My Books
Principal in Balance
In Principal in Balance, Jessica Cabeen equips school leaders with practical strategies to achieve true work-life integration while maximizing their leadership impact. Great principals are often masters of managing schedules, solving problems, and supporting their teams – but few know how to do this while also protecting their own well-being. This book bridges that gap.
Reports of burnout, stress, and compassion fatigue are rising across education, pushing talented leaders out of the profession and impacting student outcomes. Principal in Balance provides actionable tools to prioritize your wellness and time with intention, so you can build motivation, confidence, collaboration, and enthusiasm across your entire school community.
Nationally Distinguished Principal and four-time author Jessica Cabeen guides you to reclaim your schedule, set boundaries with clarity, and create sustainable systems that allow you to lead effectively at work while living fully at home. You’ll discover how to:
- Balance work and life to increase productivity and presence
- Set achievable goals and find time each day to accomplish them
- Strengthen staff retention and student learning through balanced leadership
- Create intentional space for self-care and rest without guilt
Principal in Balance is an essential guide for K–12 leaders seeking a realistic and empowering approach to thrive professionally and personally. This book will transform how you lead and live each day – with purpose, clarity, and balance.
BALANCE LIKE A PIRATE
“I just can’t get it all done.”
“I’m crazy busy.”
“I never have time to enjoy life.”
If you relate to these sentiments, you’re not alone. In today’s 24/7, always-on culture, life feels busier than ever. For educators, that hectic pace combined with constant professional demands creates the perfect conditions for burnout. But life doesn’t have to be that way.
Balance Like a Pirate, a Lead Like a PIRATE Guide, was written by educators for educators to help you break free from the endless cycle of “shoulds” and “have tos.” Educational leaders Jessica Cabeen, Jessica Johnson, and Sarah Johnson share practical strategies and tools to help you thrive in every area of life – both personally and professionally.
Balance itself may be a myth, but living with purpose, passion, and priorities is within your reach. Let Balance Like a Pirate empower you to design a lifestyle that is intentional, sustainable, and deeply fulfilling.
Lead with Grace
Why do even great leadership books leave out the soft skills?
Probably because soft skills aren’t flashy. But they are critical to graceful leadership – and Lead with Grace offers the stories and strategies you need to hone them and empower those around you. National Distinguished Principal and leadership advisor Jessica Cabeen understands soft skills better than most.
In Lead with Grace, Cabeen shows you how to seamlessly integrate authenticity, empathy, integrity, and the power of vulnerability into your daily work, transforming you into a leader who empowers students, staff, and colleagues with grace.
Using practical frameworks and insightful reflections in her approachable leadership memoir style, Cabeen helps you nurture relationships, enhance communication, manage boundaries, and bring grace into every aspect of your life – at school, home, or the office.
By leaning into the soft skills of leadership, you will:
- Confront negative workplace behaviors with confidence and care
- Create healthier interactions among your team
- Build a culture that supports risk-taking and amplifies all voices
- Enhance your social media presence to empower stakeholders
- Implement daily habits that make grace an intentional practice
Great leaders are often masters of the hard skills: organization, management, and accountability. Very few, though, excel at leading with grace. Lead with Grace equips you to be both – a great and graceful leader who understands, models, and cultivates the soft skills that truly transform communities.
Grab Lead with Grace today and begin integrating authenticity, vulnerability, empathy, and integrity into your work immediately. Under your graceful leadership, staff, students, and colleagues will thrive like never before.
UNCONVENTIONAL LEADERSHIP
Today’s educational leaders have access to more resources, research, and stakeholder input than ever before – yet they still face the same time constraints as leaders a decade ago. In Unconventional Leadership, author Jessica M. Cabeen takes readers on an intentional journey through current trends and buzzwords, offering clarity and practical application in a rapidly changing educational landscape.
This engaging book explores how social media can become a powerful tool for connection, collaboration, and learning, while emphasizing the importance of care and authentic relationships with all members of the educational community – students, teachers, staff, families, and community partners.
Each chapter highlights real-world examples of leaders driving positive change in their schools, paired with actionable strategies you can implement at a pace that is sustainable and tailored to your needs. You will gain a deeper understanding of your critical role in:
- Elevating the student experience
- Building a strong, positive school culture
- Creating small changes that make a big impact with families
- Advocating clear messages with community partners and policymakers
- Prioritizing time for your own self-care
Filled with practical tools, inspiring stories, and implementable strategies, Unconventional Leadership is a resource school leaders can pick up today and apply tomorrow to lead with courage, clarity, and connection.