

The Private School Leader Podcast
Mark Minkus
The Private School Leader Podcast exists to help you go from SURVIVING to THRIVING as you lead your school. Do you ever feel lonely and isolated in your role as a private school leader? Do you wish that you could get back to what really energizes you (making a difference in the lives of your students)? Do you want to have a long AND fulfilling career in private school education? Are you an aspiring Head of School and you want to accelerate your leadership growth? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions then the Private School Leader Podcast is for you!
Your host, Mark Minkus, has been a private school leader for over 30 years. He’s been where you are. He’s been in the hospital with ulcers. He’s had his daughters ask, “Dad, when do we get to see you instead of the back of your laptop?” About 10 years ago, Mark went from surviving to thriving and he is here to help you do the same! You will learn step by step strategies to effectively deal with difficult parents, overcome burnout, change your school’s culture, increase your productivity, improve teacher morale and more! Most importantly, you will learn how to effectively lead your school while still taking care of your mind, body and spirit. Sounds impossible, right? It’s not!
Mark knows how incredibly busy you are. That's why he created a weekly podcast that you can listen to while driving to school, working out or running errands. Think of this podcast as your weekly dose of inspiration, motivation and PD, all while doing something else! If you want to get out of “survival mode” and start thriving at school, then tune in every week to the Private School Leader Podcast!
Your host, Mark Minkus, has been a private school leader for over 30 years. He’s been where you are. He’s been in the hospital with ulcers. He’s had his daughters ask, “Dad, when do we get to see you instead of the back of your laptop?” About 10 years ago, Mark went from surviving to thriving and he is here to help you do the same! You will learn step by step strategies to effectively deal with difficult parents, overcome burnout, change your school’s culture, increase your productivity, improve teacher morale and more! Most importantly, you will learn how to effectively lead your school while still taking care of your mind, body and spirit. Sounds impossible, right? It’s not!
Mark knows how incredibly busy you are. That's why he created a weekly podcast that you can listen to while driving to school, working out or running errands. Think of this podcast as your weekly dose of inspiration, motivation and PD, all while doing something else! If you want to get out of “survival mode” and start thriving at school, then tune in every week to the Private School Leader Podcast!
Episodes
Mentioned books

Oct 14, 2023 • 31min
Episode 52: The 5 Things That Are Probably True About The Parents At Your School
There are two kinds of people in your life.
If you just ate lunch and you are on your way to lead an important meeting, there are the kind of people that will tell you that you have broccoli in your teeth. And then there are the people that see the broccoli in your teeth and don’t say a word.
I am a person that is going to tell you that you have broccoli in your teeth.
Sometimes that means that I need to tell you some things that you don’t really want to hear.
I want to tell you some things about the parents at your school.
Some of these things may be hard to hear, but I am confident that this episode can help you build better relationships with the parents at your school.
On today’s episode of the Private School Leader Podcast, we are going to discuss The 5 Things That Are Probably True About The Parents At Your School.
I know that you are super busy, so be sure to listen while you are doing something else. I hope that you will get value from this episode as you serve and lead your school community. Thank you for taking some time out of your day to listen to the podcast!
Thanks for making a difference,
Mark Minkus
I want to say thank you for listening to the podcast by giving you a FREE GIFT. It is called The 7 Steps To Having Successful Meetings With Upset Parents. This guide is an 11 page pdf that gives you a step by step plan to have better meetings with the parents at your school. Every good coach has a game plan. Every good teacher has a lesson plan. Too many private school leaders don’t have a plan when they sit down to meet with an upset parent. Well, now you have a PLAN! You can grab this FREE GUIDE at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/meeting
I’ve created a free resource for you called “The 6 Things That Every Private School Teacher Wants From Their Leader”. This guide is a 6 page pdf that will be a game changer for you. I guarantee you that if you do these 6 things, the teachers at your school will be happy to follow you. You can pick up your free guide by going to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/guide
I want to give you a gift to say “thank you” for listening to the podcast. I have created a FREE guide for you called “5 Strategies To Help You Work With Difficult Parents”. We know that working with parents is part of the job and most of our parents are great, but some of them can be very demanding and emotional and difficult. This guide will give you the tools that you need to build better relationships and have better meetings with the difficult parents at your school. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/parents to grab the guide. Thank you again for listening every week!
Please check out all of the free resources on my website that can help you serve and lead your school community. There are "Plug & Play PD's" (45 minute webinars with guided notes) as well as Top 10 Lists of Leadership Books, Productivity Books and TED Talks over at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/resources. You can grab the show notes for today's episode at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/episode52
If you have gotten value from listening to the podcast, I would love to work with you 1-on-1. I would love to take my experience and help you to feel less overwhelmed and frustrated or help you have success if you are a brand new leader. I also work with private school leaders who are aspiring Heads of School and want to accelerate their leadership growth or experienced leaders that are moving on to a new school and they want to get off to a great start. If I’m describing you, then head over to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/coaching to learn more about working with me 1-on-1.
