The Smart Thinking Podcast

Too often those of us in education forget one simple idea about ourselves: we matter. Join Ted as he explores the ways in which we matter and he reminds us how impactful we actually all are and how to put up guardrails to ensure we are engaged for ourselves and others.
The episode ends with advice he gathered from over 40 educational professionals to help us all remember our IMPACT! 

What principle guides you when you lead others? From today forward it will be the RIDE principle. A keen recognition of your influence with others.
Listen as Ted take's the lessons from horseback riding and applies it to how we should manage our classrooms, staff rooms, and board rooms. Because humans and horses literally share a heartbeat when together and so do we when we are leading groups. How we act is how they'll react!
R: Resilient
I: Interdependent 
D: Determination
E: Enthusiastic 

Hey Hey! Ted has written another book and on this episode he describes why listening to a nudge helped him complete his first full leadership book. A book filled with practical and applicable ways to approach life.
Go To Your Storm is an inspirational, personal growth, and leadership development book written by veteran educator and coach Ted Neitzke. Dedicated to equipping young people, new leaders, and even experienced individuals with a resilient approach to life, the book blends authentic personal anecdotes from Neitzke’s decades-long career in education and coaching athletics and people. The six chapters serve as a life and leadership framework for everyone.
Pre-sale has already begun and pre-sale orders will be autographed and include a free gift.
Book can be pre-ordered here. 
 

Why do so many people struggle on teams and working together? Well, there is no simple answer -- but there is a process.
Join Ted on this episode as he brings you a practice to help elevate your teams and support your leadership while either leading or participating on a collaborative team. 
Collaboration is not compliance and too often we ignore all the social ways teams can fail. Clarity, clear expectations, and telling the team what we "do" and "don't" do -- will increase outcomes and engagement. 

Summer is an amazing time. How can we utilize this summer to reinforce and recognize the efforts of educators? Ted shares with us the research on everything teachers - from hours worked to the money they spend in their classroom. The call to action on this episode is to utilize the summer months to increase staff engagement with a few simple tools that will elevate educators!  
Get yourself a pen, some notecards and Forever stamps - -cause we're going to intentionally impact those we serve alongside! 

Ted had crafted a list of texts to read so that you can invest in yourself this summer as a person and leader. These texts will bring you opportunities to practice self-empathy, mindfulness, well-being, and seek meaning. As he explains in this episode - reading matters for all elements of your life and once in a while we need to step away from reading books about our field or content and focus on ourselves.
These texts will help you grow, inspire you, empower you and entertain you! 
Poetry Changes Lives, Christopher Burns
On Th e Shortness of Life, Seneca
The Mental Health Playbook, Amy Morin
Eat Like A Sardinian, Francesco Mattana
It Wasn’t Meant To Be Perfect, Gaelynn Lea
Unplugged, Tom Freston
The Meaning of Life, Robert Brooks

Why do we ignore the wisdom of different generations? Likely because we don't understand the contributions that we are all capable of making. We look past people with lot's of experience and we look past people we think have no experience. But, we all have unique experiences, wisdom, and skills that when combined together, offer the solutions to almost all problems. 
Take a listen as Ted explores the use of a game to get people to build an understanding of the ways in which each generation can work together to increase all outcomes.
 
Click here for the Game.  

This is a very powerful conversation with a psychotherapist and author who provides some serious smart thinking on how to approach your own mental wellness as well as how to support others. This conversation will leave you wanting her books and everything produced by Amy.
Amy Morin and Ted have a wonderful conversation that is applicable to all! 
These common sense -- best practices - -allow you to understand how to approach the issues you face for yourself and others.
 
Book: The Mental Strength Playbook, Amy Morin

Too often we miss the opportunity to grow together at the end of a journey or school year. Don't let the ending screw up your next beginning.
Take a listen as we describe a campfire process to support growing together, increasing engagement as well as recognition and acknowledging effort in order to elevate teams and shared culture. 
This process will increase collective wisdom and support individual understanding of their part in the collective accomplishments of the team.
Smart Thinking Retreat Registration 
Here are the referenced prompts: 
What was our single biggest "aha!" or breakthrough moment, and what triggered it?
Think back to a moment when things weren't going according as planned. How did we handle that pivot, and what does that say about our team dynamics?
What was the most unexpected challenge we encountered that wasn't on our radar, and how did we overcome it?
If you could magically go back and rewrite one specific decision or day on this project, what would it be and why?
What is one thing a teammate did—no matter how small—that completely saved the day or made your job significantly easier?
Explain how well did we respect each other’s time, expertise, and boundaries during high-stress periods of the year or journey?
Looking back over the journey - -describe something you grew through that will make you stronger next year or next time.
List the areas you need to get development in so that you can tackle the next year or project with more confidence.
If you were in charge what is one thing you’d make sure, we never had to do or experience again.
What was your very first job—no matter how small—and what is the one lesson from it you still use today?
If we visited your hometown for 24 hours, where would you take me to help me understand who you were at seventeen?
Is there a story your family tells about you that perfectly captures your personality as a kid?
What is a "sliding doors" moment in your life—a time you almost took a completely different path?
What is a subject you’re an "expert" in that has absolutely nothing to do with your current job?
What’s the biggest difference between how you solved problems in your 20s versus how you solve them now?

Join us a for a great and in-depth conversation on the latest research around employee engagement and the application of your strengths in life and leadership. 
Tim and Emily are colleagues at Gallup and are friends of the podcast. Both Tim and Emily share strong insight into our current state of life at work and how to use our strengths to navigate through these "interesting" times. 
 
Walton research link: https://www.gallup.com/analytics/659819/k-12-teacher-research.aspx