The Institute Leaders Lifeline

On this episode, Mike Sinclair looks back on this amazing year at the Institute with one of his best friends and colleagues, Mike Sinclair, Deputy Superintendent of School Support at the Charter Institute at Erskine. Mike asks Mike about his first year with the Institute, some amazing milestones and memories, and encouraging words about leadership only Mike can give. This podcast is best enjoyed in it's video format. Please see it on YouTube at youtube.com/erskinecharters .

After our incredible Awards Banquet and Five-Year Celebration, we're excited to sit down with Ms. Sharmaine Roaden, the 2023-2024 Nathan Yon Institute Teacher of the Year. We get to hear her philosophy on education and her message of encouragement to all teachers across the state.

We're excited to celebrate our Awards Banquet and Five-Year Celebration this Thursday. Mike Sinclair sits down with Christy Junkins, Deputy Superintendent of Accountability at the Institute, and Ashely Epperson, Director of Communications at the Institute, to speak on the importance of this event and the best memories of the past Five Years. As we prepare for graduations, we will take a break next week, May 23rd.

Today, we're having an encore episode with Dr. Michael Gordon-Smith, School Leader of American Leadership Academy - Lexington. He sat down with Deputy Superintendent of School Support Mike Sinclair for a conversation on high-quality leadership, and American Leadership Academy's focus on Academic Excellence. Learn what led him to become a school leader and why communication is so critical for a successful school.

In this episode, Mike talks with Tracey Williams and Dr. Tammy White from Teach Right USA. Teach Right USA has applied to be an alternative certification program in South Carolina with long term plans that could change the landscape of preparing teachers for the classroom. Listen to their plans to creatively address our current teacher shortage in South Carolina.

In this episode, Mike discusses how important the first hour of your day is to the direction you will go. This is duplicated as you enter your work environment. So how do you adjust your rudder and set a course for success.

This week, Mike Sinclair talks with the man, the myth, the legend, Mr. V, Director of the Charter Institute at Erskine. He talks through his life, his influences throughout his experience in education, and his core value of meaningful relationships to lead others to greatness.

In this episode, Mike discusses the importance of being impactful within your team versus being impacted by your surroundings. The Coffee Bean, by Jon Gordon and Damon West, is the core of this episode.

In this episode, Mike sits down with Dr. Bill Roach, Chief of Special Projects. Dr. Roach has filled many positions in education, from a high school teacher to a district superintendent. He explains how the focus on students makes each of these roles more similar than different and all rely on one another to be successful.

In this week's episode, we're revisiting our conversation with Senator Greg Hembree, Chairman of the South Carolina Senate Education Committee. He sat down with Superintendent Runyan and Mike to discuss leadership, education, and ways we can collaborate to address the educational needs in our state.

It is easy to mistake a high level of stress, workload, and time that we pour into working as a measure of success. No pain, No Gain. However, in this episode, Mike shares a different perspective. What if the way you lead and the success of those around you is the true measure of your success as a leader? The more you grow as a leader, often, the less you will produce. There are times of long hours and stress, but your value and success are not measured by those things.

In this episode, Mike dives into 5 strategies for effectively delegating responsibilities to others on your team. During the spring, there are many additional tasks placed on the leaders, such as testing, creating a schedule, and hiring. Leaders cannot do it without help. But delegating responsibilities is not always an easy thing to do. Listen to this episode for effective strategies to make your delegation process effective.

In this episode, Mike discusses the importance of taking time to reflect on experiences that created the leader in you. These are all ingredients that, when combined, create your recipe for leadership. Hear 5 Key memories that played a critical role in shaping his leadership style.

In this episode, we discuss the importance of seeing opportunities and not getting fixed on obstacles and uncertainty. Then as a leader you must engage and grow to seize opportunities and impact your organization. Don't let doubt determine your outcomes.

In this episode, Mike Sinclair wraps up our series on Leading with Passion. He leaves us with the challenge of leading in the present and not getting lost in overanalyzing hypothetical situations. Check out “Depression Hates A Moving Target” here: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/54476635

Dr. Michael Gordon-Smith, School Leader of American Leadership Academy - Lexington, sits down with Deputy Superintendent of School Support Mike Sinclair for a conversation on high-quality leadership, and American Leadership Academy's focus on Academic Excellence. Learn what led him to become a school leader and why communication is so critical for a successful school.