Please write a review of this podcast and help push this content out to more leaders. I would love to get your feedback about the podcast, ideas for future episodes and hear about how you are implementing these strategies in your life and at your school. You can email me at mark.o.minkus@gmail.com Thanks!!
I’ve created a FREE RESOURCE for you called “The Top 6 Ways To Protect Your School From a Lawsuit”. This is a 10 page pdf that will help you to keep your staff and students safe and help keep your school out of court. Litigation is expensive, time consuming and extremely stressful. This common sense guide will help you to be more intentional and proactive when it comes to protecting your school. You can grab “The Top 6 Ways To Protect Your School From a Lawsuit” at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/lawsuit. Thanks!

Oct 7, 2023 • 35min
Episode 51: How To Significantly Increase Student Retention By Creating A "Culture Of Anticipation"
Think back to when you were a kid. What was something that you looked forward to with great anticipation?
For me it was Christmas morning and my 16th birthday. I remember when I was 6 years old, I knew that I was getting a new bike for Christmas and I literally could not wait.
I also remember how badly I wanted to get my driver’s license when I turned 16. The year between my 15th and 16th birthdays actually felt more like five years.
What about you? Was it a family vacation or a day at an amusement park? Was it the last day of school or a big family picnic on the 4th of July? What was it that you looked forward to with great excitement and anticipation?
Anticipation is a VERY POWERFUL thing in the lives of children.
Anticipation is a VERY POWERFUL thing in the lives of the students at your school.
You can intentionally use the power of anticipation to get kids and families to stay at your school until they graduate. On today’s episode of The Private School Leader Podcast, we are going to discuss How To Significantly Increase Student Retention By Creating A "Culture Of Anticipation".
It is important for school leaders to remember that it costs 7 times more resources (time, money, energy, advertising, recruiting) to enroll a new student than to keep a current student. If you want to increase the student retention rate at your school, be sure to listen to today’s episode.
Thank you for taking me along with you when you are walking the dog, driving to school or running errands. I appreciate you and what you are doing for the lucky kids and teachers at your school.
Thanks for making a difference,
Mark Minkus
I want to say thank you for listening to the podcast by giving you a FREE GIFT. It is called The 7 Steps To Having Successful Meetings With Upset Parents. This guide is an 11 page pdf that gives you a step by step plan to have better meetings with the parents at your school. Every good coach has a game plan. Every good teacher has a lesson plan. Too many private school leaders don’t have a plan when they sit down to meet with an upset parent. Well, now you have a PLAN! You can grab this FREE GUIDE at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/meeting
I’ve created a free resource for you called “The 6 Things That Every Private School Teacher Wants From Their Leader”. This guide is a 6 page pdf that will be a game changer for you. I guarantee you that if you do these 6 things, the teachers at your school will be happy to follow you. You can pick up your free guide by going to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/guide
I want to give you a gift to say “thank you” for listening to the podcast. I have created a FREE guide for you called “5 Strategies To Help You Work With Difficult Parents”. We know that working with parents is part of the job and most of our parents are great, but some of them can be very demanding and emotional and difficult. This guide will give you the tools that you need to build better relationships and have better meetings with the difficult parents at your school. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/parents to grab the guide. Thank you again for listening every week!
Please check out all of the free resources on my website that can help you serve and lead your school community. There are "Plug & Play PD's" (45 minute webinars with guided notes) as well as Top 10 Lists of Leadership Books, Productivity Books and TED Talks over at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/resources. You can grab the show notes for today's episode at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/episode51
If you have gotten value from listening to the podcast, I would love to work with you 1-on-1. I would love to take my experience and help you to feel less overwhelmed and frustrated or help you have success if you are a brand new leader. I also work with private school leaders who are aspiring Heads of School and want to accelerate their leadership growth or experienced leaders that are moving on to a new school and they want to get off to a great start. If I’m describing you, then head over to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/coaching to learn more about working with me 1-on-1.
Please write a review of this podcast and help push this content out to more leaders. I would love to get your feedback about the podcast, ideas for future episodes and hear about how you are implementing these strategies in your life and at your school. You can email me at mark.o.minkus@gmail.com Thanks!!
I’ve created a FREE RESOURCE for you called “The Top 6 Ways To Protect Your School From a Lawsuit”. This is a 10 page pdf that will help you to keep your staff and students safe and help keep your school out of court. Litigation is expensive, time consuming and extremely stressful. This common sense guide will help you to be more intentional and proactive when it comes to protecting your school. You can grab “The Top 6 Ways To Protect Your School From a Lawsuit” at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/lawsuit. Thanks!

