Shownotes:
It’s all about P.E.O.P.L.E. and in this episode, Zac Bauermaster reveals his strategies for relieving pressure points for others. He also shares how “little moment walks” help him destress. Plus a shoutout to his family and how their impact guides his vision for his school.
About Our Guest:
Transcript available at LainieRowell.com
About Our Guest:
Zac is an educational leader, author, and speaker passionate about people. He currently serves as principal of Providence Elementary in Lancaster, PA. Zac has the tremendous opportunity to lead teachers, support staff, families, and most importantly, the next generation daily. His greatest joy in education is seeing adults leverage their God-given talents and abilities through inspiring kids to find and use their gifts. Most importantly, Zac is a husband to his wife Carly, and father to three young kids, Olivia, Eliot, and Isaac. Zac is a firm believer in leading his family first.
Website: zacbauermaster.com
Twitter: @ZBauermaster
About Lainie:
Lainie Rowell is an educator, international consultant, podcaster, and TEDx speaker. She is the lead author of Evolving Learner and a contributing author of Because of a Teacher. Her latest book, Evolving with Gratitude, was just released. An experienced teacher and district leader, her expertise includes learner-driven design, community building, online/blended learning, and professional learning. Learn more at linktr.ee/lainierowell.
Twitter - @LainieRowell
Instagram - @LainieRowell
Evolving with Gratitude, the book, is now available! Purchase here!
You can also get bulk orders for your staff (10 copies or more) at a discounted price! Just fill out the form linked below and someone will get back to you ASAP! bit.ly/ewgbulkdiscount
Transcript:
Lainie Rowell: [00:00:00] Hello friends. I am so excited to welcome Zach Bauermaster to the show. Hi Zach. How are you today?
Zac Bauermaster: Hi, Lainie. I'm doing well. Thanks for having me.
Lainie Rowell: Thanks for being here. I know it's nighttime for you, afternoon for me. I'm just grateful you made the time. Looking forward to it.
Zac Bauermaster: Certainly. We had a little snow in Pennsylvania this morning.
Not much, but just a little dusting to wake up to today.
Lainie Rowell: Oh, that's fun. I say it's fun cuz I live in Southern California and so that's novel to me. But you might be a little bit like, yeah, we're good.
Zac Bauermaster: We haven't had much snow lately and I really enjoy it, so we'll take whatever we can get.
Lainie Rowell: I had heard it was a, a mild winter back east.
Zach, I am going to do a very quick interview and then I'd love for you to tell us more about yourself. So thank you friends for listening. Zach is an educational leader, author, and speaker who is passionate about people. He currently serves in Pennsylvania and he's the principal of Providence Elementary in Lancaster. So Zach, what else do you want people to know about.
Zac Bauermaster: Yeah, very good. So, I'm proud father to three. I have three young kids, a daughter, 10, Olivia, a daughter, eight Elliot, and a son who's five Isaac.
And I'm married to my high school sweetheart. I'm a firm believer in leading them first. But I certainly love people. I love coaching a lot of youth sports right now. And what's really neat is my new role at Providence Elementary School, it's actually my home district. So I went there.
I had taught there, and then I got into administration and had been away for about five and a half years. But as, as we end up talking about gratitude, you just think about all those people that, along the way that have impacted you and, and just looking back with the grateful heart and thankfulness. So I've had great time, but now I'm back in Solano and it, it's neat to come full circle and just be in the community.
Like as I'm coaching those youth sports, they're the same kids that are in my building at Providence Elementary, where, where I serve as the, the principal.
Lainie Rowell: Well, that is a lovely returning to where it all started and. You sound like a very busy guy.
Zac Bauermaster: Yeah. There's a lot going on. I love, I love the early morning hours when it's quiet and that's when you can really reflect and, and be still
Lainie Rowell: Well, that's funny. In my house, that is not the quiet time because my kids are morning people. My husband and I are not, my kids are up early. So, I'm happy for you that you're probably getting up even earlier . Cause you got so much to do. I don't wanna leave this out cause this is very important.