Leaders are stronger because of the people they surround themselves with in the organization. In today's episode, we discuss the importance of communicating your organization's expectations and culture clearly when selecting staff members. Hiring staff with skills different than yours is a great strategy, but only if they also fit your culture and expectations.

In this episode, Mike explores the need for leaders to inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more. But, in order to do that, a leader must possess the passion to do those things herself. So what do you do to reignite or fan the flame of your passion to lead?

On this Episode of the Institute Leaders Lifeline, Mike Sinclair continues the series on Leading with Passion and what it takes to impact the climate of your organization. Does your team know what your climate should be?

Senator Greg Hembree, Chairman of the South Carolina Senate Education Committee, sits down this week with Superintendent Runyan and Mike to discuss leadership, education, and ways we can collaborate to address the educational needs in our state. Senator Hembree also shares some of the key elements that inspire his personal desire to lead as well as a behind-the-scenes look into serving in the SC Senate.

Representative Shannon Erickson, newly elected Chairman of the SC House Education and Public Works Committee, sits down with Superintendent Cameron Runyan and Deputy Superintendent of School Support Mike Sinclair for a conversation about the current and future landscape of education in SC as well as the impact of school choice on South Carolina communities.

Welcome back! Hopefully you had a wonderful holiday season with your family and friends. In this episode we briefly review our last two podcast series and preview an exciting January line up. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss any upcoming episodes.

Mike wraps up our series on Mindfulness: Fighting Stress and Anxiety with some great activities you can try over the holidays. He and Superintendent Runyan end with their holiday wishes for our leaders and listeners as we look forward to time with family and friends.

In this episode, we look at the impact of gratitude on our mental health. In the rush of leading, our thoughts will easily default to the problems and obstacles that are in front of us. These thoughts can gradually insert themselves and take over our self-perception. In fact, we become the very thoughts we are trying to avoid. So what if you intentionally inserted affirmations or statements of gratitude into your day? Those thoughts could become louder than the ones that hold you back and cause stress and anxiety.John “Gucci” Foley: Fearless SuccessGlad to Be Here

In this episode, Raegan McCullough, co-founder of The Healthy Teacher, joins Mike to share healthy strategies to proactively address the stress that comes with being a leader.The Healthy Teacher https://www.thehealthyteacher.com/pages/

In this episode, Mike continues to discuss the importance of Mindfulness in managing stress as a leader. Knowing what triggers your stress and anxiety, as well as the physical symptoms, are important in proactively implementing strategies that help. Focusing on physical items present in your surroundings is a key strategy. Mike shares several examples of how you can do this.

In this episode, we begin a series on Mindfulness and strategies to confront negative thoughts, stress, and anxiety. Unfortunately, these responses can be part of being a leader, but you don't have to be passive and “just deal with it”. Mike shares some of his fight with anxiety and a couple of basic techniques to help in the moment. Ashley Owings https://www.odysseyonline.com/ Books Referenced: You Are the Team: 6 Simple Ways Teammates Can Go from Good to Great Michael G. Rogers What Happened To You?: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing Bruce D. Perry, Oprah Winfrey 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens Sean Covey

In this episode, we begin a series on Mindfulness and strategies to confront negative thoughts, stress, and anxiety. Unfortunately, these responses can be part of being a leader, but you don't have to be passive and “just deal with it”. Mike shares some of his fight with anxiety and a couple of basic techniques to help in the moment.Ashley Owingshttps://www.odysseyonline.com/Books Referenced:You Are the Team: 6 Simple Ways Teammates Can Go from Good to Great Michael G. RogersWhat Happened To You?: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing Bruce D. Perry, Oprah Winfrey7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens Sean Covey

In this episode of the Institute Leaders Lifeline, we have a guest, Ainsley Crowe, a student at Cyber Academy of South Carolina and a Charter School Ambassador at the Institute. She shares how the flexibility of virtual learning has allowed her to have dual enrollment and pursue a career in education.