Sep 30, 2023 • 38min
Episode 50: How To Reverse Engineer Your Portrait Of A Graduate
I am old enough to remember using a road map to get where I was going. Yes, I am talking about the impossible to fold map that lived in the glove compartment!
In the 90’s I graduated to MapQuest and clearly remember driving to Ocean City, New Jersey with my wife reading pages and pages of directions to help us get to the beach.
Now we have GPS and I love it so much! I can even choose a voice with a British accent that sounds super smart while guiding me through an unfamiliar city. GPS is an amazing invention! Just take a moment to think about satellites orbiting the Earth that know exactly where I am, how fast I am traveling and can tell me that I need to turn right in 500 feet!
GPS is amazing. GPS is an incredible technological achievement. But, GPS is useless without one very critical piece of information that you must provide.
Your destination.
As private school leaders, I worry that we don’t spend enough time thinking about where we are going. We are VERY busy putting out fires, solving problems and making decisions that keep our school moving forward. But, I wonder if we are clear on the destination.
On today’s episode of The Private School Leader Podcast, I want to help you get super clear on your “portrait of a graduate” (also sometimes called “profile of a graduate” or “ideal graduate outcomes”). We are also going to discuss how to “reverse engineer” your portrait of a graduate, so that everything you do at your school is intentionally moving you in the direction of your destination.
I hope that you will listen to the podcast for your weekly dose of motivation, inspiration and PD. Thanks so much for listening and thanks for making a difference!
Mark Minkus
I want to say thank you for listening to the podcast by giving you a FREE GIFT. It is called The 7 Steps To Having Successful Meetings With Upset Parents. This guide is an 11 page pdf that gives you a step by step plan to have better meetings with the parents at your school. Every good coach has a game plan. Every good teacher has a lesson plan. Too many private school leaders don’t have a plan when they sit down to meet with an upset parent. Well, now you have a PLAN! You can grab this FREE GUIDE at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/meeting
I’ve created a free resource for you called “The 6 Things That Every Private School Teacher Wants From Their Leader”. This guide is a 6 page pdf that will be a game changer for you. I guarantee you that if you do these 6 things, the teachers at your school will be happy to follow you. You can pick up your free guide by going to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/guide
I want to give you a gift to say “thank you” for listening to the podcast. I have created a FREE guide for you called “5 Strategies To Help You Work With Difficult Parents”. We know that working with parents is part of the job and most of our parents are great, but some of them can be very demanding and emotional and difficult. This guide will give you the tools that you need to build better relationships and have better meetings with the difficult parents at your school. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/parents to grab the guide. Thank you again for listening every week!
Please check out all of the free resources on my website that can help you serve and lead your school community. There are "Plug & Play PD's" (45 minute webinars with guided notes) as well as Top 10 Lists of Leadership Books, Productivity Books and TED Talks over at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/resources. You can grab the show notes for today's episode at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/episode50
If you have gotten value from listening to the podcast, I would love to work with you 1-on-1. I would love to take my experience and help you to feel less overwhelmed and frustrated or help you have success if you are a brand new leader. I also work with private school leaders who are aspiring Heads of School and want to accelerate their leadership growth or experienced leaders that are moving on to a new school and they want to get off to a great start. If I’m describing you, then head over to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/coaching to learn more about working with me 1-on-1.
Please write a review of this podcast and help push this content out to more leaders. I would love to get your feedback about the podcast, ideas for future episodes and hear about how you are implementing these strategies in your life and at your school. You can email me at mark.o.minkus@gmail.com Thanks!!
I’ve created a FREE RESOURCE for you called “The Top 6 Ways To Protect Your School From a Lawsuit”. This is a 10 page pdf that will help you to keep your staff and students safe and help keep your school out of court. Litigation is expensive, time consuming and extremely stressful. This common sense guide will help you to be more intentional and proactive when it comes to protecting your school. You can grab “The Top 6 Ways To Protect Your School From a Lawsuit” at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/lawsuit. Thanks!

Sep 23, 2023 • 30min
Episode 49: The 8 Biggest Strengths Of The Introverted Leader
I want you to take a moment and notice the title of this week’s episode.
The title is NOT: “5 Strategies To Be More Extroverted As An Introverted Leader”
The title is NOT: “4 Ways You Can Come Out Of Your Shell As An Introverted Leader”
If you are an introvert, you do not need to “be fixed”. You do not need to “overcome” being an introvert. You don’t need to “come out of your shell” to successfully lead your school.
I’ve worked with many introverted leaders over the years and most of them think that they need to CHANGE or GET BETTER in some way to be a better leader.
I feel strongly that introverted leaders bring their own unique strengths to the table, and their success most often comes from playing to those strengths.
On today’s episode of The Private School Leader Podcast, we are going to discuss The 8 Biggest Strengths Of The Introverted Leader.
