To all the new school leaders starting this year: congratulations. Time to buckle up!

To all the new school leaders starting this year: congratulations. Time to buckle up!

There is something special about walking into your office for the first time and realizing, “This is my seat now.”

There’s excitement. Possibility. Probably a few big ideas you can’t wait to get started on.

And then the job begins.

I’ve been there.

The late nights and early mornings. The hard decisions. The piles of paperwork you didn’t realize came with the title. The parent waiting outside your office. The budget that doesn’t quite work. The staff issue where every option seems wrong.

And the strange realization that, despite being surrounded by people all day, leadership can sometimes feel remarkably lonely.

So before the year gets too busy, here are a few questions I’d encourage you to sit with:

- Where am I still pointing fingers instead of owning the whole?

- Who is in my circle of trust outside the school?

- Who on my team is brave enough to tell me something I don’t want to hear?

- What is the gap between the leader I intend to be and the impact I actually have?

And perhaps most importantly:

- What am I doing now to make sure I can still lead with energy, perspective and purpose years from now?

I wrote The Loneliest Seat because these were questions I wish someone had asked me when I first became a Head.

Not because I would have had good answers.

I definitely wouldn’t have.

But I might have made a few fewer mistakes.

If you’re stepping into a new leadership position this year, I hope the book helps you navigate some of what comes next.

And apparently I’m not much of a businessman.

I dropped the Kindle edition to $3 for the first month after launch. I was supposed to raise it after that.

I forgot.

So, for now, you can benefit from my questionable pricing strategy.

Welcome to the seat. It’s a privilege to sit in it. It’s going to be an amazing ride!