School Leadership Can Prepare You for Other Career Roles

Today, Ali and JoDee are chatting with Brittany Holton, a former educational leader with over 14 years of experience. Together, they’ll talk about Brittany’s decision to leave a position that she had coveted for so long, how she has finally been able to achieve work-life balance, and why she has no regrets.

Connect with Brittany:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brittany-holton/

Connect with Ali and JoDee:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teachershift
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/teachershift
Teacher Shift LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/teacher-shift
Ali’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alisimon/
JoDee’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodeescissors/

Website
https://www.teachershiftpodcast.com/

Episode Transcriptions
https://www.teachershiftpodcast.com/blog

Transcript

Ali  0:05  
Teachers are natural innovators, entertainers and problem solvers. They dream of growing old into the profession, teaching their kids kids. But sometimes career goals shift or change, and that makes opportunities outside of the classroom seem intangible questioning who am I, if I'm not a teacher? I'm your host, Alexandra Simon. 

JoDee  0:31  
And I'm your co host, JoDee Scissors.

Ali  0:34  
This is The Great Teacher Resignation.

Today, our guest is Brittany Holton. Brittany is a former educational leader with over 14 years of experience. She served as an assistant principal, teacher mentor, and department lead before leaving the field in September of 2022, after being promoted to the position she had coveted for years. Since then, she has been able to achieve an incredible work life balance. And for the first time in a long time, she feels mentally healthy and relaxed. Welcome to the show today, Brittany.

Brittany  1:14  
Thank you guys for having me. I'm excited to be here. 

Ali  1:16  
We are equally as excited to have you here. And I want to start off by complimenting you on having such a successful teaching career by all accounts. And you know, towards the end, you climbed into the role of assistant principal, which was no easy feat, I'm sure. So, can you tell us a little bit about how you made the decision to leave a position that you had coveted for so long?

Brittany  1:39  
It was not an easy decision at all. So I had finally gotten there, I was so excited, I got to go to the board meeting and stand up and get appointed into the role that I'd always wanted. The school year started off and it was great. And I worked for an incredible school district. They truly are the reason I was able to climb so quickly. They poured into us and invested into us to create leaders. And they hire from within, which is nice, because a lot of places sometimes they'll bring in outside people. But it was nice to, you know, be brought up and built up. So when I made the position to leave, it was hard. It was not an easy decision. There was a lot of tears. I remember sitting with one of our board members and one of the ladies at the county office and I was crying. And she was like, Well, you know, it's okay to see that you're crying because now we know that you didn't choose to leave. You weren't seeking it. It was not something that you plan to do in the middle of a school year. Because I mean, that was the hardest part for me. We were six weeks into a school year. And I was like, Oh, I'm gonna leave. But at the same time, it was difficult for my family. And that was the biggest part. So going up, I had been in the same schools with my daughters. I was able to see them in the hallway. I was able to pop in at lunch if I wanted to. And for the first time, I had left them at their home school. And I went to be the assistant principal at a different school in the district. So I missed the first day of school. I missed open house. And for the first couple weeks of school, I wasn't home in time for homework or packing lunches or getting anything set up. And I felt like in the new role that I was in, I loved it. And it was a lot of problem solving. But at the same time, that's a lot of crisis management. So you're always in this high intensity, high stressed, there's a problem I need to fix right now. But it was draining. So by the time I would get home from work, I had nothing left to give. And it was taking an impact on my family. So at some point, I was like something's got to change. Like I'm stressed. My kids are feeding off of it. My youngest daughter wasn't sleeping at night. She failed a couple maths test, and she's in the gifted program. She's incredibly intelligent. And I'm like, why are you failing? What is happening? And I talked to my husband, I was like, something's got to change, like something has to change. And this job I was not seeking. It fell into my lap. My brother worked for the company. He was like, Hey, I think we have some learning kind of role, because he's the lawyer side of it. And he's like, people do things like you do. And he's like, just talk to this guy. So I happen to have a phone conversation to let them know, I was like, I just got this great job. We're kind of having a little bit of a hard time adjusting as a family. And lo and behold, they offer me this position on a Monday. So this was a Friday night, offer me the position on Monday. And the salary was incredible. The work from home opportunity was incredible. And it hit that pivotal moment where I had been asking for a change and throwing up a Hail Mary. And I was like, I think it's a sign. I think I need to do it for our family. My husband's like, Are you sure? You know, you're getting your doctorate. You just became an assistant principal. You know, do we want to give it a little more time? And I was like, I don't know, I don't think this job will be there. And you know, this would allow me to take the kids to school every day. Pick them up every day. I could go have lunch with them every day. They're across the street. I was like I think we're going to do it. So then I had an out of body experience where I did it. So took the job. I had to fly to California for training. It was a hard decision. I was, like I said, a lot of tears. But at the end of the day, it has been the absolute best thing for me and for my family. Like we have had a full turnaround, I wouldn't change it for the world, I miss it. I felt bad for leaving when I did. But at the same time, I wouldn't change it.

