We swap a lot of ideas around at MSB. What we’re reading, a good film we’ve seen, a must-listen podcast. We’ve also been seeing a lot of “what’s on your summer reading list?” posts lately from school leaders. So here are a few digital options that may lead you, like us, to keep shifting our thinking, softening our edges, or sparking new ideas. Here’s what’s been on our radar lately:
🎧 Be a Better Ally – “Cultivating Awe” with Homa Tavangar
Released just last week, this episode is a gentle but radical reframe of how we lead, connect, and care — especially in uncertain times. Homa invites us to see awe not as a luxury, but as a leadership practice. She draws on neuroscience, spiritual traditions, and global education stories to explore how awe expands empathy, reduces bias, and creates space for regenerative leadership.
If you’re feeling flattened by the grind, this one lifts.
“Awe is the feeling of encountering vastness — and the humility that comes with it.”
— Homa Tavangar
📖 Finisterre by David Whyte
For anyone on the edge of a transition — personal or professional — this poem offers a fierce kind of permission. Not to know. Not to rush. To let the sea inside you guide your next move. We fully admit to being moved to tears listening to the reading.
🎥 TEDx Slottsparken – The World Calls for Regenerative Leadership by Laura Storm
If you’re craving language that aligns with our regenerative principles, Laura brings it home. She calls out the myth of “resilience as endurance” and instead invites leaders to design for life. Think: systems that restore rather than deplete, leadership that nourishes rather than extracts. This is just the beginning of a redesign we know you already know is needed.
🎤 Jason Reynolds – Imagination and Fortitude
This talk is short, soulful, and sharp. Jason speaks to the creative resilience of young people, the necessity of “seeing differently,” and the role of imagination as a survival tool. A powerful mirror for how we see student potential — and how we resource our own.
And if you liked these, then maybe if you haven’t already, grab a digital copy of The Conversation — our print + digital magazine for educator-coaches around the world.
It’s full of voices we trust, stories that stretch the heart, and tools to help you lead from a more human place.
Small is good. Small is all. 🌱
Drop any other recs below.
