Introducing a New Monthly Offering: Emotionally Intelligent Leadership with Tim Elmore
By: Tim Elmore At the dawn of 2021, I decided to do something new for you. You may have noticed that blogs over the past several months have started to…
Tim Elmore’s Favorite Things from 2020
By: Tim Elmore Each year, I usually post a list of my favorite books I’ve read the previous 12 months. This year, I am going to mix it up and…
What It Means for Teens Who Are Going to Work for the First Time
By Tim Elmore What It Means for Teens Who Are Going to Work for the First Time I spoke to a Chick-fil-A owner/operator recently who told me a story I…
How to Help Students Fight a Victim Mentality
By: Tim Elmore I read two recent news stories that left me stunned. One young man from India chose to sue his parents for giving birth to him. He…
Why I Remain Optimistic About Generation Z
By: Tim Elmore I just met a young woman on a podcast interview who helped me recapture my hope for the future. Her name is Shamma Al Mazrui,…
Five Ideas to Manage Your Kids’ Screen Time in a Pandemic
By: Tim Elmore This may not surprise you, but since the pandemic started, kids’ screen time has doubled. Qustodio, a monitoring device that tracks screen time reports that kids’ screen…
Five Actions to Help Your Kids Think for Themselves
By Tim Elmore I read a publication years ago that said 70 percent of Americans do no thinking on their own. I was never able to locate the source…
Helping Your Students Discern Between Wants and Needs
By Tim Elmore I’ve witnessed a measurable shift in the way parents view their role today. When I was growing up, parents believed they did a good job if…
What Is Our Purpose as Educators?
By Tim Elmore During a Q&A session with an audience of 700 secondary educators, one math teacher raised his hand. His question for me was revealing: “What should I…
One Secret to Motivate People When Giving Direction
By Tim Elmore An experiment was conducted at an airport, where passengers in the TSA line were asked to allow others to cut in front of them. In this…
The Chief Skill Employers Want Isn’t in a Textbook
By Tim Elmore Several years ago, I met with Rich Katt, Cory Epler, and their team at the Department of Education in Nebraska. Our focus was Career and Technical…
Four Ideas to Cultivate Young Leaders
By Tim Elmore I once mentored a student named Rick who could have been voted by his classmates: The Least Likely to Become a Leader. He was unassuming, never…
Teaching Students to Stop Waiting for the World to Change
By Tim Elmore Back in 2006, musician John Mayer released a song for millions of twenty-first century young adults. It was called, “Waiting on the World to Change.” …
What Culture Are You Building for Your Students?
By Tim Elmore Sometimes when I reflect on a meeting I’ve had with a high school or college student, I recognize how inadequate my approach to our discussion was.…
Four Strategies to Help You Stop Stereotyping Teens
By Tim Elmore None of us like for others to stereotype us. When we were young, we hated it when adults assumed something was true about us and never…
The Connection Between Kids’ Happiness and Their Expectations
By Tim Elmore Members of Generation Z, by and large, have been raised by parents or guardians who’ve prioritized the importance of happiness. What parent doesn’t want their kids…
What Teachers Really Want From Their Leaders
By Tim Elmore Last month, I had the privilege again to speak to the “Teachers As Leaders” in Gwinnett County Public School District, just north of Atlanta. What an…
Four Rules That Could Reverse the Anxiety Epidemic in Teens
By Tim Elmore Most teenagers today are aware of the negative impact of smartphones. By this point, they all seem to know it deepens anxiety, heightens negative emotions, and…
One Change I’d Make to Engage Kids Better If I Had to Do It Over Again
By Tim Elmore One of the best questions I’ve asked people over the years was this: “If you had to do it over again, what would you do differently?”…
A Tool to Foster Better Conversations with Your Kids
By Tim Elmore Let’s face it. It’s harder than we thought it would be. A recent Pew Research Center poll revealed that most parents (62 percent) say that being…
How to Offer Feedback in a Fragile World
By Tim Elmore When Carol reminded her class about Friday’s exam, she got a surprising text from one of her students. Chelsea’s message said, “I won’t be in class…
Strategies Schools Are Using to Curb Social Media Abuse
By Tim Elmore – These days, I’m reading about school decisions regarding smartphone use, ranging from banning portable devices to displaying laissez-faire attitudes regarding phones. Many educators and support staff…
Taking Advantage of Natural Junctions in the Day with Your Kids
By Tim Elmore __ I know, I know. Your days each week are crazy. You’re busy. Your kids are busy. And often, family times are reduced to eating chicken nuggets…
You Have 3 Options When You Face a Loss This Year
By Tim Elmore Looking back on my life and career, I see more gains than losses. Upon deeper reflection, however, I think my memory is reconstructed. While I recall tragedies,…
Research that Informs Your Decisions This School Year
By Tim Elmore One of my most common concerns is to miss important information when making decisions. I don’t want to feel I’m in the dark on the data.…
A Secret I Learned That Determines My Level of Hope
By Tim Elmore I met a young woman recently who suffered a tragic accident on the freeway. We hear stories like hers far too often. She was hit by…
Fighting for Friendship in Your Career
By Tim Elmore I’ve made two observations about friendships as I have grown older. First, the older I get, the less I feel I need people. I know that…
The Correlation Between Cancel Culture and Resilience in Students
By Tim Elmore I will never forget Halloween in 2015. Just prior to October 31, a group of deans at Yale University sent an email urging students to avoid…
My Favorite Books Last Year
By Tim Elmore Each January (as a norm), I publish a list of my favorite books I read the previous year. Many of the books I read in 2023…
Leading Kids: Is Empathy or Compassion Better?