You have a book that was released actually within weeks of Evolving with Gratitude. So you have Leading with a Humble Heart, a 40 Day Devotional for Leaders. And I hope we'll get to talk about that as we're having this conversation cuz I definitely see connects.
Zac Bauermaster: Yep, definitely.
Lainie Rowell: I did read the book and it was so fun to have something to look forward to sitting down and reflecting and refocusing at the end of each day. It's a lovely read, and like I said, I hope we get to talk about it more as we have this conversation. But let's go ahead and start off with the, the all important. No right or wrong answer question of what does gratitude mean to you?
Zac Bauermaster: Yeah. And as I was thinking about it, I, I thought about that idea of humble heart, and I think gratitude to me is an overflow of a humble heart.
And when I think about the heart, I think of it can be filled with pride. It can be filled with worry and fears, or it can be filled with that humility. And when, when our hearts are filled with humility, that's when our lens is opened up to other people and it's really filled with gratitude. Thinking about the impact people have had on us, thinking about that lens, looking around, how can I have an impact on other people?
I really think it impacts our day-to-day and how we go about interacting with others. So is it coming from an overflow of our heart of humility? And that's what I talk a lot about in my book and as I wrote the book, it was really neat to see. I start the first paragraph of each day as often a story.
And as I was writing the book, I was just filled with gratitude, thinking about the superintendents, thinking about the principles and the mentors in my life that have had an impact on me. I really think it's that lens that we can take each day. Do we take that lens where we can build people up and encourage people and really have that domino effect of gratitude on our school cultures and on our families, or, or do we have that lens where it's a little more prideful filled with worry and fear and we're really looking internally and, and we're only seeing ourselves, which blinds us to everything, all the things to be grateful around us.
Lainie Rowell: I was very drawn to the word humble in your book title. That's an important word to me. And I think that we can be grateful for things that we get to do, but that really important, being humble and realizing all the people around us. And if you're a person of faith, God, what comes into the gifts that you have and who helps you move forward in the things that you get to do.
I love that overflowing, humble heart. That's, that was kind of one of the things that stood out as you were talking there.
Zac Bauermaster: And if I think of Bible verses, I think from the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks, and just even more than that from the overflow of the heart it's how we act. And and just how, one of my favorite verses is First Thessalonians 5: 18. Well, it leads into it be joyful, always pray, continually give thanks and all circumstances. So no matter what you're going through, just pausing and being like, all right, hey, I'm thankful for this. And, and finding gratitude in those moments, even, even when they're difficult.
I know it's hard and situations are challenging but it's always, it's always good to pause and think about why we're in that situation and how it's shaping our heart and and for things to come in our lives as well.
Lainie Rowell: Yeah, and I think one of the beautiful things that I came to discover as I was doing the deeper dive into gratitude is that it's foundational in every major religion.
You're not going to find a religion that one of the basic tenants isn't gratitude. It is bigger than us and it's so many things that come to us that we have to have an appreciation that we are just a small part of. And so I appreciate that. I am kind of curious, I wasn't planning on asking this, what led you to write, cuz you're, you're at a school that is not a school of faith or is it?
Zac Bauermaster: That's correct. It's a public school.
Lainie Rowell: So I have some admiration. I am always a little bit tentative about bringing my faith into conversations cuz I do a lot of work with public schools.
I do actually a lot of work with private and faith-based schools too. But you know what kind of led you to put this out there in such a beautiful and humble way?
Zac Bauermaster: Yeah, that's a great question. And I think, I love reading leadership books. I love listening to leadership podcasts and, and as I'm reading it and I'm hearing stories, it just all brought me back to some different stories in the Bible and Bible verses and how they relate to leadership. So that's sort of how each day was broken up in the devotional where I would start with a verse and then I would go in and tell a story about that's happened in my life for people around me involving leadership. And then I would bring it back to that verse and just see how they go hand in hand.
I just saw the Bible so relevant in my everyday life and just seeing it and hearing it so much across different platforms when we talk about leader.
Lainie Rowell: I think it's a truly lovely way to, to ground ourselves. I don't know if that's the right wording, but it, it was just really lovely to me to have this very public expression of your faith in the context of leadership.
