Positively Leading

Ever wonder why two teachers can do the exact same job, yet one thrives while the other burns out? In this episode of Positively Leading, host Jenny Cole unpacks the crucial difference between a skill and a strength. 
Drawing on positive psychology research from Gallup, the VIA Institute, and more, Jenny explains why being good at something isn't the same as it giving you energy, and why chasing weaknesses often backfires. Through personal stories and real client examples, she shares six practical questions to help you uncover your own core strengths, plus a warning about the "shadow side" of overusing them. If you're feeling overwhelmed, underutilized, or just plain stuck, this episode offers the foundational first step toward redesigning work that truly sustains you.
Did you know there is more? You can access every episode, show notes, links and more via my website Positively Beaming.

In this episode of Positively Leading, host Jenny Cole introduces the Career Decision-Making Matrix from her book Teach, Lead or Leave - a simple but powerful framework built around two key factors: your energy and your impact. 
Jenny walks through the four quadrants educators can find themselves in - Thriving, Underutilised, Exhausted, and Disengaged - explaining the warning signs of each and the pathways forward, from stretching and pivoting to resting or planning an exit. Whether you're feeling restless, exhausted, or unfulfilled, this episode offers a clarifying tool to help you honestly assess where you are right now, and why knowing that is the essential first step toward figuring out what needs to change.
Did you know there is more? You can access every episode, show notes, links and more via my website Positively Beaming.

You've been good at your job for years. You've been happy in it. And then, seemingly out of nowhere, it just stops fitting - even though nothing about the role has actually changed. Sound familiar?
In this episode of Positively Leading, Jenny explores a career conversation that rarely gets the airtime it deserves: life stage. Drawing on stories from her coaching practice - a deputy principal drowning under the weight of leadership and young children, a head of department grieving the loss of predictability, a teacher navigating chronic illness and the identity she built around her classroom - Jenny unpacks why the role that energised you at 25 might quietly deplete you at 45.
This isn't about burnout or a bad school. It's about evolution, not revolution - and giving yourself permission to want something different at different points in your career, without guilt.
Did you know there is more? You can access every episode, show notes, links and more via my website Positively Beaming.

After naming the many faces of "stuck," Jenny Cole tackles the defensiveness that conversation stirs up. This isn't teacher-bashing, and it isn't a push to quit - it's about making intentional choices instead of defaulting to guilt, martyrdom, or burnout.
Jenny unpacks why these conversations feel so threatening: our identities get tangled up with our roles, and questioning the job can feel like questioning ourselves. She draws a sharp line between quitting (reactive, driven by escape) and redirecting (intentional, driven by alignment) - and shares her own reckoning with losing her "who-ness" in her "what-ness" after leaving the principalship.
Whether the aligned choice is staying, shifting, pausing, or leaving, Jenny's message is the same: you deserve to make it from clarity, not desperation.
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Did you know there is more? You can access every episode, show notes, links and more via my website Positively Beaming.

Why do talented, dedicated educators end up feeling trapped and exhausted - even when they're great at their jobs? In this episode, host Jenny Cole dives into a special series of episodes exploring what "stuck" really means in education, and what to do next.
Through composite stories from hundreds of coaching conversations, Jenny introduces educators at every career stage - a burnt-out classroom star, an overwhelmed deputy principal, a veteran teacher who's stopped trying - and unpacks five hidden reasons capable people get stuck. It's not about resilience or commitment; it's a system built to keep good people stuck.
Jenny offers permission: to be tired, restless, and honest about where you really are, without shame or judgment.
A compassionate starting point for anyone who's ever dreaded walking through the school doors.
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Did you know there is more? You can access every episode, show notes, links and more via my website Positively Beaming.