation about what it takes to lead meaningful change without carrying everything on your back.
Amanda shares her leadership journey, the systems she put in place to stabilize culture and discipline, and the mindset shifts that helped her move from survival mode to sustainability. This conversation is honest, practical, and deeply affirming for principals who are doing hard work in real schools.
We talk about what most people don’t see…the ordinary, daily decisions that quietly create extraordinary leadership.
In this episode, we discuss:
- Why sustainable leadership is built through systems, not hustle
- How Amanda led a school turnaround without burning out
- The role of trust, delegation, and clear structures in school culture
- Why principals don’t need to be in everything to lead effectively
- How discipline systems can free leaders instead of drain them
- What it means to be “set apart, not set aside” as a school leader
One of the most powerful lines from Amanda:
“You don’t have to be mean to mean business.”
That statement alone reframes so much of what school leaders have been taught. Strong leadership doesn’t require hardness, intimidation, or constant pressure. It requires clarity, consistency, and the courage to lead with both high expectations and humanity.
Extraordinary leadership doesn’t always show up in big moments.
It lives in the ordinary ones.
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Let’s keep working together to create schools of excellence—one principal at a time.