JoDee  5:21  
I want to go back to the emotional part, when you decided that that was a point when you were leaving. Was part of that emotion, the fact that you said the district built you up. And was it just feeling of disappointing the people who had helped you elevate your career? Where did the root of those emotions come from?

Brittany  5:41  
1,000%. I am a people pleaser. If I'm going to do something, I'm going to do it the best of my ability. And that's not the best of your ability, leaving a teaching job six weeks into a school year. I felt like I was letting down the teachers in my building. I was letting down my principal. I felt like I let the district down. Because this was also the district that I went to. So I mean, I'm home grown here. And I'm like, Oh, this is so bad. But they were so supportive. They were like family first. If this is you know, impacting your family in that kind of way. Do it. We support you 1,000%. So it was nice to have that support from them. So it didn't feel so bad.

JoDee  6:21  
Yeah, well also, it's true to say that they built you up to where you are now in this position. I mean, when your brother looked at that role, he saw all your teacher brain skills, and thought, oh, this translates really well. So in a way, they still helped you get to where you are. And I think that that's something that you can thank them for, and they can be proud of, of the skills that they helped you build. But I want to come back to previous conversations that we had in our DMs. And you had mentioned things such as migraines, and anxiety, and lack of sleep. And we hear that a lot from a lot of people. And I experienced a lot of that as well. And so now that you have made this pivot, this change, has it like all gone away? Or do you still experiencing some of those physical and emotional ailments? What's going on now with your mental and physical state?

Brittany  7:13  
I sleep like a baby now. It's incredible. So I used to think I was like an insomniac I was like, I can't sleep. I'll stay up till two in the morning. I'm up at six ready to go. And I even joke, everyone's like you always email us back at midnight. And I'm like, I know I'm up. I can't sleep. I'm still solving problems. And now 8:30, 9 o'clock, alright, I'm going to bed. Goodnight, everybody. I sleep through the night. It's the dream. And the migraines have really stopped. So my last couple of years as a teacher, as a special education teacher. And that can be a little bit more emotionally taxing I feel like. Because there's a lot more behaviors and there's a lot more preventative. Where in every interaction you might be having, there's a lot of thought behind it. So it's that constant feeling of please don't go this direction. So you're constantly stressed and anxious, and you kind of hold that in your wound tight. And I feel like now, I don't have any of that. So I have prescription migraine medication. And I used to get nine tablets a month from my insurance. And I haven't used them in like two months. So I have the stash and like I haven't even had to touch them. And it was when I was teaching, I was going through all of them before the month was over. And then I was having migraines because I was like I don't have any medicine for the rest of the month if I get one. So it has drastically improved the sleeping. It has improved migraines. Just the quality of life has really, really changed. I don't feel anxious anymore. Even when there is work stress now, it's a different kind of stress. So it's I might have a lot of meetings for the day. And you know, am I gonna have time to put all the notes in that I need to put in. But it's never anything that feels like I'm going to disappoint somebody or something bad's gonna happen. There's going to be, you know, things that unfold from this. My favorite thing is my new boss says all the time, you control what you can control and let the rest go. And I feel like in education, it's control what you can't control and then you're upset that you didn't control it.

