Dr. Chaunté Garrett

08/26/2026

Your strategy will eventually meet something you didn't plan for.

That doesn't necessarily mean the strategy was wrong.

It may mean implementation just gave you new information.

The leadership question is what you do with it.

When implementation gets messy, it's tempting to immediately look for someone to correct or another strategy to introduce.

Pause first.

Examine the system around the work.

What is actually happening?
What pattern are you seeing?
What needs to be adjusted?
Who needs support right now?
What will you do next, and how will you know if it worked?

This is the difference between reacting to implementation and leading through it.

A strong leadership system doesn't simply generate another initiative. It helps your team make the next decision with greater clarity.

Where does your team most often get stuck between strategy and ex*****on?

ContinuousImprovement EducationalLeadership StrategyExecution LeadershipSystems K12Leadership

08/25/2026

Before you change it, pause.

The first weeks of school are revealing things.
Some will require action.
Some won't.

Knowing the difference can save your team from unnecessary disruption.

This week's Executive Insight asks:
What needs to change?
What needs to stay?

I wrote about the leadership decision that happens before the next strategy, initiative, or adjustment.

🔗 Read the full Executive Insight in the channel.

Then tell me:
What is your team seeing right now that has you thinking twice?

08/24/2026

I entered my office excited.

The first person I saw was the office assistant.

I looked at her and said, “I have an idea!”

She looked back at me and said:

“Oh no. What are we going to do now?!” 😂

We belly laughed.

It was funny.

But for me, it was also data.

Every time I remember that moment, I think about a leadership question I've carried with me throughout my work in schools and districts:

How do we respond to what we're learning without overwhelming the people we're leading?

Because this time of year can be noisy.

New information.
New needs.
New challenges.
New ideas.

And suddenly, everything feels urgent.

It isn't.

Sometimes, the answer is an adjustment.

Sometimes, it's reinforcement.

Sometimes, the strategy needs more time.

And sometimes, yes, something genuinely needs to change.

The leadership work is knowing the difference.

Stop adding. Start tuning.

What is your team learning right now that may require you to adjust your approach?

08/20/2026

Three districts. One room. A whole lot of thinking about teacher growth.

Last week, I had the opportunity to work with school and district administrators who came together to dig into a question that matters:
How do we use evidence to actually help teachers grow?

There was conversation.
Reflection.
Questions.
Problem-solving.
And a lot of work around what leaders can learn from the people closest to instruction.

Evidence should help us know what support comes next.

This is the work I love.

Creating space for leaders to think deeply, challenge assumptions, and leave with something they can actually use.

Grateful for these three districts and the leaders who showed up ready to do the work. 🤍
What are your leadership systems helping you learn about teacher growth?

LeadershipDevelopment.

Evidence should help us know what support comes next.

What are your leadership systems helping you learn about teacher growth?

LeadershipDevelopment.

This is what learning in a community can look like.

What are your leadership systems helping you learn about teacher growth?

LeadershipDevelopment.

08/19/2026

Your teachers are already telling you something. The question is whether your leadership systems are prepared to hear it.

As the school year begins, there is a tremendous opportunity to learn before we rush to respond.

Listen.
Look.
Gather evidence.
Ask better questions.
Then decide what support is actually needed.

Because sometimes the next move is paying closer attention to what is already happening.

I'm exploring this question in this week's Executive Insight:
Are You Prepared to Learn From Your Teachers?

What are you hoping your teachers will teach you this year?

🔗 Full article available in the comments.

LeadershipDevelopment

08/18/2026

“I sought the Lord, and He heard, and He answered.”

Three years ago, Empowering Learners and Leaders to Excel, LLC EL² became official.

But EL² didn't begin three years ago.
I stopped consulting for two years because I wanted to be fully present for the work we were carrying as education leaders.

During those years, I watched. I listened. I prayed.

I saw leaders carrying enormous responsibility without the support they needed.

I saw superintendents whose work was deeply valued but often misunderstood.
I saw principals navigating competing demands while trying to lead instructional improvement.