I know that you are super busy, so be sure to listen while you are doing something else. I hope that you will get value from this episode as you serve and lead your school community. Thank you for taking some time out of your day to listen to the podcast!
Thanks for making a difference,
Mark Minkus
I want to say thank you for listening to the podcast by giving you a FREE GIFT. It is called The 7 Steps To Having Successful Meetings With Upset Parents. This guide is an 11 page pdf that gives you a step by step plan to have better meetings with the parents at your school. Every good coach has a game plan. Every good teacher has a lesson plan. Too many private school leaders don’t have a plan when they sit down to meet with an upset parent. Well, now you have a PLAN! You can grab this FREE GUIDE at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/meeting
I’ve created a free resource for you called “The 6 Things That Every Private School Teacher Wants From Their Leader”. This guide is a 6 page pdf that will be a game changer for you. I guarantee you that if you do these 6 things, the teachers at your school will be happy to follow you. You can pick up your free guide by going to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/guide
I want to give you a gift to say “thank you” for listening to the podcast. I have created a FREE guide for you called “5 Strategies To Help You Work With Difficult Parents”. We know that working with parents is part of the job and most of our parents are great, but some of them can be very demanding and emotional and difficult. This guide will give you the tools that you need to build better relationships and have better meetings with the difficult parents at your school. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/parents to grab the guide. Thank you again for listening every week!
Please check out all of the free resources on my website that can help you serve and lead your school community. There are "Plug & Play PD's" (45 minute webinars with guided notes) as well as Top 10 Lists of Leadership Books, Productivity Books and TED Talks over at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/resources. You can grab the show notes for today's episode at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/episode49
If you have gotten value from listening to the podcast, I would love to work with you 1-on-1. I would love to take my experience and help you to feel less overwhelmed and frustrated or help you have success if you are a brand new leader. I also work with private school leaders who are aspiring Heads of School and want to accelerate their leadership growth or experienced leaders that are moving on to a new school and they want to get off to a great start. If I’m describing you, then head over to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/coaching to learn more about working with me 1-on-1.
Please write a review of this podcast and help push this content out to more leaders. I would love to get your feedback about the podcast, ideas for future episodes and hear about how you are implementing these strategies in your life and at your school. You can email me at mark.o.minkus@gmail.com Thanks!!
I’ve created a FREE RESOURCE for you called “The Top 6 Ways To Protect Your School From a Lawsuit”. This is a 10 page pdf that will help you to keep your staff and students safe and help keep your school out of court. Litigation is expensive, time consuming and extremely stressful. This common sense guide will help you to be more intentional and proactive when it comes to protecting your school. You can grab “The Top 6 Ways To Protect Your School From a Lawsuit” at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/lawsuit. Thanks!

Sep 16, 2023 • 37min
Episode 48: You Can Overcome The “Hustle Culture” If You Stop Doing These 6 Things
“Rise and grind.”
“I’ve got a dream that is more important than sleep.”
“I pledge allegiance to the grind.”
What do these “motivational” quotes have in common? They glamorize a very dangerous thing called “hustle culture”. Don’t get me wrong, an incredible work ethic is necessary to be a successful private school leader. But, hustle culture crosses the line from hard work to shaming someone for getting some rest. Hustle culture takes a good thing and makes it toxic.
Many entrepreneurs and social media influencers have popularized hustle culture through bestselling books, viral videos and sold out speaking engagements.
I’m literally begging you. Don’t buy the lie.
On today’s episode, we are going to define hustle culture, discuss why it is so toxic and learn how it can negatively impact your mental health. Then, I am going to give you 6 strategies to overcome hustle culture so that you can be more physically and mentally healthy as you lead your school.
If you have gotten value from this podcast, I would love to hear from you! Please just hit “reply” to this email or you can email me at mark.o.minkus@gmail.com. Send me a couple of sentences about what you have found helpful and also let me know your biggest pain point right now. This valuable feedback will help me to better serve you in future episodes.
I know that you are super busy, so be sure to listen while you are doing something else. I hope that you will get value from this episode as you serve and lead your school community. Thank you for taking some time out of your day to listen to the podcast!
Thanks for making a difference,
Mark Minkus
I want to say thank you for listening to the podcast by giving you a FREE GIFT. It is called The 7 Steps To Having Successful Meetings With Upset Parents. This guide is an 11 page pdf that gives you a step by step plan to have better meetings with the parents at your school. Every good coach has a game plan. Every good teacher has a lesson plan. Too many private school leaders don’t have a plan when they sit down to meet with an upset parent. Well, now you have a PLAN! You can grab this FREE GUIDE at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/meeting
I’ve created a free resource for you called “The 6 Things That Every Private School Teacher Wants From Their Leader”. This guide is a 6 page pdf that will be a game changer for you. I guarantee you that if you do these 6 things, the teachers at your school will be happy to follow you. You can pick up your free guide by going to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/guide
I want to give you a gift to say “thank you” for listening to the podcast. I have created a FREE guide for you called “5 Strategies To Help You Work With Difficult Parents”. We know that working with parents is part of the job and most of our parents are great, but some of them can be very demanding and emotional and difficult. This guide will give you the tools that you need to build better relationships and have better meetings with the difficult parents at your school. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/parents to grab the guide. Thank you again for listening every week!