Ali  9:10  
Yes, I agree. I want to go back a little bit to your story. As educators, one of the things I think that sells us, especially women is that we can be there for our family because we're on this school calendar. And so we're going to be able to be with our kids when they're off. But the reality is not everybody gets to teach at the same school as their kids. I was a high school teacher so I was never at the same school as my kids. Actually, one year my daughter went to the pre K at my like, you know, infant to 12th grade school. But for the most part that never happened except for that one year. And it's really hard to manage those schedules because a teacher schedule isn't flexible, right? You have a report time. You have the end of the day when school is released. Then you have mandatory meeting things. You have teacher planning days. And you can't just take off. Like, it's heartbreaking, but you can't be there for the assemblies or for all the different things because that's hard to get coverage. So I really heard you when you said when you switch schools, it upended the kind of the lifestyle that you had as a family. And I mean, I feel like you were fortunate that you had it for as long as you did. But you, you missed that. And I think that's what we seek as educators potentially is like, a balance. We love children. So maybe we do want to have children. And even if you don't have children, it's just, it's a hard thing to have such a fixed schedule, that doesn't allow for any flexibility. Like having a dental appointment that's not like at four o'clock in the afternoon every time or something like that, because sometimes dentists can't do all their procedures in the afternoon. So I really liked hearing about what it was really like for you in those moments when you had to make this decision. And it got me thinking about, what advice might you give someone, if they had gotten into their dream jobnand they were considering leaving?

Brittany  11:06  
I think it's having that growth mindset. And when I had the discussion with my kids, I didn't want them to think that what I did leaving in the middle of the school year was acceptable. And like, that's something you should do. I didn't want to promote, like, starting something and not finishing it. Because that's almost how I felt in the moment. But at the same time, I felt like it was equally important to show them that if something was not serving you or something was not going well for you and your family, that it's okay to think that this was your dream. But dreams change. And it's never too late to reinvent yourself. It's never too late to go into a different path, take a different, you know, road. And it might disappoint some people, but at the same time, your health, your well being your family is the most important thing. Those things can't get replaced. Where my role was filled pretty quickly.

JoDee  11:57  
But you also left with no regrets. And can you share a little bit more about how you got to a point of feeling that way? Because you... it seems like you went through a range of emotions. But now you're in this place. And you're just like, No regrets. 

Brittany  12:11  
Absolutely. And I was so worried I think about what people would think. That was a big factor in not wanting to disappoint people, obviously. And I recently saw everybody at the County Spelling Bee. My daughter was in the county wide spelling bee. So I get to go superintendents were there, board members, everybody that I you know, felt like I let down. And the best thing for me was, they didn't have any regrets either. They were still excited to see me, support my family. There was no bridge burnt. They did invest in me. So they knew me as a person first. And I feel like they see that person. So when I saw everybody there, like, how's the new job? Is it great? You look great. You look relaxed. So I think I got to the point where I did it in a professional way. You know, I made sure everything was set. And I tried to be a know, appreciative of all they poured in and let them know that I didn't take that for granted. I didn't just use an abuse that faith that they had in me. And I think the no regret part is that I made the choice to do something for my family. And I saw how it bettered our family. And I see the improvement in my kids. So you can't regret anything that makes your kids lives better.I mean, that's why we do what we do is to make kids lives better. So it gets a little bit more personal, but it's yours. 

JoDee  13:31  
Yeah, definitely. And congrats on making that decision. You, you made a really nice career move, but you really made a move to improve your family life. Sometimes we think that, or at least I did, I was just like, kind of in this battle of, am I leaving these kids that I've been teaching and these families I've grown up as a teacher with versus like, am I being present as a parent? And when I like put them side by side, I was like, Absolutely, I need to be with my family. It was just a no brainer. And I've been there. And I'm very happy with the choice that I made too. 

Brittany  14:10  
I wouldn't change it. And then the career that I moved into. So it's a sales role, basically. It's commercial sales, and I'm an account manager. And so a lot of what I do is onboarding or training, and then I manage accounts and make sure they're performing. If they're not, how can I solve that problem? So the transferable skills, I feel like I'm doing the same thing, just with a different object. So I might not want to be with kids anymore. But now I'm with adults, and I still get to individualize what I do. I still get to build relationships. I still get to use all of my skills that I learned. And you're right. You said you know what you're doing it set you up for what you're doing now. And it really did. I think being a teacher sets you up to be able to do anything.

Ali  14:52  
I totally agree. I mean, I really think that... I think I've said it before on the show, but I say to JoDee all the time, teaching is a great first career. Similar to the military. Like, I think it really prepares you to do a lot of things. It gives you so many skills that are transferable. Teacher brain skills that can go into just tons of industries. And so you're a really good example of I mean, you left in September 2022. That wasn't that long ago, and you're already comfortable in your job. You're enjoying the work that you're doing. I'm sure that you're still learning a lot. But I love how you just are confident. You appreciate the balance that you have now in your life. And you did a wonderful job serving young people in their, in your own community for 14 years. 

