Veronica Holyoke on Breaking the Myth of Solitary Leadership

The Ruckus Report

Quick take: The “lone wolf” leader is a toxic myth that’s burning out school administrators and failing students. Veronica Holyoke proves that transformational leadership happens in community, not isolation — and one hour a week can change everything.

Meet Your Fellow Ruckus Maker

Veronica Holyoke is a 25-year education veteran and Utah’s 2024 Assistant Principal of the Year. A former 5th grade teacher with master’s degrees in Curriculum and Instruction and Educational Leadership, she’s spent her fourth year as an elementary Assistant Principal in Jordan School District. Beyond her accolades, Veronica has navigated supporting her husband through serious disability while excelling in her leadership role — proving that community support transforms both professional and personal resilience.

Breaking Down the Old Rules

In this episode, Veronica Holyoke challenges traditional education paradigms:

Key Insight #1: Imposter Syndrome Isn’t Permanent

  • What’s broken: Leaders believing they must have all the answers and can’t show vulnerability or uncertainty
  • The shift: Embrace community support where every voice matters, regardless of title or experience level
  • Impact: Confidence grows, authentic leadership emerges, and the toxic cycle of isolation breaks

Key Insight #2: Weekly Support Beats Yearly Burnout

  • What’s broken: The expectation that school leaders should figure everything out alone while pouring into everyone else
  • The shift: Prioritize one hour per week for consistent community support and professional growth
  • Impact: Leaders go to bed happier every Tuesday, face challenges with renewed energy, and sustain their passion for the work

Key Insight #3: Personal Growth Drives Professional Excellence

  • What’s broken: Separating personal wellness from professional performance, leading to unsustainable leadership practices
  • The shift: Invest in whole-person support that addresses both home and work challenges
  • Impact: When leaders are cared for, they can better care for staff and students — creating award-winning school cultures

Quotable Ruckus

“I could only take care of my staff and students because I was being taken care of because of the mastermind group.”

– Veronica Holyoke

Your Do School Different Challenge

Ready to implement these ideas? Start here:

  1. Tomorrow: Make a list of things you do weekly to “fill your bucket” — where does community support rank?
  2. This Month: Find one hour per week to connect with other leaders outside your system for growth and support
  3. This Semester: Build or join a community where you can be 100% authentic about your challenges and victories
target

Get the full episode transcript: here

Follow Veronica Holyoke

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If education ain’t a bit disruptive, then what are your students really learning?

This show isn’t about doing school better.

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More Podcasts You’ll Love

If education ain’t a bit disruptive, then what are your students really learning?

This show isn’t about doing school better.

It’s about Doing School Different — and joining a growing movement of bold, creative school leaders who reject legacy models and reimagine what’s possible.

Here are four ways we can help you on your Do School Different journey

notebook

Subscribe to the Free Newsletter

— An opportunity to Do School Different 3x a week. Tools, mindset shifts, and strategies that actually work: ruckusmakers.news

Read Ruckus Makers

— Exclusive content on Substack. Premium leadership insights, AI prompts and custom GPTs, new books before the bookshelf: ruckusmakers.media

 

Join The Ruckus Maker Club

Our private network + workshops, The Automatic School tools, AI Prompt Library, and more:
The Ruckus Maker

 
 

Apply to the Mastermind

— Weekly coaching, peer mentorship, and our proven leadership system (The Ruckus Maker Flywheel) to help you transform your campus:
Apply Now

 
Every tool, community, and coaching program we offer is built to help visionary school leaders play the new game — one where leadership is creative, tech-enabled, and unapologetically student-centered.

The podcast is your starting point. The movement is just getting started.

Today’s RUCKUScast in Partnership with:

IXL: Meet your students where they are and take them where they need to go. Join over 1 million teachers who trust IXL to drive data-informed excellence in their classrooms.
🔍 Learn more: ixl.com/leaders

The Ruckus Maker Club Community beats compliance every single time. The Ruckus Maker Club is your on demand network of bold school leaders designing the future of education. Join today for $100 a month and get coaching on demand courses, AI prompts and custom GPTs and all our automatic school frameworks and tools within our private digital community.
🔍 Learn more: here

ODP Business Solutions®: Solutions “Our STEAM program is too complicated” = Code for “We’re doing it wrong.” Stop letting fear kill innovation. Some leaders are transforming STEAM with a three-part framework that’s not what you think.
🔍 Get the playbook: ODPbusiness.com/education

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