The Better Leaders Better Schools Roadmap

Small Ideas that Lead to Big Impact

By: Daniel Bauer

Narrated by: Daniel Bauer

Length: 4 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

How you create a legendary school starting tomorrow.

Have you ever wondered, why didn’t they teach me about this in school?

While I was training to be a school administrator, my graduate classes talked about the structure of school: budget, rigorous curriculum, and how change takes years to implement.

What was missed?:

Everything needed to create a truly memorable place for your staff, students, and parents.

In this audiobook, you’ll learn:

• how to unleash the creativity inherently found in every classroom!
• mindset strategies to help you lead in an increasingly fast-paced, constantly changing environment.
• multiple approaches to the hard conversations that we need to have - daily!
• the importance of servant leadership. You know it’s important, but how do you actually do it?
• leading within a community and not in isolation.
• building, growing, and then sustaining a culture focused on positivity and empathy.
• and so much more....

©2018 Daniel Bauer (P)2019 Daniel Bauer

Praise for Daniel Bauer!

I have the print version of this book but I had to have this as soon as it came out! The audio version is awesome because Danny is the narrator and throws in tons of extra content that is not included in print. If you are a school leader who loves to keep improving and learning, this is a great book for you!

Practical Gems for School Leaders

I enjoyed this book immensely. I particularly liked how straight forward it is and how Danny Bauer provides so many basic yet essential steps I can take to be a better school leader right now. I am glad he is the narrator since he adds an authentic flair with his voice and emphasis in key places.

a must for NEW and Veteran School Leaders!

Leaders are readers. As the author, Danny "Sunshine" Bauer, has read just about every book on leadership, this book is like reading 20+ books at once. The Better Leaders Better Schools Roadmap is a GEM of a book that pulls together all of that amazing leadership 101 and 201 advice you've ever heard or read (some of which can feel distant from daily practice) and tells you what that actually looks like in your school on the day-to-day. I'm not going to lie, I am a huge audiobook fan and rarely pick up hard copy books these days, and this was the first physical book I had sat down with in a long time... and I absolutely devoured it, losing track of time, and delighting, meanwhile, in Danny's witchcraft. I wish I had the book in front of me to talk more about all the different sections that jumped out at me, but my boss saw it on my desk and asked to borrow it. But here are a couple of leads: see the section on why work email sucks, and why Slack will change the way you communicate in groups at work--or the section on how to create your ideal workweek--or how to set boundaries with email by only checking in certain times of day--or how finding out people's favorite snack will help you form a bond with them later on down the line. This book is underpriced, in my opinion, and *well* worth the buy to find out more.

Simple and practical

Delivered in the conversational style of his podcasts, he provides well-organized and practical advice and information that are guaranteed to help you up your game. if you consistently follow through. it's an easy read and well worth your time. I also recommend subscribing to his podcast.

Passionate and Personal!

So many great ideas and resources to support any leader on their journey. The audio has extra tidbits that make it authentic and more personal. Danny Bauer provides so many connections and sparks your mind to think deeper on many important leadership and school topics.

Fan of the podcast? Listen to this book!!

Once I found out that Daniel B. was going to be the narrator. I knew I had to listen to this book. I really appreciated all the times he said “I’m going to go off script..” because he shared great additional content.

Building an Authentic Leader Support Community

I really enjoyed this audiobook. Aside from learning the very interesting story behind Danny's Alienearbud Twitter handle ;), his personable, relatable, honest, humorous, generous and accessible approach made this listening experience very appealing. I appreciated the reminders about the importance of hard conversations and Brené Brown's "The story my mind is telling me," frame. It is clear how authentically collaborative Danny is. Here are my major takeaways:
- Focusing on 21st Century skills for students
- DISC profile implications (dominant, influencer, stable, compliant) - How we communicate, want to be communicated with
- The power of community and the importance of resisting isolation
- The benefit of building strengths into a super power vs. working on weaknesses
- Focusing on what drains my energy and what gives me energy
- Focusing on student success vs. achievement and student and teacher wellness over standardized test scores
- The importance of intentionality and mindfulness
- The importance of spirituality and gratitude, and generosity
- Servant leadership (encouragement to serve lunch and sweep floors to stay grounded)
- Productivity to increase impact and minimize distractions
- The importance of fun, play, recess, creativity, art and innovation (I love the idea of beginning the day with a dance-off between students and teachers :)
- The invitation to consider restructuring schools with no bells, 40 minute periods, and to reconsider how schools are funded, mastery, grades, design, and project-based interdisciplinary learning

There are so many great ideas that Danny shares in this audiobook! I would love to have heard about examples (like the seminar day example) of school leaders who have undertaken the task of restructuring how schools are funded, focusing on mastery and not interrupting learning with bells, etc. Those systemic changes require significant shifts, and it would be great to learn from those who are doing or have done it.

There were so many things that Danny shared that I really wanted to highlight/write down, and/or look up (especially websites), and that was challenging since I mostly listen to audiobooks while driving or walking. I'm definitely interested in also getting a hard copy of the book as a wonderful complement to the audiobook.

Ready to level up?

Great book I have the hard copy, had to have the v audiobook. Great for anytime looking to serve at a higher level. Real applicable too for inspiring others and moving towards the best version of yourself.

A Inspirational Read For School Leaders

I have been listening to Danny's podcast for the past year, and it often leaves me motivated and inspired to better myself as a leader. His book is filled with great ideas and strategies that can easily be utilized to improve your own leadership, while having a positive impact on those around you. In the Audible version of the book, you get all the benefits of the book, and the inspiration of the podcast, all wrapped up in one! I loved the deeper insight Danny adds in each chapter as he clarifies his thoughts and ideas from the book. Doesn't matter if you are new to school leadership, or a seasoned administrator, you will be inspired to keep growing after listening to, and applying, the principles written in this book. Be a RUCKUS maker!

Helpful suggestions with sincerity

As a first year building leader, I had several take-aways from this book that I am excited to incorporate into our upcoming year. Danny's advice consists of ideas that make sense and can be easy to begin working on. It was a pleasant surprise that even having listened to quite a few episodes of the podcast, there were concepts that sounded new on the book. Danny goes off script at several points in the audiobook. If this is somewhat "unpolished," it pays off by really providing a feel of genuine care as you can hear the excitement and desire to add as much as possible.

It was a definitely a worthwhile listen for me, as it was informative, motivating, and quick/easy to listen to. I
will be following up with hitting the resources website and also purchasing a hard copy of the book for review and highlighting.