Please check out all of the free resources on my website that can help you serve and lead your school community. There are "Plug & Play PD's" (45 minute webinars with guided notes) as well as Top 10 Lists of Leadership Books, Productivity Books and TED Talks over at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/resources. You can grab the show notes for today's episode at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/episode48
If you have gotten value from listening to the podcast, I would love to work with you 1-on-1. I would love to take my experience and help you to feel less overwhelmed and frustrated or help you have success if you are a brand new leader. I also work with private school leaders who are aspiring Heads of School and want to accelerate their leadership growth or experienced leaders that are moving on to a new school and they want to get off to a great start. If I’m describing you, then head over to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/coaching to learn more about working with me 1-on-1.
Please write a review of this podcast and help push this content out to more leaders. I would love to get your feedback about the podcast, ideas for future episodes and hear about how you are implementing these strategies in your life and at your school. You can email me at mark.o.minkus@gmail.com Thanks!!
I’ve created a FREE RESOURCE for you called “The Top 6 Ways To Protect Your School From a Lawsuit”. This is a 10 page pdf that will help you to keep your staff and students safe and help keep your school out of court. Litigation is expensive, time consuming and extremely stressful. This common sense guide will help you to be more intentional and proactive when it comes to protecting your school. You can grab “The Top 6 Ways To Protect Your School From a Lawsuit” at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/lawsuit. Thanks!

Sep 9, 2023 • 32min
Episode 47: How I Led My School While Dealing With Grief
I am not an expert on grief.
I am not a therapist.
Everyone experiences grief and loss differently.
I am NOT going to tell you how YOU should lead your school while dealing with loss.
I am just going to share my experience.
In May of 2017, my sister Cathy died from breast cancer.
In late June of 2018, my twin sister Ruth died from breast cancer.
One week later, my father-in-law passed away.
In February of 2019, my sister Marcia had a heart attack and died.
In September of 2021, my father passed away from COVID-19.
I hope that sharing my story will help you if you experience loss and wonder how to wrestle with grief while still leading your school
I hope that you will listen to the podcast for your weekly dose of motivation, inspiration and PD. Thanks so much for listening and thanks for making a difference!
Mark Minkus
I want to say thank you for listening to the podcast by giving you a FREE GIFT. It is called The 7 Steps To Having Successful Meetings With Upset Parents. This guide is an 11 page pdf that gives you a step by step plan to have better meetings with the parents at your school. Every good coach has a game plan. Every good teacher has a lesson plan. Too many private school leaders don’t have a plan when they sit down to meet with an upset parent. Well, now you have a PLAN! You can grab this FREE GUIDE at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/meeting
I’ve created a free resource for you called “The 6 Things That Every Private School Teacher Wants From Their Leader”. This guide is a 6 page pdf that will be a game changer for you. I guarantee you that if you do these 6 things, the teachers at your school will be happy to follow you. You can pick up your free guide by going to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/guide
I want to give you a gift to say “thank you” for listening to the podcast. I have created a FREE guide for you called “5 Strategies To Help You Work With Difficult Parents”. We know that working with parents is part of the job and most of our parents are great, but some of them can be very demanding and emotional and difficult. This guide will give you the tools that you need to build better relationships and have better meetings with the difficult parents at your school. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/parents to grab the guide. Thank you again for listening every week!
Please check out all of the free resources on my website that can help you serve and lead your school community. There are "Plug & Play PD's" (45 minute webinars with guided notes) as well as Top 10 Lists of Leadership Books, Productivity Books and TED Talks over at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/resources. You can grab the show notes for today's episode at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/episode47
If you have gotten value from listening to the podcast, I would love to work with you 1-on-1. I would love to take my experience and help you to feel less overwhelmed and frustrated or help you have success if you are a brand new leader. I also work with private school leaders who are aspiring Heads of School and want to accelerate their leadership growth or experienced leaders that are moving on to a new school and they want to get off to a great start. If I’m describing you, then head over to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/coaching to learn more about working with me 1-on-1.
Please write a review of this podcast and help push this content out to more leaders. I would love to get your feedback about the podcast, ideas for future episodes and hear about how you are implementing these strategies in your life and at your school. You can email me at mark.o.minkus@gmail.com Thanks!!
