The mastermind is not only the best PD available to school leaders in the world, it’s also a second family.
We are intentional about doing things that create a culture of community and collaboration.
One thing we’ve done is name all our cohorts. This was a democratic process and each group named themselves.
So far we have these groups:
- No Pockets
- Purple Cows
- Free Spirits
- Guiding Principals
We also do a family photo at the end of each meeting. Through a picture, we capture the essence of the time we shared. Often, we act out a crazy scenario so these photos are quite fun. The family photos are then shared in private channels and bring a smile to everyone’s face.
In 2019 we also voted on the mascot of the mastermind and settled on two animals that represent us: the elephant and the wolf.
My friend, Michael, designed the mascots.
The Elephant symbolizes power, dignity, intelligence, and peace. Elephants are known to have great memories. Like the mastermind, their social network is large, yet intimate. They are cooperative in nature and protective of the herd.
The Wolf symbolizes courage, strength, and a drive for the victory. Wolves also develop close relationships and strong social bonds. They are caring, playful and devoted to family. Like the elephant complex, highly intelligent animals and care about each member of the pack as individuals. They also communicate, collaborate and share knowledge across generations.
We chose two mascots for the mastermind because they both represent our community and the different traits we admire in our members.
If you are an elephant or wolf, we’d love for you to join our community. You can read more about the mastermind and apply to become a member here.
Other posts to check out:
- This post describes what the mastermind is reading in the 2019-2020 school year.
- This post is about how we helped Gene meet his goal to make sure every student received a positive phone call home.
- We run an online mastermind which makes it easy to connect Ruckus Makers from around the world. This summer we are actually hosting a live event to meet face-to-face and work on a 3-year vision for our personal and organizational life. Learn more and register for the event here.
- What are the best podcasts for school leaders?
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