The 5 Temptations Every Campus Leader Must Overcome (Or Become the Joke at the Dinner Table)

May 2, 2023

Most leaders I know (and serve) are struggling and wish for a better reality. 



  • “What happened to community trust?”
  • “How do I get my team back to full strength?”
  • “Since when did the arena of education become such a powder keg?”

The last few years have put that struggle into hyperdrive.


The current leadership landscape has twisted leaders into a bundle of tired and (at times) timid souls scrambling to find the skills and strategies they need to make progress.

check engine light

There have been loads written about tactics to reclaim your momentum, but not enough people are honest to talk about the temptations that predictably show up to struggling leaders. 


While ‘moral’ temptations are part of the equation, it’s more nuanced than that.


It’s easy to settle in and become hooked on maintaining the status quo when the going is easy, the numbers are decent, and nobody is breathing down your neck. Often to the point of cheating the practices and disciplines that built your winning trajectory. 


It’s also easy to fall into lazy leadership in seasons of struggle. Regardless of the reason, when you’re in a slump, you’re tempted to cheat in ways you weren’t when things are going well.


Here’s what you’ll likely be tempted to do under sloth or stress that will cause your team to poke fun of you at their dinner table.


1. Moving the goalposts

Moving the goalposts signifies insecurity and is a horrible leadership strategy when uncertainty rules the day. 


Great leaders and teams Plan, Do, Study, and ACT. 


Not ACTING is a common temptation for leaders and teams responsible for leading systems.


What do you do when data that used to make you smile now shows decline instead of progress?


A natural response is to shut your eyes and stop looking. 


Many leaders who track progress when their organization grows become immediately tempted to stop monitoring it when the growth stops. 


That’s a mistake.


Even worse, some leaders will move the goalposts toward comfort vs. courage. 


  • “Well, I know we used to track campus orientation visits, but that’s not important with everything else happening right now.”
  • “Let’s focus on the whole student experience instead of counting _________” (fill in the blank).


Can we be honest?  You never used to say that. 


Ever. 


And everyone around you knows it.


When you pretend that metrics no longer matter, you’re setting yourself up to become a victim of accidentalism. 


Intentionality and focus are the one-two punches for Higher Performance Systems. 


Compromising your expectation by lazily moving the goalposts is a terrible leadership strategy.


Practical Strategies to Reclaim Your Momentum and
Transform Team Performance


Enroll in the Lead Team Institute for the 2023-2024 academic year and Optimize Higher Team Performance.


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2. Tamp Down the Vision

Another temptation leaders face when they’re struggling is to tamp down the vision.


Worse than moving the goalposts and changing how you keep score; average leaders are tempted to ignore the aims of the established vision for winning in the year ahead. 


This happens in many ways, but it predominantly surfaces when campus leaders say they’re committed to EXCELLENCE but have no way of measuring what that means from the student experience.


Example: We’re about making dreams reality.

  • Translation: We are currently struggling to provide programming and new partnerships due to our fixed program of study that can’t be changed in our current political climate. 


Example: Community is our middle name.

  • Translation: We would like to meet more of the local workforce demands, but that “W” word is not received well by the powerful voices of our faculty.


The best way to get off mission is to tamp down your vision by running for popularity over purpose.


3. Blame everyone but yourself

Poor leaders point blame. Higher Performance Leaders take responsibility.


It’s easy to blame others or forces beyond control when things are not going as hoped.


Here’s the whine list of excuses I hear from top leaders when things go south. 


“Our underperformance is because of:”


➜ COVID

➜ Lockdown

➜ The Economy

➜ The Weather

➜ The Campus Down the Street

➜ Your City

➜ Your Culture

➜ The White House

➜ The Supreme Court

➜ The Faculty

➜ The Administration

➜ The Board


Anything but Themselves.


Blaming others is a clear sign of weakness (not strength) in a leader.


Deep down, most leaders know they have not lost ALL control. 


Poor leaders deflect it. Great leaders own it.


4. Imagine yourself in a new system

When you’re struggling as a leader, it’s completely natural to want to escape.


You start to imagine yourself in a new job—any new job will do—and think about how much easier it might be if you did that rather than what you’re doing now.


The challenge with that thinking is that it leaks. Your people can sniff out when you start looking elsewhere. 


The fact is that every new team and system has issues. Often, the grass looks greener on the other side because THEY have a remarkable marketing department and because YOU haven’t gotten close enough to see the brown blades interspersed with the green blades. Not to mention the root rot found across every human system. 


