Episode 409

full
Published on:

11th Jun 2025

The Three M’s Leaders Need to Nail- Mindset, Motivation and Monitoring

Summary: Join C.T. and guest Tauvia Harrigan, principal of Earl Frost Elementary School in San Jose, California, as they explore her inspiring philosophy centered on love, laughter, and learning that shapes a vibrant and inclusive school environment. With over three decades of experience in education leadership, Tauvia shares how her diverse school community—representing 14 different home languages and a wide range of cultural backgrounds—thrives through a culture of acceptance and unity. 

Key Takeaways:

  • Love as the Foundation: Love for the students and the work is essential; it creates a positive environment where both staff and students are motivated and engaged, making learning a two-way, infectious process.
  • Learning through Fun and Engagement: Learning must be fun, relevant, and stimulating to keep students’ brains active. Boredom shuts down learning, so lessons should be designed from the child’s perspective to be exciting and engaging.
  • Diversity and Inclusion: Earl Frost Elementary embraces its rich cultural and linguistic diversity, fostering a community where differences are celebrated and unity is promoted through shared values and traditions.
  • Mindset, Motivation, and Monitoring (the 3 Ms):
  • Mindset: High expectations and belief in every student’s potential are crucial. Teachers and students alike need a positive, growth-oriented mindset.
  • Motivation: Combines intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, using strategies like VIP parties to reward goal achievement and build confidence, gradually fostering intrinsic motivation.
  • Monitoring: Continuous data review is vital to assess student progress and instructional effectiveness, balanced with fun activities to keep staff morale high during data analysis.
  • Modern Educational Approach: Recognizing that today’s children are wired differently due to technology, teaching methods must evolve beyond traditional models to incorporate relevant, motivating tools that resonate with students’ experiences.
  • Leadership Philosophy: Tauvia’s leadership is characterized by passion, energy, and a commitment to creating a joyful, inclusive school culture where students feel valued and empowered to succeed.


Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

00:37 Meet Tauvia Harrigan: A Leader in Education

01:33 The Unique Diversity of Earl Frost Elementary

05:26 Philosophy of Love, Laughter, and Learning

11:28 Motivation and Mindset: The Three M's

23:25 The Journey to Leadership

28:19 Advice for Aspiring Leaders


Connect with CT: linkedin.com/in/cheetung

Connect with Tauvia Harrigan: frost.ogsd.net/about/principal



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About the Podcast

Principal Office Hours
Real principals. Real talk. No hall passes required.
Finally—a podcast that proves school principals have personalities (and killer insights, too). Every week, join us for candid conversations with K-12 principals who are navigating the beautiful chaos of educational leadership without losing their minds or sense of humor.

Each 40-minute episode features real principals sharing what actually works in school leadership—from handling helicopter parents and budget nightmares to building school culture that doesn't make everyone roll their eyes. Consider this your professional development that doesn't feel like professional development.

Our guests aren't afraid to share their epic fails alongside their victories. They'll tell you about the initiative that spectacularly bombed during assembly, right before revealing how they turned their school's reading scores around. It's educational leadership with the BS filter turned off.

Whether you're currently wearing the principal badge, aspiring to the big chair, or teaching while secretly taking notes on what you'd do differently, Principal Office Hours delivers actionable strategies you can implement faster than a student being sent to detention.

Subscribe now and join the faculty lounge conversation that's too real for the school board meeting. New episodes drop every week. Warning: May cause spontaneous leadership growth and occasional inappropriate laughter during staff meetings.

About your hosts

CheeTung Leong

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Jim Kanichirayil

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Your friendly neighborhood talent strategy nerd is the producer and co-host for The HR Impact Show. He's spent his career in sales and has been typically in startup b2b HRTech and TA-Tech organizations.

He's built high-performance sales teams throughout his career and is passionate about all things employee life cycle and especially employee retention and turnover.