I’ve created a FREE RESOURCE for you called “The Top 6 Ways To Protect Your School From a Lawsuit”. This is a 10 page pdf that will help you to keep your staff and students safe and help keep your school out of court. Litigation is expensive, time consuming and extremely stressful. This common sense guide will help you to be more intentional and proactive when it comes to protecting your school. You can grab “The Top 6 Ways To Protect Your School From a Lawsuit” at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/lawsuit. Thanks!

Sep 2, 2023 • 34min
Episode 46: Leadership Lessons From Eastern Airlines Flight 401
The date was December 29, 1972.
It was shortly before midnight and it was a warm night in Miami. Family and friends waited inside the terminal for Eastern Airlines flight 401 out of JFK Airport in New York City.
The 163 passengers were looking forward to celebrating New Year’s Eve in Miami with family and friends.
What happened over the next few minutes would change aviation history forever.
What happened over the next few minutes can teach us several EXTREMELY valuable lessons as we lead our schools.
On today’s episode of The Private School Leader Podcast, we are going to discuss The 5 Leadership Lessons From Eastern Airlines Flight 401:
Beware of Cognitive Tunneling
Embrace Crew Resource Management
Encourage Open Communication
Simulate High Stress Situations
Learn From Your Mistakes
I’d like to ask you for a favor. If you have gotten any value from this podcast, could you please go to Apple Podcasts (or wherever you listen) and write a review and rate the podcast? Those reviews help the algorithm push the content out to more leaders as a suggested podcast. Private school leaders in 50 countries are now listening to the podcast. Thanks for helping me get this content out to leaders around the world!
I hope that you will listen to the podcast for your weekly dose of motivation, inspiration and PD. Thanks so much for listening and thanks for making a difference!
Mark Minkus
I’ve created a free resource for you called “The 6 Things That Every Private School Teacher Wants From Their Leader”. This guide is a 6 page pdf that will be a game changer for you. I guarantee you that if you do these 6 things, the teachers at your school will be happy to follow you. You can pick up your free guide by going to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/guide
I want to give you a gift to say “thank you” for listening to the podcast. I have created a FREE guide for you called “5 Strategies To Help You Work With Difficult Parents”. We know that working with parents is part of the job and most of our parents are great, but some of them can be very demanding and emotional and difficult. This guide will give you the tools that you need to build better relationships and have better meetings with the difficult parents at your school. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/parents to grab the guide. Thank you again for listening every week!
Please check out all of the free resources on my website that can help you serve and lead your school community. There are "Plug & Play PD's" (45 minute webinars with guided notes) as well as Top 10 Lists of Leadership Books, Productivity Books and TED Talks over at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/resources. You can grab the show notes for today's episode at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/episode45
If you have gotten value from listening to the podcast, I would love to work with you 1-on-1. I would love to take my experience and help you to feel less overwhelmed and frustrated or help you have success if you are a brand new leader. I also work with private school leaders who are aspiring Heads of School and want to accelerate their leadership growth or experienced leaders that are moving on to a new school and they want to get off to a great start. If I’m describing you, then head over to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/coaching to learn more about working with me 1-on-1.
Please write a review of this podcast and help push this content out to more leaders. I would love to get your feedback about the podcast, ideas for future episodes and hear about how you are implementing these strategies in your life and at your school. You can email me at mark.o.minkus@gmail.com Thanks!!
I’ve created a FREE RESOURCE for you called “The Top 6 Ways To Protect Your School From a Lawsuit”. This is a 10 page pdf that will help you to keep your staff and students safe and help keep your school out of court. Litigation is expensive, time consuming and extremely stressful. This common sense guide will help you to be more intentional and proactive when it comes to protecting your school. You can grab “The Top 6 Ways To Protect Your School From a Lawsuit” at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/lawsuit. Thanks!

Aug 26, 2023 • 35min
Episode 45: The 4 “Soft Skills” That Can Ensure A Long Career As A Private School Leader
As we lead our schools, we face hundreds of unique challenges every day. To properly handle those challenges, we have to use our skills. We all have “hard skills” and “soft skills”.
Hard Skills: Budget creation, Creating a Master Schedule, Project Management, Fundraising, Payroll, Curriculum Development, Creating Professional Development for Teachers, Evaluation of Faculty, Facilities Oversight and the list goes on……
Soft Skills: Interpersonal Communication, Organization, Teamwork, Critical Thinking, Social Skills, Creativity, Adaptability, Friendliness, Integrity, Open-mindedness, Empathy, Emotional Intelligence, Problem-solving, Dependability and the list goes on……
What if I told you that there are four skills that can help ensure that you have a long career in private school leadership?
On today’s episode of the Private School Leader Podcast, we are going to discuss the 4 “Soft Skills” That Can Ensure A Long Career As A Private School Leader.
If you have gotten value from this podcast, I would love to hear from you! Please just hit “reply” to this email or you can email me at mark.o.minkus@gmail.com. Send me a couple of sentences about what you have found helpful and also let me know your biggest pain point right now. This valuable feedback will help me to better serve you in future episodes.