Also, you bring yourself everywhere you go. This means you bring all your unresolved pain, challenges, unhealthy behaviors, and unresolved issues with you. 


In many ways, leaving a job you’re unhappy with is like leaving a marriage you don’t like. You imagine a new partner will be perfect, which is completely untrue (see above). Unfortunately, you (and your new team) bring your dysfunction into whatever you decide to do next.


Granted, there are times you might be called to leave. To everything…turn…turn…turn…


No one stays in a job forever.


Here’s the Big Idea to remember. You want to quit on a good day, not a bad day. And seasons of struggle are filled with bad days. 


If you’re not thinking clearly (and you’re not when you struggle), you’ll likely make a move you’ll regret later.


And because pain isolates you, you probably haven’t discussed this carefully with your wise people. You may be the only one who thinks leaving is a good idea. And if you’re the only one who thinks it’s a good idea, it’s probably not.


Curious about when it’s a good time to leave? Listen to these seven tell-tale signs: 


  • You’ve lost your passion.
  • There are no new partnerships you could get excited about.
  • You’ve impacted all the changes you can make.
  • Your vision no longer lines up with the system’s vision.
  • You feel indifferent toward your team and community.
  • Your excitement about what’s happening elsewhere is greater than your interest in what’s happening where you are.
  • Your inner circle agrees that it is time for you to fly.


5. Dulling instead of dealing with pain

When stress (and life) knock, you will answer it in a healthy way (self-care) or an unhealthy way (self-indulgence).


Usually, when I ask busy campus leaders how they’re doing, they admit they don’t take great care of themselves. 


When you don’t take great care of yourself, guess what you’ll do in almost every single case?


You end up falling into sensory indulgence —you soothe the pain with the “overs.” 


  • Overeating
  • Over drinking
  • Overworking
  • Over-exercising


The list is endless. Sensory indulgence involves doing anything you can to numb the pain without actually addressing the pain.


When stress and life overwhelm you, you will either respond to it in a healthy way (self-care) or an unhealthy way (self-indulgence).


But here’s the stinger: If you don’t intentionally choose self-care as a leader, you’ll default to self-indulgence. Your team will know if the ladder is true, and so might their dinner table.


The key to getting out of the struggle begins with recognizing that you’re in it.


Understanding your temptations makes it easier to avoid making the struggle worse.

Semester II is when you start planning for Semester I


This is one of the best opportunities to begin planning to accelerate your team’s performance.


For the past decade, I have served campus Lead Teams and know your system's performance is directly connected to your team's health (and smarts).


❓How’s your team’s communication and connection?
❓How’s the quality of your system’s alignment and execution?
❓What’s your plan for optimizing your Lead Team’s capacity?


As THE people leader for your system, I invite you and your leadership team to consider enrolling in the Lead Team Institute {LTI} for the 2023-2024 academic year.

Here is a quick link for more info.


This national initiative is designed to Optimize Higher Team Performance:


✅ Team Communication
✅ Team Connection
✅ Team Alignment
✅ Team Execution
✅ Team Capacity
✅ Reliable Systems


Our fall kickoff dates are filling up. Schedule your preferred fall kick-off date here.


Ready to reclaim your momentum and optimize Higher Team Performance?


Secure your spot today!


Dr. Joe Hill - Founder, Higher Performance Group


“Because everyone deserves to live in a community served by healthy teams and highly reliable systems.”

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Higher Performance Insights | ONE BAD APPLE