I really admire that. And I don't think we need to all agree and I respect every religion or if they choose not to be religious, that's fine too. But for me, that's where I find this common thread of gratitude because even if you're not a religious person, you could be a spiritual person and you can still see all the beauty in nature or whatever it is that centers you.
Zac Bauermaster: Yeah. Just finding that encouragement and the, the positivity to like, for ourselves and really build up those people around us.
Lainie Rowell: I would love to hear, and I, I always wanna encourage people to take this question however they wanna go. Personal, professional, or both, but I'd love to hear how you experience and express gratitude kind of in your day to day.
Zac Bauermaster: Yeah. So as, as you said in the introduction, and I, I say it all the time, like it's, it's all about people and the work we do, and I think about an education, whatever we do, that it, that it's all about people. And I really mean that. And I think my job as a principal, and you hear it, you hear it often, when you make a decision, is it in the best interest of the kids?
But I really think that's very important. But my role as a principal is to really take care of the staff and prioritize the staff. So when I think of all, it's all about P.E.O.P.L.E., I use an acronym, then we can break the acronym down a little bit with, with how you see that creating that school culture of gratitude.
With the P, prioritizing people, so making the time to prioritize people, and I think a way to do that. Sometimes we get bogged down by stresses. I talk about relieving pressure points, those things that, you know, we have to get done. So trying to find a time to relieve those pressure points so then you can be where your feet are and then be more present with people.
And then you have that different lens when you're slowing down, you're walking the hall and you see a support staff member just download on their knee, helping a kid, and you're just filled with gratitude, just seeing the work that they do. So I think it definitely slows you down being where your feet are.
And I call 'em little moment walks. I'll take little moment walks when I, when I'm on the phone or there's emails, I'm like, wow, I'm getting pulled into my office a lot today. So I'll step away and go on a little moment walk and I'll specifically have a lens looking for those special little moments that are happening around a school.
One time I got a picture of our school resource officer on his knee tying a first grader's shoe. And those are just a special little moment. Or even there was a kindergartner having a really tough time, destroyed a classroom, throwing some things, and there was the teacher to help them get it back together and pick things up.
So you just walk around with that lens looking for the special moment. So that first part is really making sure we're able to prioritize people.
Lainie Rowell: So tell us more about the acronym.
Zac Bauermaster: Yep, so when you prioritize people and you really get to know them and you see what's going on, it leads into the E with empathy.
So empathizing with people and with empathy, again, you have to slow down. Education's a very hurried profession, and often you hear there's not enough time , but we need to keep people the priority. So when we slow down, we can empathize with them. And I think of it, you listen, so it's important to listen, but you look too.
So you have to be present and you have to observe body language. And that's after you get to know people. So you can tell if somebody's off or not, if they need a little bit of encouragement. And then you look, you listen and you learn to discern their needs. So you learn to discern the needs of others.
It's almost like a form of data. So being aware of that, and then as you empathize it leads into the O and that's observe. So observe the needs and act, and that's where you respond with compassion. So what do people need? So you prioritize them, you empathize 'em, but you don't stop at empathy.
You move into action with that observation and compassion. And then being purposeful. So being purposeful in maintaining the relationships. Craig Rochelle says if you wanna have those relationships, never forget how important it's to work at it every day. You don't just have a relationship and it stops.
You need to make sure you're, you're being intentional and working through it. And then the L and the E are to love people and encourage people and, and I think one of my life words is certainly encourage, like just creating that culture of encouragement to have that domino effect on a school culture.
One thing we did specifically one time to start a year, they just had the word. And it was when Covid was going on. So a lot of people were in masks, but we had the word smile and lowercase letters with a period on the middle of a piece of paper. And everyone took the time to just reflect on those things that make them smile.
So we were in the faculty meeting and they wrote whether it was a family member's name and activity that they liked to do, just the things that make them smile. And then we flipped it over and people walked around and shared a piece of encouragement. Or a kind word or a strength of that person on the back of that paper.
And then the teachers kept that beside their desk all year to really be able to go back to those things that they're grateful for and to, to flip it over and see what people shared about them. And ultimately, like I said, my job as a principal is really to take, take care of the staff. And have them healthy and in a good spot to really take care of those students at the school.
