176. A Path to Leadership Mastery with Cayla Rush

In 2020, everyone’s world turned upside-down 

Sioux Falls school owner Cayla Rush knew there was too much on her plate as the pandemic began, but she didn’t see an alternative. 

She felt it was her responsibility to make countless decisions that could impact the health and well-being of her staff, herself, and the families she served.

“My self-trust was shaken,” she told me. “Before 2020, I felt like I could trust myself to make decisions. But then that went out the window.”

That’s when we met. 

Instead of allowing herself to remain stuck, Cayla joined the Schools of Excellence Owner’s HQ. I’ve had the privilege of watching her grow into a transformed leader over the years.

Today, she is confident, resilient, and discerning.

She’s hired a great leadership team, pursues big dreams, and has learned how to coach her colleagues.

She even got a beautiful tattoo of the word “Breathe” to remind her of a big takeaway from the Schools of Excellence community. When she takes a deep breath and sits in the silence and discomfort, she hears her inner voice.

In this week's podcast episode, I sit down for a conversation with Cayla about her leadership journey.

Join us to learn more about:

• Quick wins Cayla achieved when she first joined the community
• How she turned her impostor syndrome into a deep sense of belonging
• The impact of personalized coaching on her school’s growth and her personal growth as a leader
• Steps she has taken to reject hustle culture in favor of resilience and wisdom

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/ 

 If you want to overcome self-doubt, impostor syndrome, and hustle culture within a supportive environment, apply for the Schools of Excellence Director’s Inner Circle or Owner’s HQ membership program. Inside, you’ll receive tools, coaching, and a like-minded community of school leaders to help build a school of excellence.

If Cayla’s story sounds like your autobiography, I invite you to work with me through a Leadership Day Intensive. You'll get a full day of on-demand, highly personalized, in-school training with me, plus various accountability check-ins, to help you and your center thrive. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/leadership/

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life. 

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.