By HPG Info • July 8, 2025
How a single leader can sink your team (and how one good one can save it) Last month, a superintendent I work with shared what happened during her presentation of the strategic plan to the board. Twenty years of experience, proven results, polished presentation, and promising data. Halfway through, one executive team member sat back, arms crossed, occasionally checking his phone. A board member started shuffling papers. By the end, three others had adopted the same disengaged body language. What should have been an energizing strategic discussion devolved into polite nods and no real commitment. That same week, a university president I consult with described identical dynamics in her executive team meeting. Different building, same pattern: one person's negativity was infecting the entire senior leadership. This painful parallel revealed a leadership truth that research confirms: one person can significantly impact your team's performance by as much as 30-40%. But one person can also save it completely. The Brutal Science: Your Star Leaders Might Be Your Biggest Problem You've hired brilliant people. Advanced degrees, proven results, impressive credentials. But here's what organizational behavior expert Will Phelps discovered when he planted one "bad apple" into 44 different work groups: Performance dropped 30-40% consistently. It didn't matter if the person was: The Skeptic (aggressively questioning every initiative) The Withdrawer (withholding effort on strategic planning) The Pessimist (negative about every proposal) The result was always the same: One leader's negative behavior infected the entire team. "I'd gone in expecting that someone would get upset with the slacker or downer," Phelps said. "But nobody did. They were like, 'Okay, if that's how it is, then we'll be slackers and downers too.'" Your leadership team isn't choosing to underperform. They're unconsciously mirroring the energy around them—what neuroscientists call "emotional contagion." Where One Leader Changes Everything However, one group in Phelps' study remained energetic and produced excellent results despite the presence of the bad apple. The difference wasn't intelligence, experience, or positional authority. It was one person who understood what MIT's Human Dynamics Lab calls "belonging cues"—micro-signals that create a sense of psychological safety. This leader didn't take charge or give motivational speeches. Instead, he did something much simpler: When resistance emerged during budget discussions, he leaned forward, made eye contact, and responded with genuine curiosity. Not fake positivity, but authentic interest that "took the danger out of the room." Then came the pivot: "That's an interesting concern—what would you suggest we do differently?" Result? Even the resistant member, almost against his will, found himself contributing constructively. The Neuroscience Behind Leadership Infection MIT's Human Dynamics Lab studied hundreds of executive teams using "sociometers"—devices that measure micro-interactions between leaders. Their finding changes everything: You can predict team performance by focusing on how leaders interact rather than what they say. The five factors that drive executive team performance: Everyone talks and listens in roughly equal measure High levels of eye contact and energetic gestures Direct communication between all members, not just with the CEO Back-channel conversations and side discussions Members who explore outside the team and bring information back Notice what's missing from this list? Degrees. Experience. Strategic expertise. Belonging cues matter more than credentials. The neuroscience is clear: simple safety signals reduce cognitive load in decision-making, which in turn increases strategic thinking, drives innovation, and creates breakthrough results (Edmondson, 1999). Your leadership team dynamics are literally working for or against your mission. The Executive Infection Gap: When Smart Leaders Create Stupid Results Every negative interaction in your cabinet costs you: Faculty who disengage because they sense leadership division Students who suffer when initiatives fail due to leadership dysfunction Community members who lose confidence witnessing leadership conflicts The research is concerning: 30 seconds—that's how long it takes for negative energy to spread in executive meetings If one senior leader checks out, others follow unconsciously When leadership teams can't create safety, organizational initiatives die Allowing negativity to spread among your senior team affects every student you serve. From Infection to Connection: The Framework That Works ❌ The Typical Approach (Actually Destructive): Hope the resistant leader comes around Cabinet meeting scenario: Your executive team member constantly questions every initiative, rolls their eyes during presentations, and makes dismissive comments. You address it privately, but nothing changes. Other team members start to disengage. Result: Strategic planning stalls. Good initiatives die. High-performing leaders start looking elsewhere. ✅ The Breakthrough Approach (Game-Changing): Respond to resistance with curiosity and inclusion Same scenario, different response: When the executive team member questions an initiative, you lean forward and say, "You're raising important concerns—help us think through what success would look like from your perspective." Then pivot: "What do the rest of you think about these points?" Result : The resistant leader feels heard instead of dismissed. The team stays engaged. Opposition turns into constructive problem-solving. The ROI of Executive Team Belonging The numbers prove leadership safety wins: School districts with high-functioning leadership teams see 23% better student outcomes Campuses with psychologically safe executive teams show 45% higher innovation rates Simple safety interventions can improve leadership team performance by 30-40% in weeks Your leadership team dynamics aren't just "nice to have"—they're driving every outcome in your organization. Transform Your Leadership Team Starting Today The Executive Safety Test: Step 1: Record your next cabinet/executive team meeting Step 2 : Count belonging cues vs. safety threats among leaders Step 3 : If threats outnumber cues, your leadership dynamics are creating the problem Three Daily Practices: Lean forward when team members raise concerns Respond to resistance with "What am I missing?" and actually listen Create micro-moments of safety in every executive decision The Leadership Team Safety Discussion Protocol: For your next executive team meeting: Have each member share when they felt most and least safe to speak the truth in recent meetings Compare responses—what patterns emerge among your senior team? Practice responding to resistance with curiosity instead of defensiveness Identify any leaders who might be unconsciously spreading negativity Remember: resistance usually signals important information, not disloyalty The Choice Every Leader Must Make You can manage resistance or mine wisdom from it. You can hope that negativity will dissipate or actively foster a sense of belonging among leaders. You can let one senior leader infect your team or become the person who transforms it. You cannot do both. The most brilliant superintendents and presidents consistently choose connection over control among their senior teams. They've learned that executive safety isn't soft—it's strategic. They've discovered that belonging cues among leaders aren't touchy-feely—they're performance drivers. Because leadership team safety is simple . Simple safety scales throughout the organization. Scalable safety creates sustainable performance for students. And sustainable student performance is what brilliant leadership actually looks like. The Hidden Factor Behind High-Performing Teams Here's what I've learned from working with hundreds of leadership teams: The difference between teams that foster belonging and those that spread disconnection isn't just about individual awareness—it's about Team Intelligence (TQ) . When MIT studied executive teams, they discovered you could predict performance by ignoring what leaders said and focusing entirely on how they interacted. Teams with high TQ naturally create the belonging cues that prevent negative infection and amplify positive energy. The TQ Advantage: 40% faster problem resolution in complex situations 27% higher team member satisfaction and retention 35% more strategic objectives achieved on time The breakthrough teams I work with understand that one resistant leader doesn't have to destroy team performance. When teams develop TQ, they learn to respond to resistance with curiosity, mine wisdom from opposition, and transform potential "bad apples" into contributors. Ready to Transform Your Team Dynamics?