JoDee  15:38  
And sales, like, I think teachers make really great sales, like going into that profession. You know, I have a friend who went into a similar role. And she's like, do I know what I'm doing? I'm like, you do. And also, like, remember that when we were in the classroom, we were like, do we know what we're doing? You know, like someone implementing new methods or strategies, or some sort of like software or performance software that you have to analyze data. We were kind of like learning in real time, all the time about something new we were supposed to be doing. And I was just like, remember, we were there to in the classroom. Like, are we doing this right?

Brittany  16:21  
It is. And I think it's the same everywhere we go. I feel like there's still sharing with that team. I still have a team of people that I tried something it worked, I give it to you, you tried something it worked, you share it with me. So it's so similar. Like, I almost feel like I didn't leave in a sense. And I felt like I've filled the void with volunteering with the coaching of my daughters, and I'm the gym director for our whole school's basketball season. So I feel like I still get to see the kids and see the families that I've been with for so many years. And it's just in a different capacity. 

JoDee  16:53  
And I'm glad to hear that you have a really solid circle that helped you, and even your former co workers that are still your cheerleaders. And Ali and I talk a lot on our show about how you have to have a really solid circle outside of the schoolhouse. Because those are some of the people that are going to help you get your next job. And even though you have your friends in the building, they want the best for you. But they're just not really sure how to give the best advice. But having your brother there, as someone's like I see you in this role, is really helpful. And I think family and friends and expanding the network beyond the school building is really essential in helping people move or transition.

Brittany  17:33  
Absolutely. And I think they need to know that they can do so much more than they think they can as a teacher. So I think letting people know that it's okay to change your path if you want to.

JoDee  17:45  
There's a teacher and everyone.You know, in every job out there someone is mentoring, teaching, modeling something. And on top of that, working with just like diverse groups of people, and tailoring people's needs. It's needed everywhere.

Brittany  18:03  
I think what being a teacher gave me was just this ability to do such a variety of things like to multitask, to be able to manage things, to work with people with different personalities. And then from there, you can specialize if you move into a different field. Like you can learn the more technical aspects of whatever job you're going to do. But to learn those soft skills, to learn those critical thinking, those multitasking, like at a high level. We're not talking about just like typing and talking at the same time. I mean, teachers are juggling lots of things, you know, lots and lots of things at one time. And I don't think you really know unless you've done that before. You know, the organizational skills, all of these things that just really will set you up in any career path. And then you still have the ability to get those specialized skills. So that's why we wanted to start this podcast was to tell people that teachers are awesome. The teacher brain is amazing and it prepares you to transition into so many different careers. So we really loved hearing about your career transition. And just honestly, like the look on your face, like the smile and the excitement that you have, like, it's priceless. To be able to say that you have left a profession with no regrets. And your time spent there was worth it. You changed lives. And now you're on to the next chapter.

JoDee  19:27  
And I have no doubts that people are going to reach out to you within your teacher network and say, I need help. Can you help me? You've done it. You know, how did you do it? So just know that with your transition, you will be helping other teachers. And even if it's like teachers that want to elevate within the school building, the way that you did. You have that route, and then you have the route where you kind of pivoted outside of it. So I have no doubts that people will be seeking your advice.

Brittany  19:55  
Good. I hope so. I would love to help anybody because I know it can be a tough decision to make a career to move in any aspect. So happy to help anyone.

Ali  20:03  
And it was a really brave decision that you made you listen to your gut. And a lot of us don't do that. We tried to calm that down. We tried to just push it down, and you listened to what you really needed to do at that time and it paid off. So congratulations on making your transition. And for our listeners if you want to connect with Brittany, you can find her on LinkedIn under Brittany Holton.

If you liked The Great Teacher Resignation, give us a five star rating and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music and Audible. Today's episode was written and recorded by me Alexandra Simon, and my co host JoDee Scissors. Executive produced by Teacher Brain. Produced and edited by Emily Porter. Original Music: Emoji by Tubebackr. Special thanks to our sponsor, Paper Planes Ed.