Dr. Tom Miller

What gets measured gets improved.

Posting once a month for accountability!

I set a goal on August 23 to lose 13 pounds by November 3.

So I’m following the method that has helped me lose 60 and 40lbs two other times in my life…eat smart, move more, weight less!

* 30+ minutes of movement every day
* At least 2 fruits and 2 vegetables
* max two caloric drinks daily
* More intentional calories and protein
* Daily calorie tracking

Starting weight August 23: 195.5
Week 1 194.4
Week 2 195.6
Week 3 195.4
Week 4 193.3
Week 5 190.4
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10

November 3 is the target (182.2lbs)

Today’s choices are the work.

Methods WhatGetsMeasuredGetsImproved

I’ve watched talented leaders hesitate to take the next step because they’re comparing themselves to someone who has already been doing the job for years.

Stop asking:

“Can I do everything they can do?”

Start asking:

Am I willing to grow into what the next level requires of me?

Every new level of leadership exposes a new gap in your capacity.

That’s not necessarily a reason to stay where you are.

That’s the reason you keep growing.

Make today count.

Dr. Tom

Some leaders feel successful when everyone comes to them for answers.

But if every decision requires your approval, the organization may be growing more dependent, not more capable.

High-performing leaders develop other leaders.

They create opportunities for people to think, decide, experiment, and learn.

They remain available without taking ownership away from the person closest to the work.

Today’s action: When someone asks, “What should I do?” respond with:

“What do you think we should do?”

Listen to their reasoning before adding your perspective.

Ready to build a team that can think and lead at a higher level?

Join us Today October 2. Register: https://www.leaders-building-leaders.com/transformationalcoach

Weak questions produce short answers:

“Did you do it?”
“Why didn’t this work?”
“Do you understand?”

Powerful questions create reflection, ownership, and action:

“What result are you working toward?”
“What is getting in the way?”
“What options have you not considered?”
“What are you willing to try?”

A coaching question is not designed to trap someone or lead them to your answer. It helps them access their best thinking.

Today’s action: Before giving advice, ask one open-ended question and allow enough silence for the person to think.

Learn to lead more effective coaching conversations on October 2.

Register: https://www.leaders-building-leaders.com/transformationalcoach

Many leaders listen long enough to prepare their response.

Coaching leaders listen to understand.

They notice the words, tone, energy, hesitation, and changes in body language. They listen for the obstacle beneath the explanation and the concern behind the question.

When people feel heard, they are more willing to go deeper and more likely to discover a real solution.

Today’s action: Hold one conversation without checking your phone, interrupting, or mentally preparing your response.

Then say:

“Here is what I heard you say. Did I understand you correctly?”

Strengthen your coaching and listening skills with us on October 2.

Register: https://www.leaders-building-leaders.com/transformationalcoach

This is my 2013 Honda Crosstour.

I’ve owned it since 2016.

It has more than 255,000 miles on it.

211,000 are mine.

It’s been stolen.

Recovered.

Restored and revived.

The Florida sun has absolutely destroyed the paint.

And I wouldn’t trade what happened inside this car for anything.

For years, I drove all over North Carolina visiting schools.

And somewhere along the way, this became my Dashboard University.

Thousands of hours of audiobooks, podcasts, courses, phone calls, thinking, dreaming, questioning, and learning.

Ideas were born behind this steering wheel that eventually became trainings, programs, systems, books, and businesses.

Ideas that have generated millions of dollars.

More importantly, ideas that have now reached and impacted thousands of school leaders.

For about three years, much of that time moved to airplanes, airports, and rental cars.

But lately, I’ve been back on the road more.

And I remembered something:

There is something incredibly valuable about windshield time.

No Zoom.

No meeting.

No inbox.

Just miles in front of you and time to think.

We all get the same 24 hours.

But there are hours hiding inside those hours.

The commute.

The drive to a meeting.

The flight.

The airport.

The walk.

The question is what you do with them.

John Maxwell taught me years ago that growth doesn’t happen automatically. You have to be intentional about it.

Your university doesn’t need a campus.

Sometimes it has four wheels, 210,000 miles, terrible paint…

and one more lesson playing through the speakers.

Never stop learning. Never stop thinking. Never stop growing.

The old girl and I still have some miles left in us.

Make today count!

“Your title may give you authority, but relationships give you influence.”

Your position may require people to follow your directions.

But a title alone will not cause them to trust your coaching.

People become more open to feedback when they believe three things:

You see them.

You value them.

You want them to succeed.

Effective coaching begins before the formal conversation. It begins with the daily deposits leaders make through consistency, curiosity, encouragement, and follow-through.

Today’s action: Identify one person you need to coach and make a relational deposit before offering correction.

Learn how to build the relationships and skills that move people toward higher performance on October 2.

Register: https://www.leaders-building-leaders.com/transformationalcoach

Who believed more was possible for you?

I came across this thought from generational expert and author Dr. Tim Elmore on today’s youth.

Express both high expectations AND high belief in people.

That combination is powerful.

The people who changed my life didn’t just tell me I was capable.

They challenged me.

They pushed me.

They expected more from me.

But I always knew something else:

They believed I could become more.

High expectations without belief can feel like pressure.

High belief without expectations can leave us comfortable.

But together?

“I expect more from you because I believe there is more in you.”

That’s great leadership.

Great coaching.

Great teaching.

And great parenting.

So here’s my Sunday question:

Who was that person for you?

Who saw something in you before you could fully see it yourself?

For me that’s Paul Martinelli | Investing for Beginners. He has held an image for me in his mind over the last decade I never dreamed possible. Whoever that person is for you. Tag them. Text them. Call them.

And then ask yourself:

Whose life are YOU doing that for today?

Someone may need you to believe in them enough to expect more from them.

Could a school that began with 23 students and two employees raise $2.4 million in a community with fewer than 500 full-time residents?

Water’s Edge Village School in Corolla did.

On October 12–13, charter school leaders will gather in the Outer Banks to discover how.

We’ll begin at the Wright Brothers National Memorial with Before They Flew: The 3 M’s of Breakthrough Leadership.

Standing where the impossible became possible, we’ll explore:

Mindset for seeing what others cannot see yet.

Motivation for continuing when things don’t go as planned.

Methods for turning a big vision into predictable results.

Then we’ll learn directly from the founders and leaders of Water’s Edge Village School.

They built a school with a tiny team while carrying many of the same academic, operational, financial, governance, and regulatory responsibilities as schools serving hundreds—or thousands—of students.

Fifteen years later, the school has doubled in size, remains debt-free, and has helped mobilize its community to raise $2.4 million.

How did they do it?

That is what we are going to study.

This two-day experience also includes:

* Dinner with charter school founders and regional leaders
* A behind-the-scenes school tour
* Leadership roundtables
* A Currituck Beach Lighthouse experience
* An opportunity to see Corolla’s wild horses

This is leadership development you won’t experience in a hotel ballroom.

Registration is limited and closes September 30. You must register to attend.

Scan the QR code in the graphic or use the link in the first comment to reserve your place.

Together, we’re building a more influential and sustainable charter school community.

When a team member brings you a problem, your first instinct may be to solve it.

That feels efficient. But when leaders continually provide the answers, people learn to bring problems instead of developing solutions.

Coaching changes the conversation.

Instead of immediately telling someone what to do, ask:

“What result are you trying to achieve?”

“What options have you considered?”

“What do you believe your next step should be?”

Today’s action: Replace one answer with one thoughtful question.

Want to develop people who can think, act, and lead with greater confidence?

Join us October 2 for Coaching for High Performance.

Register here: https://www.leaders-building-leaders.com/transformationalcoach