Welcome - Let’s Do Some Talking Out of School!
I’m Julie and I know it’s quite a time to be a leader - I used to be in your shoes. The pace of change is exhausting and just when you think you’ve solved one crisis, another comes around the corner. But yet, I know most people feel deeply fortunate to be in a mission driven environment as it means working with hope for a better world.
This newsletter is all about applied leadership - taking insights you might get in a Harvard Business Review article a step further - unpacking and discussing how to practically elevate your leadership game, right now. I also want to accomplish the important work of helping leaders feel just a little less alone, to surface honest concerns about the complicated world we navigate and to provide creative solutions and hope. I’m especially passionate about the potential for strategic communications to improve connections internally and externally - to become better bosses, build better teams from the board of trustees on down and to stay connected to the pulse of the people we serve. While the problems are significant and the solution nuanced, there’s lots of possibilities, large and small, once we embrace candor.
Twice a week, I’ll publish on topics around leadership and management, always including actionable advice and a good dose of humor. Once a month, I’ll talk to an expert - a CFO, a board chair, an admissions pro, a communications guru - who’ll bring you their insights. My guests and I know where you’re coming from and we’re here to help. And as a bonus, once in a while I write personal essays about eldercare, deep midlife and navigating change. But usually funny. :)
I hope you’ll join us!
Articles are published every published every Friday and #TopFiveTuesdays - five of the best tips on a topic - are published on yes, Tuesdays! Personal essays that are published on very occasional Wednesdays
Free subscribers have access to:
One article or People Talking Q&A each week on topics such as leadership, enrollment, communications, governance, hiring and retention, change management, decision making, difficult conversations
Previews of #TopFiveTuesday tips
Occasional personal essays published under “Stony Creek Diaries”
Paid subscribers have all free content plus:
All of the above
Full #TopFiveTuesday posts
Quarterly curated resources and article links on trends and topics of interest, suitable to share with senior leaders and trustees
Access to over 100 articles in the archive
Occasional Zoom meetups during the academic year on topics related to communications and leadership, open to communications professionals and heads of school
Occasional bonus content, such as timely advice at times when you’re looking for crisis communications guidance
My deep gratitude - your subscription enables me to keep producing useful content for a wide range of schools and leaders.
About Me
Julie Faulstich
After falling into boarding schools as a January dorm parent hire back in the mid-90s, I’ve gone on to lead major institutional change efforts in every area of school life. The original plan was to teach English and write novels but I fell in love with the psychology and strategy involved in management and how it can effect positive change for kids. I’m an organizational psychology junkie, a strategist communications evangelist and an incurable optimist about the transformative power of an independent school education. I founded Stony Creek Strategy in 2022 to support school leaders faced with complex challenges. My bona fides include being Head of the English Department, Academic Dean and Assistant Head at Walnut Hill School for the Arts, Natick MA and Head at the Westover School, Middlebury, CT. I have a BA from Smith College and I’m finally putting my MFA in Creative Writing from Emerson College to good use through this newsletter.
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