I know that you are super busy, so be sure to listen while you are doing something else. I hope that you will get value from this episode as you serve and lead your school community. Thank you for taking some time out of your day to listen to the podcast!
Thanks for making a difference,
Mark Minkus
I’ve created a free resource for you called “The 6 Things That Every Private School Teacher Wants From Their Leader”. This guide is a 6 page pdf that will be a game changer for you. I guarantee you that if you do these 6 things, the teachers at your school will be happy to follow you. You can pick up your free guide by going to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/guide
I want to give you a gift to say “thank you” for listening to the podcast. I have created a FREE guide for you called “5 Strategies To Help You Work With Difficult Parents”. We know that working with parents is part of the job and most of our parents are great, but some of them can be very demanding and emotional and difficult. This guide will give you the tools that you need to build better relationships and have better meetings with the difficult parents at your school. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/parents to grab the guide. Thank you again for listening every week!
Please check out all of the free resources on my website that can help you serve and lead your school community. There are "Plug & Play PD's" (45 minute webinars with guided notes) as well as Top 10 Lists of Leadership Books, Productivity Books and TED Talks over at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/resources. You can grab the show notes for today's episode at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/episode45
If you have gotten value from listening to the podcast, I would love to work with you 1-on-1. I would love to take my experience and help you to feel less overwhelmed and frustrated or help you have success if you are a brand new leader. I also work with private school leaders who are aspiring Heads of School and want to accelerate their leadership growth or experienced leaders that are moving on to a new school and they want to get off to a great start. If I’m describing you, then head over to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/coaching to learn more about working with me 1-on-1.
Please write a review of this podcast and help push this content out to more leaders. I would love to get your feedback about the podcast, ideas for future episodes and hear about how you are implementing these strategies in your life and at your school. You can email me at mark.o.minkus@gmail.com Thanks!!
I’ve created a FREE RESOURCE for you called “The Top 6 Ways To Protect Your School From a Lawsuit”. This is a 10 page pdf that will help you to keep your staff and students safe and help keep your school out of court. Litigation is expensive, time consuming and extremely stressful. This common sense guide will help you to be more intentional and proactive when it comes to protecting your school. You can grab “The Top 6 Ways To Protect Your School From a Lawsuit” at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/lawsuit. Thanks!

Aug 19, 2023 • 35min
Episode 44: 6 Strategies To Turn Your Parents Into “Raving Fans”
Earlier this year, Taylor Swift came to my city. Somehow, my 25 year old daughter was able to get tickets to the show. That’s when I started to understand a little bit more about Taylor Swift fans or “Swifties”.
Three days before the first show, six 18 wheelers rolled into town. These are the merchandise trucks and the “Swifties” were camping out the night before to be the first in line to buy a T-shirt. For Taylor Swift’s “Eras Tour”, her fans dressed up in outfits that represented different eras in her career. “Swifties” make dozens of friendship bracelets and then they exchange them with other “Swifties”. That description barely scratches the surface of the level of obsession that Taylor Swift fans have for her.
I remember thinking that all of this was a little silly and “over the top”, but then I remembered something. I am exactly the same way. The only difference is that I act this way about my favorite college football team!
I have waited in line for hours to take a shuttle bus to a stadium, where I could stand in the cold and wear the same colors as 110,000 other people as we all jumped up and down, while screaming at the tops of our lungs.
Always remember that the word “fan” is short for “fanatic”.
We all have parents at our schools. Many of us have happy parents. But, very few of us have “Raving Fans”. Ken Blanchard coined the term “raving fan” to describe “a customer who is so overwhelmed and floored by the customer service they've received that they can't stop telling everyone about it.”
On today’s episode of The Private School Leader Podcast, we are going to discuss 6 Strategies To Turn Your Parents Into “Raving Fans”!
I’d like to ask you for a favor. If you have gotten any value from this podcast, could you please go to Apple Podcasts (or wherever you listen) and write a review and rate the podcast? Those reviews help the algorithm push the content out to more leaders as a suggested podcast. Private school leaders in 50 countries are now listening to the podcast. Thanks for helping me get this content out to leaders around the world!
I hope that you will listen to the podcast for your weekly dose of motivation, inspiration and PD. Thanks so much for listening and thanks for making a difference!
Mark Minkus
I’ve created a free resource for you called “The 6 Things That Every Private School Teacher Wants From Their Leader”. This guide is a 6 page pdf that will be a game changer for you. I guarantee you that if you do these 6 things, the teachers at your school will be happy to follow you. You can pick up your free guide by going to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/guide
I want to give you a gift to say “thank you” for listening to the podcast. I have created a FREE guide for you called “5 Strategies To Help You Work With Difficult Parents”. We know that working with parents is part of the job and most of our parents are great, but some of them can be very demanding and emotional and difficult. This guide will give you the tools that you need to build better relationships and have better meetings with the difficult parents at your school. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/parents to grab the guide. Thank you again for listening every week!
