In Minnesota, we have a phenomenon called false spring.

One day it’s 80 and sunny.
Next, a blizzard cancels school.
You adjust… and then it shifts again.

End-of-year leadership feels the same.

Plans go sideways.
Staff transitions disrupt routines.
And the tension between finishing strong and preparing for next year pulls you in two directions at once.

The challenge isn’t effort.
It’s staying grounded in the middle of constant change.

So how do you stay grounded when everything around you isn’t?

1. Run Your Calendar—Don’t Let It Run You

If your calendar isn’t protected, your priorities aren’t real.

May will fill itself—fast.
Meetings. Interruptions. Urgency disguised as importance.

You can spend an entire day busy and still not move anything meaningful forward.

Something I learned later on in my career, and I wish I had known sooner: plan your time before others plan it for you.

Block your priorities.
Name them.
Share them.

Running two different high school programs (an online high school and an alternative high school) presents a unique opportunity: how can you be two places at once? For me, batching my time is essential. Wednesdays are online school meetings and check-ins. I have office hours in the alternative school on Tuesdays, 2nd period, and Thursdays, 6th, and post it on the wall so students know when and where to find me. 

Clarity creates capacity—for you and your team.

2. Set Boundaries—and Actually Hold Them

Every time you break your own boundary, you train your staff to do the same.

Most leaders don’t struggle to set boundaries.
They struggle to keep them.

In Principal in Balance, I describe:

• Guideposts → warning signs (fatigue, overwhelm)
• Guardrails → protections that keep you from going too far

May is when those guardrails matter most.

But here’s the real test:

You close your door.
You start a meeting.
There’s a knock—“Just one minute?”

And you say yes.

That moment sends a message:
Your time is interruptible.

Saying “not now” is uncomfortable.
But unclear boundaries create unsustainable leadership.

3. Backmap What Matters—and Let the Rest Wait

Urgency is often a story—not a reality.

May makes everything feel urgent.
It isn’t.

Now I make it visible:

• What must be done before the end of the year
• What can wait until summer

Then I backmap.

Breaking work into clear timeframes creates focus—and removes the pressure to do everything at once..

Just like false spring in Minnesota, May will always be unpredictable for school leaders. But unpredictability isn’t the problem.

The problem is what happens when leaders abandon their systems in response to it.

Because in the final weeks of school, your team isn’t just watching what you do—They’re learning how to lead from it. And how you finish the year is just as important, if not more than how you start it.

So here’s the question:

When the pace increases, and the pressure builds—
do your systems hold… or do you?

---

Slow Leadership Is a Practice — Not a Post.

If this resonated with you, you don’t need more noise. You need steadiness.

If you’re ready to go deeper:

→ Principal in Balance
Practical strategies for leading well at work and living well beyond it.

→ Bring This Conversation to Your Team
Keynotes and workshops that challenge hustle culture and build sustainable leadership systems.

→ Leadership Coaching
For leaders ready to move from impressive to sustainable.

Have a Leadership Question?

The real work of leadership isn’t tidy. If you’re carrying something — a tension, a doubt, a hard decision — you can ask here.

Big or small. Named or anonymous.

I won’t pretend to have all the answers. But I will meet you with clarity, practical thinking, and steady reflection.

Submit your question here: Question for Dr. Cabeen