Higher Performance Insights | WHEN SMART LEADERS SOUND STUPID

July 2, 2025
The 7-Part Framework to Turn Your Bumbling Into Brilliance Here's what happened last Tuesday at a board meeting that was hard to watch. A brilliant superintendent with a post-graduate degree and twenty years of experience spent 45 minutes presenting their "comprehensive student achievement initiative leveraging pedagogical frameworks aligned with district strategic priorities." The board nodded politely. A parent in the back raised her hand: "Can you explain this so my 13-year-old would understand?" The superintendent couldn't. That challenging moment was a graduate course in communication: The most brilliant leaders use language a 13-year-old understands. Smart words are simple, scalable, and sustainable. Fancy words don't edify—they confuse. And to be unclear is to be unkind. Full disclosure: I LOVE words. Early in my career as a young executive, I felt I needed to use a fancy lexicon to prove my competence to my colleagues and community. I was that guy dropping "paradigmatic frameworks" and "synergistic methodologies" in every meeting. Then a colleague lovingly pulled me aside after a presentation and said, "Joe, I think you meant the etymology of this word, not the entomology... That's the study of bugs." No lie, that happened. And I've been on a professional learning track ever since to reform my language to be less fluff and more function. The Brutal Truth: Your Intelligence Might Make You Sound Unintelligent You're brilliant. Your degrees prove it. Your experience confirms it. Your results validate it. But here's what's happening: You sound smart, but communicate unintelligibly Your scholarly vocabulary creates barriers, not bridges Your complex explanations confuse the very people you're trying to help The research is clear: When people encounter complicated messages, they ignore them, seek simplified versions, or research meanings Your brain burns 20% of your body's energy despite being only 2% of your body weight Complex messages literally exhaust people—and exhausted brains don't make decisions The crushing reality: Every fancy word you use to sound smart makes you less effective as a leader. Where Brilliance Meets Clarity The most brilliant leaders pass this test: Can a 13-year-old understand what you just said? If not, you're not communicating intelligently—you're just showing off your vocabulary. Why this matters: It represents your community's actual literacy level It cuts through jargon instantly It forces you to focus on what actually matters It reveals whether you truly understand your own ideas "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough." Einstein Most leaders fail this test spectacularly. Smart Words Are Simple: The Science Behind Clarity Meta-analyses of narrative transportation research prove that when people become deeply engaged with simple, clear messaging, they experience significant changes in: Attitudes Beliefs Behaviors The neuroscience of understanding: Simple language reduces cognitive load Reduced cognitive load increases comprehension Increased comprehension drives action Action creates results Your fancy words are literally working against your mission. The Team Intelligence Gap: When Smart People Communicate Stupidly Every confused message costs you: Students who don't apply because they don't understand the value Donors who don't give because they can't grasp the impact Faculty who don't engage because they're lost in the jargon The deeper problem: Your brilliant individual leaders are producing average team results because they've confused sounding smart with being effective. The brutal reality: 15 seconds—that's how long people scan content before bouncing If your message needs a translation, you've already lost When leadership teams can't communicate simply, initiatives die in complexity To be unclear is to be unkind to the very people you're trying to serve. The 7-Part Framework To Force Clarity What students want (in everyday language) The problem they face (no jargon, just truth) Why you understand (personal, not professional language) Your track record (results, not rhetoric) Three simple steps (if it's confusing, fix it) What to do next (one clear action) What's at stake (consequences they can picture) Test every sentence: Would your community understand this? From Scholarly Confusion to Simple Brilliance: Real Examples K-12 Transformation: Standards-Based Grading ❌ The "Smart" Approach (Actually Stupid): "Comprehensive Standards-Based Assessment Implementation Initiative" "As part of our commitment to educational excellence and aligned with district strategic priorities, we are implementing a comprehensive standards-based grading framework. This pedagogical shift represents a fundamental reimagining of our assessment paradigm, moving from traditional percentage-based evaluation metrics to proficiency-based