Engagement begins with psychological safety. The brain is constantly scanning the environment to determine whether it is safe or threatening. When people feel safe, they collaborate, manage ambiguity, and remain engaged. When safety is reduced, thinking narrows and momentum slows. Michael Bungay Stanier’s TERA framework—tribe, expectation, rank, and autonomy—explains how leaders shape safety. By increasing the TERA quotient, leaders can build trust and sustain engagement.

Leadership is often imagined as something elevated—a title, a crown, a position of power. But anyone who has truly led people knows leadership can feel heavy. When it’s rooted in admiration or control, it becomes exhausting to sustain. William J. Bennett reminds us that the only crown worn with comfort is the crown of service. When leaders start with service rather than status, trust grows, pressure eases, and leadership becomes something carried with humility, not defended w

Grit has long been praised as the key to success, but willpower alone is not enough. Angela Duckworth’s recent research introduces situational agency—the ability to design environments that make desired behaviors easier and distractions harder. For school leaders reflecting midyear or setting intentions for 2026, combining grit with situational agency offers a more sustainable path to focus, presence, and progress.

Leaders are often told to “leave feelings at the door,” but that’s not just bad advice—it’s impossible. Emotions shape how we communicate, make decisions, and inspire others. In Embracing Emotions, part of the Courageous Leadership: Bits of Courage series, explore key lessons from No Hard Feelings by Liz Fosslien and Mollie West Duffy on emotional fluency, boundaries, and vulnerability—showing that the future of leadership isn’t less emotional, it’s more human.