I saw women in education, particularly Black women, elevated into leadership and then criticized for doing the very work they were entrusted to do.

And I kept asking:
What would it look like if leaders didn't have to carry all of this alone?

So I built what I would have loved to have.
What I needed.

A colleague for the superintendent.
A thought partner for the principal.
Hands-with support for educators.
Systems that help leaders move from knowing to doing.

And this smile?

It represents an answered prayer.

Two years praying for clarity.
One year praying to know God.
Seven months praying to hear Him.

I sought the Lord.
He heard me.
He answered me.

Three years later, the vision has crossed countries and placed me alongside countless leaders whose journeys I am grateful to witness.

My plan was so small.
God's vision was so much bigger.

His time.
His way.
His vision.

Happy 3rd Anniversary, EL². 🤍

And I am just getting started.

EducationConsultant GodsTiming

08/12/2026

I had a leadership strategy conversation that reminded me of something important about implementation.

The leaders already had strategies.
They knew what they wanted to do.
They had thought through the mechanics.

But as we worked through the conversation, we uncovered something deeper.
We weren't working from a place of expectations.

Expectations establish...
More clarity around why the work mattered,
What each educator was expected to make happen, and
How those expectations connected to the strategies already in place.

So we went there.
We worked backward.

What is the outcome we're trying to create?
What should leaders expect to see, hear, and experience if we're moving toward that outcome?
What does that require from the people responsible for implementation?

And then:
How do the strategies support those expectations?

That shift changed the conversation.
The strategies didn't have to be thrown away.
They had to be connected to something bigger.

Because a strategy without a clear expectation can become an activity.
An expectation without a strategy can remain an aspiration.
Teams need both.

Clarity about what they are trying to make happen.
Strategies that help them make it happen.
That's the work.

As you move into the early weeks of the school year, here's something worth asking your leadership team:
Are our strategies actually connected to clear expectations, or are we implementing strategies simply because they seemed like the right thing to do?

🔗 Link to the full article is in the comments.

If you're a principal or district leader working through this kind of leadership challenge, I'm opening a limited number of RESET™ Leadership Strategy Sessions this month.

Send me a DM with "RESET," and I'll send you the details.

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08/04/2026

We are not measuring teachers. We are communicating leadership.

That's one of the biggest mindset shifts I'm encouraging leadership teams to make as schools begin a new year.

We've inspired. We've cast vision. We've communicated instructional priorities.

Now comes the moment that determines whether those priorities become everyday practice.

The first leadership walkthrough.

Too often, walkthroughs are treated as opportunities to collect evidence.
I believe they're opportunities to communicate leadership.

Every classroom visit answers questions teachers are already asking:
• What matters here?
• What kind of feedback should I expect?
• Is this about my growth or my compliance?
• Will I be supported after today?

The answers shape school culture long before a coaching conversation ever takes place.

That's why the walkthrough itself can't be the most important part.
The leadership system we place around the walkthrough has to be.

How are principals preparing before they enter classrooms?
How will evidence be used to strengthen instruction and not simply document teacher performance?
How will coaching conversations reinforce your instructional priorities throughout the year?

Great walkthroughs are a part of a leadership system that develops people through reflection, coaching, and continuous improvement.
That's where sustainable instructional improvement begins.

So here's my question for you:
If principals completed their first walkthrough tomorrow, what evidence would tell you your instructional priorities are becoming classroom practice and not simply beginning of the year expectations?

Share your thoughts in the comments. I'd love to learn how your leadership team is approaching the first walkthrough of the year.

If you're a principal or district leader who wants dedicated time to strengthen your walkthrough and leadership systems before the school year gains momentum, I'm opening a limited number of RESET™ Leadership Strategy Sessions this month.

Send me a direct message with "RESET," and I'll send you the details.

We are not measuring teachers. We are communicating leadership. That's one of the biggest mindset shifts I'm encouraging leadership teams to make as schools begin a new year. We've inspired. We've cast vision. We've communicated instructional priorities. Now comes the moment that determines whether....