
The Better Leaders Better Schools Podcast with Daniel Bauer Punching the Shark: Why Teacher Retention Beats Recruitment Every Time
The Ruckus Report Quick take: Most districts are dumping water into leaky buckets while wondering why they can't fill them. Nate Eklund shows us why we've been solving the wrong problem β and how "punching the shark" creates the workplace conditions that make educators want to stay.
Meet Your Fellow Ruckus Maker Nate Eklund is the founder and CEO of Vital Network, a national organization focused on improving educator retention and well-being through workplace improvements. A former classroom teacher and author of How Was Your Day at School? Improving Dialogue about Teacher Job Satisfaction, Nate brings deep experience and research-backed insight to the conversation on creating sustainable, joyful workplaces for educators everywhere.
Breaking Down the Old Rules π¨ In this episode, Nate Eklund challenges traditional education paradigms:
Key Insight #1: We Don't Have a Recruitment Problem β We Have a Retention Problem
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What's broken: Districts frantically recruiting new teachers while ignoring why good ones leave
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The shift: Focus on the "leaky bucket" β in Minnesota, there are more licensed teachers NOT teaching than teaching (enough to fill the Vikings stadium)
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Impact: When you fix workplace conditions instead of just hiring more people, you solve the math problem at its source
Key Insight #2: Burnout Isn't a Personal Failing β It's Environmental
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What's broken: Treating burnout as individual weakness ("eat more kale, get more sleep")
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The shift: Recognize burnout as systemic depletion that no amount of self-care can overcome β you can't "kale your way out of your fifth reading curriculum in two years"
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Impact: Leaders stop blaming teachers and start designing better workplace conditions that prevent burnout
Key Insight #3: There Are Two Versions of Every Educator
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What's broken: Accepting that some educators are just "difficult" or "burned out"
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The shift: Understanding that everyone has a "fired up" version and a "deflated" version β external factors determine which one shows up
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Impact: Instead of writing people off, leaders create conditions where the best version of every educator can thrive
Quotable Ruckus "You can dump a lot of water into it and invest a lot of energy getting the water into the bucket, but if the bucket's leaking, you've got a fundamental math problem." β Nate Eklund
Your Do School Different Challenge Ready to implement these ideas? Start here:
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Tomorrow: Ask yourself: "What external factors are keeping my best educators from showing up as their best selves?"
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This Month: Survey your staff about workplace conditions β not just morale, but actual day-to-day systems and decision-making processes
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This Semester: Implement one "Punch the Shark" moment β tackle an uncomfortable workplace issue head-on with your team
Connect & Continue
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π― Get the full episode transcript:here
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π Follow Nate Eklund: Twitter
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π Vital Network: www.vitalnetwork.com
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π Follow Vital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/vitalnetwork
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πͺ Join the Ruckus Maker Movement: https://ruckusmakers.club/join
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