Lainie Rowell: I really appreciate your focus on taking care of everyone on the campus and, you know, you nurture the adults and the kids, but you really make sure those adults are in a place to take care of the kids that they're gonna be with on a regular basis. Cuz the reality is a teacher's gonna be in a classroom with the kids for six hours a day and you can pop in, but you're not going to be in there all the time.
And so making sure that those primary caregivers, if you will, during the day, are in the best position. And so I love that. You know, there's been a few guests that have been on the podcast recently who have talked a lot about teacher burnout and keeping teachers in the profession. And so it sounds like this is something that you have been doing for a long time and that even though we are in a different place than we were when we were all wearing masks every day, or some of the things that we've been through in the last few years, that people has always been a priority for you and it continues to be a priority for you.
You're not losing sight of that.
Zac Bauermaster: Yeah, Covid it didn't create the need to prioritize people. I think it magnified the need to prioritize people, students, and staff. I am in a district too where over 50% of the population is economically disadvantaged and we're in a rural area, so there's a lot of rural poverty.
It's not like where we're in a city where a lot of families have direct access in a close location. So it just. Like I said, magnified the need to prioritize all people within a school district. And I know all schools are different. But keeping the people at, at the center of the decisions that we make.
And a small example, I love crickets in the email inbox. So in the evenings and on weekends, just the quiet inbox. I don't want people feeling the stress of sending emails, oh, they're working and they're not. I know everyone has their own schedule, but really creating a culture where, where people can operate at their absolute best, and that's a healthy.
That's a healthy rhythm at work, and they're a healthy rhythm, taking care of things that they need to in their personal lives as well.
Lainie Rowell: You know, I've been a consultant and I work for Orange County Department of Ed, but I travel around and I have kind of a crazy schedule.
There's not a lot of consistency to it. And so when I'm in these different time zones and things like that, I'm trying to be thoughtful about who am I sending this to and what's it gonna be for them? Because, I don't want them to be feeling like they need to respond to this right away.
So one of my favorite things is just schedule the send. This can go in three hours. It doesn't need to go right now.
Zac Bauermaster: Yep. No schedule sent is it's definitely a huge blessing and benefit for a lot of people because they work at different times, but it's a matter of when other people are receiving it and how they feel in response to receiving that.
Lainie Rowell: I think that's really thoughtful and I, I hear what you say. All schools are different and all schools are also the same and that they need to focus on prioritizing the people. So how Zach does it is one way and that's a great way. And other people can prioritize people doing different things.
So I love that you shared the practices that you did and that piece of paper that they have with the thing that they're grateful for and then on the, the other side of it, the note from their colleague, that's stuff that doesn't take a lot of time, but really means a lot to people.
Zac Bauermaster: And I've seen a lot of people say this and it may even sound cliche at this time, but just being purposeful and let's say you write two notes every morning to a staff member, and I think what's really neat of when you sit down and purposefully write, a note to a staff member, you pause and you really think about them and you think about, you wanna be really specific with that feedback.
Maybe you saw something specific that they did or something they do really well. And then I'm filled with gratitude when I'm thinking about them and the work that they're doing for the kids and for the school and for the school community. And hopefully when they receive that, they're filled with gratitude.
And again, as I talk about that domino effect, but as I talked about, I have three young kids, I'm coaching youth sports, those early mornings. Just being purposeful and finding those times to really be able to be still and to reflect and think about those people in your lives that you're grateful for and that you wanna encourage as well.
Lainie Rowell: Absolutely. There's so much you're doing and it's just really wonderful to see you do this work, and I appreciate you sharing it beyond your campus and writing the book.
I feel like this book, I could sense your gratitude for the process of writing it.
And then for the reaction from people is also probably something that you felt that gratitude for. It's the both ways, right? So when you're talking about your staff, you know, they're hopefully having those happiness chemicals as they're writing the note, and then those who receive it are hopefully getting those happiness chemicals as well.
And so it is that, you know, that domino effect. That prosocial, that social contagion, that emotional contagion, that's all, all right there.