Please check out all of the free resources on my website that can help you serve and lead your school community. There are "Plug & Play PD's" (45 minute webinars with guided notes) as well as Top 10 Lists of Leadership Books, Productivity Books and TED Talks over at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/resources. You can grab the show notes for today's episode at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/episode44
If you have gotten value from listening to the podcast, I would love to work with you 1-on-1. I would love to take my experience and help you to feel less overwhelmed and frustrated or help you have success if you are a brand new leader. I also work with private school leaders who are aspiring Heads of School and want to accelerate their leadership growth or experienced leaders that are moving on to a new school and they want to get off to a great start. If I’m describing you, then head over to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/coaching to learn more about working with me 1-on-1.
Please write a review of this podcast and help push this content out to more leaders. I would love to get your feedback about the podcast, ideas for future episodes and hear about how you are implementing these strategies in your life and at your school. You can email me at mark.o.minkus@gmail.com Thanks!!
I’ve created a FREE RESOURCE for you called “The Top 6 Ways To Protect Your School From a Lawsuit”. This is a 10 page pdf that will help you to keep your staff and students safe and help keep your school out of court. Litigation is expensive, time consuming and extremely stressful. This common sense guide will help you to be more intentional and proactive when it comes to protecting your school. You can grab “The Top 6 Ways To Protect Your School From a Lawsuit” at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/lawsuit. Thanks!

Aug 12, 2023 • 36min
Episode 43: The Unexpected Power Of A Handwritten Note
I want you to use your imagination.
You are driving home from school and you are stopped at a red light. You are the car closest to the red light and you are watching the cars zip through the intersection in front of you.
Suddenly, a camel slowly makes its way through the intersection and the camel is being ridden by a clown. You can’t believe your eyes, but it's real! You watch the camel and the clown make their way through the intersection and then disappear down a side street.
Now, I want to ask you a question. Years from now, when you are sitting at that intersection, are you going to remember the clown and the camel? Of course you are! That’s because what happened was extremely rare and rare things are remembered.
When we receive a hand-written note, we usually remember it. Many times we will hang it someplace where we can see it. We treasure it. It just means more. In today’s world of texts, emails and Google chat, a hand-written sentiment is rare and rare things are remembered.
On today’s episode of The Private School Leader Podcast, we are going to talk about the psychological power of hand-written notes and how using them more often can change the way that you lead.
Thank you for taking me along with you when you are walking the dog, driving to school or running errands. I appreciate you and what you are doing for the lucky kids and teachers at your school.
Thanks for making a difference,
Mark Minkus
I’ve created a free resource for you called “The 6 Things That Every Private School Teacher Wants From Their Leader”. This guide is a 6 page pdf that will be a game changer for you. I guarantee you that if you do these 6 things, the teachers at your school will be happy to follow you. You can pick up your free guide by going to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/guide
I want to give you a gift to say “thank you” for listening to the podcast. I have created a FREE guide for you called “5 Strategies To Help You Work With Difficult Parents”. We know that working with parents is part of the job and most of our parents are great, but some of them can be very demanding and emotional and difficult. This guide will give you the tools that you need to build better relationships and have better meetings with the difficult parents at your school. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/parents to grab the guide. Thank you again for listening every week!
Please check out all of the free resources on my website that can help you serve and lead your school community. There are "Plug & Play PD's" (45 minute webinars with guided notes) as well as Top 10 Lists of Leadership Books, Productivity Books and TED Talks over at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/resources. You can grab the show notes for today's episode at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/episode43
If you have gotten value from listening to the podcast, I would love to work with you 1-on-1. I would love to take my experience and help you to feel less overwhelmed and frustrated or help you have success if you are a brand new leader. I also work with private school leaders who are aspiring Heads of School and want to accelerate their leadership growth or experienced leaders that are moving on to a new school and they want to get off to a great start. If I’m describing you, then head over to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/coaching to learn more about working with me 1-on-1.
Please write a review of this podcast and help push this content out to more leaders. I would love to get your feedback about the podcast, ideas for future episodes and hear about how you are implementing these strategies in your life and at your school. You can email me at mark.o.minkus@gmail.com Thanks!!
I’ve created a FREE RESOURCE for you called “The Top 6 Ways To Protect Your School From a Lawsuit”. This is a 10 page pdf that will help you to keep your staff and students safe and help keep your school out of court. Litigation is expensive, time consuming and extremely stressful. This common sense guide will help you to be more intentional and proactive when it comes to protecting your school. You can grab “The Top 6 Ways To Protect Your School From a Lawsuit” at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/lawsuit. Thanks!