By Tim Elmore A high school principal recently told me that the mother of one of his students requested her daughter be taken out of her civics class and…
What the Amish Can Teach Us About Getting Kids Ready for Life
By Tim Elmore When my two kids turned 12, my wife and I initiated a special two-year journey that would become a “rite of passage” for them—an experience that…
What Students Say Will Motivate Them the Most
By Tim Elmore I once taught a classroom of students with a wide variety of personalities. Some were loud; others were quiet. There were some who were completely engaged,…
The Value of Exposing Kids to Extremes
By Tim Elmore I enjoyed dinner with a group of business executives in Cancun, Mexico, recently. During our conversation, several spoke about the vacations they’ve taken with their children…
What Were You Thinking?
By Tim Elmore In 1994, Mother Teresa gave a speech where she recounted the story of four people on the street in Calcutta. She asked the sisters who were…
One Change I’d Make to Engage Kids Better if I Had to Do It Over Again
By Tim Elmore One of the best questions I’ve asked people over the years was this: “If you had to do it over again, what would you do differently?”…
Rent a Mom When You Head to College
By Tim Elmore It used to be that mom and dad’s role was to love their children and to get them ready to be on their own at eighteen…
Six Crippling Realities We Must Address in Today’s Kids: Part 3
By Tim Elmore This is part three of a three-part series that breaks down the six realities that kids today are facing. To read part one of the series,…
Six Crippling Realities We Must Address in Today’s Kids: Part 2
By Tim Elmore This is part two of a three-part series that breaks down the six realities that kids today are facing. To read part one of the series,…
Six Crippling Realities We Must Address in Today’s Kids: Part One
By Tim Elmore I spoke to an audience of parents recently and found a common thread among their concerns for their children. One after another shared how their child…
How to Cultivate Conversational Intelligence in Students
By Tim Elmore Kristie is a close friend who just sat beside a 22-year-old on a flight from New York to Los Angeles. She told me the young lady…
Taking the Easy Route
By Tim Elmore Most moms with young children are exhausted. At least the ones I meet are. They don’t regret having kids, nor do they resent the parenting journey.…
Nine Ideas for Teaching Moderation to Our Students
By Tim Elmore This is part two of a blog series that began last week by discussing the dopamine addiction felt by many students. To read the first blog…
Drunk on Dopamine
By Tim Elmore Our kids today are growing up in a world where they can become addicted to happy chemicals. Let me explain. We live in a society that…
Three Doable Ideas to Retain Generation Z Team Members
By Tim Elmore When I talk to managers who say they lose young team members almost as quickly as they hire them, I am troubled. Corporate managers are asking…
Teacher Life Hacks: Two Strategies to Increase Student Engagement
By Tim Elmore Dennis Cook was one of my teachers during my junior year of high school. He was a very effective educator. Upon reflection, I can see now…
How to Stop Faking Courage and Actually Practice It
By Tim Elmore I have not always been a courageous leader. I began my career as a people-pleaser, only appearing to be a leader with convictions. When it came…
How to Bring Balance to Toxic Competition
By Tim Elmore Have you noticed? Competition rules our day, especially for kids. Students experience constant competition with peers surrounding academic grades, indoor and outdoor sports, social media followers,…
Leading Disengaged Young People
By Tim Elmore I know a young woman who hosted a graduation party upon finishing college. As she and her boyfriend planned the party together, they decided to create…
America: Junk or Jewel?
By Tim Elmore You’d have to be an ostrich with its head in the sand to miss what’s happened to our country over the last decade. We are polarized…
Six Ideas for Building a Work Ethic into Generation Z
By Tim Elmore Bob Wagner is hiring for three positions at his plastics manufacturing company. In the past, he’s filled these positions with high school and college students as…