In this final episode of the series on Risk, Mike discusses the importance of being authentic as a leader in the face of adversity. Often we think of charismatic leaders as being extroverted and positive all of the time. Although that may sometimes be true, an authentic leader embraces the tone of the organization and leads the team toward an optimistic collaborative plan of action. Being authentic is key to maintaining the confidence and trust of a team.School Showcases:Clear Dot Charter Schoolhttps://www.cleardotcharterschool.org/Midlands STEM Institutehttps://www.midlandsstem.org/SC Virtual Charter Schoolhttps://www.scvcs.org/

In this episode of the podcast, Mike revisits the message of Episode 8 and the importance of a team having confidence in the leader as the fourth episode in a series about risk. He shares four ingredients that contribute to building and sustaining that confidence.School Showcases:Lowcountry Connections Academyhttps://www.connectionsacademy.com/south-carolina-online-school/Gates Schooolhttps://gatesschool.org/

In this episode, Mike spends time talking with Mr. Cameron Runyan, Superintendent of the Charter Institute at Erskine. Mr. Runyan shares the steps along his journey that led him to take a risk and create the Charter Institute at Erskine. With nearly 24,000 students, the Charter Institute at Erskine is a leader in building a team that is transforming a generation - but how did it all begin? Find out in this episode of #InstituteLeadersLifeline.School Showcases:Calhoun Falls Charter Schoolhttp://www.cfpcs.org/Mevers School of Excellencehttps://www.meversschoolofexcellence.org/

In this episode, Mike discusses the value of taking risks, and the importance of a leader anticipating those risks and creating opportunities. School Showcases:Virtus Academy of South Carolinahttps://virtusacademysc.org/Thornwell Charter Schoolhttps://www.thornwellcharterschool.org/

In this episode, Mike discusses the importance of putting first things first when making decisions. Too often emotions or external factors influence our decisions, but we must focus on the core factors. Mike concludes with a very personal example of taking a risk to put his first things first that would end up changing thousands of lives.School Showcases:Odyssey Online Learnings, Principal Ashley Owingswww.odysseyonline.comCyber Academy of South Carolina, Principal David Crookhttps://www.cyberacademysc.com/

Mike shares a couple of quotes sent in by listeners that will add to your leadership archive. He also takes you on a tour of the Kids First Conference coming up September 27 and 28. Listen to all of the exciting things we will have for you, including our keynote speaker, Rick Rigsby.

We all have those quotes we pull out to encourage ourselves and others. In this episode, Mike Sinclair shares a few of his favorites. A couple may be new to you.Showcase Schools:Brashier Middle College Charter High School: www.brashiermiddlecollege.orgLegion Collegiate Academy: www.legioncollegiateacademy.orgThanks for tuning into the Institute's Leaders Lifeline!

In this episode, Mike Sinclair talks about the Pressure to lead and five strategies to help yourself prepare. In leadership, pressure is inevitable. How the leaders prepare for the pressure is key. These five strategies include easy examples and will provide opportunities for you to refocus and recharge. Showcase Schools:Gray Collegiate Academy https://www.graycollegiateacademy.org/Oceanside Collegiate Academy https://www.oceansidecollegiateacademy.org/Thanks for tuning into the Institute's Leaders Lifeline!

In this episode, Mike Sinclair asks our leaders, “Whose face do you see when you are lost in the weeds”? It is easy to get caught up in the day-to-day responsibilities or the obstacles that arise, but what if you spent time thinking about the people that inspired you or were impacted by your work? Those faces can pull you back to your vision of transforming a generation.Showcase Schools:The Montessori School of Camden in Camden, SC https://www.montessori-camden.com/Royal Live Oaks Academy in Jasper, SChttps://www.rloacs.org/Resources:Rick Rigsby: Lessons from a Third Grade Dropouthttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bg_Q7KYWG1gThanks for tuning into the Institute's Leaders Lifeline!

In this episode, Mike Sinclair discusses assuming a positive intent from others, trusting in your team, and avoiding doubts. The character program, Belton Preparatory Academy, and the agricultural program at Lowcountry Leadership are shared as good examples of building a community. Links to resources in this week's episode:Belton Preparatory Academy https://beltonprep.us/Lowcountry Leadership Charter School https://sites.google.com/lowcountryleadership.org/lowcountryleadershipcs/home

In the first episode of Institute Leaders Lifeline, Deputy Superintendent of School Support Mike Sinclair introduces this new podcast and provides our leaders with relevant updates, shares positive stories, and offers words of encouragement for the new school year.Schools & Resources Mentioned in This Week's Episode:Berkeley Preparatory Academy: https://www.berkeleyprepacademy.org/Cherokee Charter Academy: https://cherokee.education/ SC Connections Academy: https://www.connectionsacademy.com/south-carolina-virtual-school/Hal Elrod – The Miracle Morning: https://tinyurl.com/mirmorningJames Clear – Atomic Habits: https://tinyurl.com/habits-clearDon't forget to follow @ErskineCharters on all social media!