learning progressions..." ✅ The Brilliant Approach (Human-Friendly): "Finally Know If Your Child Is Actually Learning" What parents want: You want to know if your child is ready for next year—not just their grade average. The problem: Your child brings home a "B" but you have no idea if they understand math or just turned in homework on time. When they struggle with algebra next year, you're blindsided. What we do: We teach each skill until your child masters it We report exactly which skills they've mastered and which they're still learning We give extra help on skills they haven't mastered yet The result: Schools using this approach see 23% better student performance and 40% fewer students needing help later. Higher Ed Transformation: AI-Powered Mental Health Support ❌ The "Smart" Approach (Actually Stupid): "Innovative Digital Wellness Ecosystem Leveraging Artificial Intelligence" "In response to evolving student needs and technological advancement opportunities, we are launching a comprehensive digital wellness ecosystem that leverages artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms to provide personalized mental health support interventions..." ✅ The Brilliant Approach (Human-Friendly): "Get Mental Health Help Before You're in Crisis" What students want: You want to feel better without waiting three weeks for a counseling appointment. The problem: You're struggling with anxiety or depression, but you're not "sick enough" for crisis help. You suffer alone until things get really bad. What we do: Text our AI counselor anytime, day or night (completely private) Get immediate help tailored to your specific situation Connect with human counselors when you're ready The result: Universities using this system see a 60% decrease in students in crisis and a 45% increase in students completing their degrees. The Pattern Every Brilliant Leader Must See Notice the transformation: Confusing messages focus on the institution and use big words to sound impressive Clear messages focus on the person's problem using words they actually use The brilliant leaders understand: Smart words are simple words Simple words are scalable across all audiences Scalable words create a sustainable impact Sustainable impact is the only measure of true intelligence If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough to lead it. The ROI of Speaking Clearly The numbers prove clarity wins: Organizations with simple, clear messaging see email marketing returns of $36-$40 for every dollar spent Systems that test their messaging for clarity generate ROI improvements of up to 760% Teams that communicate simply create breakthrough performance that scales Your fancy vocabulary isn't impressing anyone—it's costing you everything. Transform Your Team's Communication Intelligence The Clarity Test Step 1: Take your most important initiative Step 2: Explain it in simple, human language Step 3: If you can't, you don't understand it well enough to lead it The gap between complex and simple is the gap between failure and success. Three Questions Every Brilliant Leader Must Answer Would any parent understand what problem this solves? Can anyone follow the steps to solve it? Would people actually care about the outcome? Team Intelligence Discussion Protocol For your next leadership team meeting: The Clarity Audit: Have each team member explain your most important campus initiative in simple, everyday language Compare responses—how different are they? Which explanations would actually help someone? The Jargon Purge: List every fancy word you use to describe your work Replace each with a word a 13-year-old knows Test the new version with actual people The Kindness Check: Review your current website, emails, and presentations Ask: "Are we being kind to the people we're trying to help?" Remember: To be unclear is to be unkind The Choice Every Brilliant Leader Must Make You can sound smart or be effective. You can impress colleagues or help students. You can use fancy words or create real change. You cannot do both. "I would not give a fig for the simplicity that exists on this side of complexity; but I would give my life for the simplicity that exists on the far side of complexity." —Oliver Wendell Holmes The most brilliant leaders consistently choose clarity over complexity. They've done the hard work of mastering complexity so they can deliver simplicity. They've wrestled with the big ideas so they can explain them in small words. They've earned the right to speak like a human being instead of a textbook. Because smart words are simple words. Simple words scale. Scalable words create sustainable impact. And sustainable impact is what brilliant leadership actually looks like. Ready to Lead with True Intelligence?  Stop hiding your brilliance behind big words. Start communicating with the clarity that creates change.
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