EduCurious Interview with Angela Kelly: The Empowered Principal

Angela Kelly, founder of the Empowered Principal brand and a certified life and leadership coach, joined the EduCurious podcast to discuss her work supporting school leaders. With a background spanning early childhood education, 15+ years as an elementary teacher (primarily kindergarten), reading specialist, instructional coach, site principal, and district administrator, Kelly brings deep, authentic experience to her coaching. Her core mission is to help educational leaders navigate not only the strategic and tactical demands of their jobs but, crucially, the mental and emotional challenges, enabling them to lead exceptional schools while also loving their personal lives.

Kelly identified a significant gap in support for administrators compared to teachers. While working at the district level, she observed principals struggling with work-life balance, time management, prioritization, and feelings of isolation, despite outward appearances. This led her to leverage her life coach certifications (from Dr. Martha Beck and The Life Coach School) to develop tools specifically for educators. A cornerstone of her approach is the "STEAR Cycle," her adaptation of a coaching model that helps individuals understand how their Thoughts trigger Emotions, influencing their Actions (approach) and creating Results. She successfully applied this framework with students, parents, teachers, and fellow administrators to foster self-awareness and emotional regulation.

Addressing current challenges, Kelly noted the intensity of the spring season for school leaders, involving HR decisions, testing, and end-of-year celebrations. She emphasizes teaching leaders practical skills like 90-day planning and the "art of constraint"—focusing on impactful priorities rather than trying to do everything at once, which leads to burnout and the "overwhelm cycle." She encourages leaders to regularly check in with their emotions and consciously balance work, rest, and play.

Kelly's platform includes the long-running "Empowered Principal" podcast, books, keynote speaking, online courses, one-on-one coaching, and the group coaching program, Empowered Principal Collaborative (EPC). She highlighted the power of connection and shared experience within the EPC mastermind. Future plans include launching the Empowered Principal Academy for coaching certification and hosting live wellness retreats for leaders.

Throughout the conversation, Kelly stressed the importance of authenticity and vulnerability in leadership. Sharing her own journey, including being a single mother while leading and overcoming the challenges of public scrutiny, she advocates for leaders building resilience and emotional capacity. She advises aspiring leaders to explore their interest, step into the leader identity even before getting the role, believe in their capability, and embrace the inevitable awkwardness of being new, learning through experience. Ultimately, Angela Kelly's work is dedicated to empowering educators by providing tools and support to foster both professional effectiveness and personal well-being, recognizing the profound impact they have on human development.

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