Zac Bauermaster: Even the whole book writing process and you think about when you, you're reaching out to people for endorsers and, and then your book's out just filled with gratitude and the connections that you make and those, and the, the conversations that you have, the things you learn getting on podcasts just like this with you, Lainie, and being able to talk with you.
And oftentimes when I'm on a podcast, sometimes it's a conversation before it or right after it that you really appreciate as well as you're meeting different people and going through the process of writing the book. So I'm. Unbelievable amount of, of gratitude to Jimmy Casas and Jeff Zoul for taking a chance in this book, as I know all their books are in the educational realm, and this had a faith-based approach.
So it, it was just a really cool process to meet with him and share my vision and then to meet with him again and hear him say, Hey, we wanna offer you a contract and move forward. So he's been a, he's been a tremendous blessing to me, and I've learned a lot from him. And I'll tell you what, this is important too, with gratitude. At knowing and learning people's names, like I think Jimmy, Jimmy learns names so well, it's very impressive. So I've tried to take that to really learn names because I think that's a way to get to know people one-on-one and really help them to feel appreciated.
Lainie Rowell: And saying their names correctly. So learning their names and saying it correctly is a big deal. I try to be better about. Okay, so you got your shout out in there to Jimmy and Jeff. But is there anything else you wanna add before I let you get on with your evening?
Zac Bauermaster: So I wanna like recognize my parents and just share some gratefulness for my parents. And I'll say this, we have a really close-knit family. I have two sisters and my mom still makes a Sunday meal Every Sunday. All our families come grandkids, but one day she sent us a text message that had a picture that said this.
It said, "one day, when my children are grown, I hope they still come through that front door without knocking. I hope they head to the kitchen for a snack and slump on the sofa to watch tv. I hope they come in and feel the weight of adulthood leave them for they are home. For my children, my door will always be open" and that's, that's sort of the culture that my parents have created for our family and, and I'm just so grateful for it.
It's what I want to do for my family, but it's also a vision I have for my school that for my students, for my staff. Hey, this building, this door will always be open. So that, that's something that just really stands out to me as I think about gratitude and what I'm grateful for and, and the way I was raised and, and my parents.
Lainie Rowell: That is a beautiful text message. I would print that and frame it. It's so lovely. And, I had a visceral reaction. Especially there's a line. I think it was something to the effect of the weight of adulthood lifted.
Zac Bauermaster: Yep, yep. Correct.
Lainie Rowell: Because that is something so special when you get to go home and be with your parents, your family is that you feel that, and so I love that you not only want that for your children, but the kids on your campus, and even the adults, right?
Zac Bauermaster: Yeah.
Lainie Rowell: That you're, you're there to take care of them, so that's lovely.
Zac Bauermaster: Just giving them that sense of home, that that feeling of belonging, connectedness is just, it's so important.
Lainie Rowell: It really is. And I would love to think that every one of the students everywhere in the world goes home to a family like yours, but we know that they don't. And so to be able to create that space in a school environment where, even if they don't have that best environment at home, they have it here six hours a day, five days a week.
Zac Bauermaster: Yep. Oh, that's exactly right.
Lainie Rowell: Okay my friend. So I will put everything in the show notes for people to connect, but could you out loud, just say the best way for people to connect with you?
Zac Bauermaster: Yep. You can connect with me at zachbauermaster.com. You can connect with me on Twitter @ZBauermaster. Same handle on Instagram as well, but Twitter is really my main platform.
Lainie Rowell: Yes. That's how you and I connected, I'm pretty sure.
Zac Bauermaster: Yep.
Lainie Rowell: If memory serves.
Zac Bauermaster: Yep, that's right.
Lainie Rowell: My mind is not the steel trap it used to be. Alright my friend. I really appreciate your time, especially making your day a bit longer and I wanna get you back to your family so you can enjoy them.
Thank you for all the good you're putting out there and I hope I get a chat with you soon.
Zac Bauermaster: Yeah. Thank you very much Lainie. I appreciate the opportunity to be on your podcast.
Lainie Rowell: It's our pleasure. Thank you all for listen.