992: Three Grad School Takeaways That Might Help You as Much as They Helped Me Leadership Stories

I’m five days out from graduating with my Master’s in Organizational Leadership. I’ll be honest, I am tired. Like, bone tired. I think the last four months have been a never-ending adrenaline rush to get to the finish line of grad school while also managing a full-time (and fully intense) work schedule and parenting during a busy baseball season. It’s been a lot. Don’t get me wrong, it’s been a lot of great things. I’m so grateful and truly elated for all I have experienced over the last two years. But I’m feeling the comedown, and it’s leaving me wiped out! While I think I’ll be processing the last two years for quite some time, I wanted to share a few nuggets with you right away. I’m walking away from this grad school experience with some important lessons learned that are immediately applicable for me — and might be for you, too! In this episode, I’m sharing three big takeaways from my grad school experience. First, I’m sharing a philosophy I learned in one of my first classes in the program on how to “see and see again.” This philosophy challenges us to look past assumptions, judgments, and biases and peel back the layers that might not be obvious at first glance. Second, I’m talking about how to be a leader who is for others. I’ve always known that leadership is not only about power, and leaders who get this confused are destined to become toxic, highly dysfunctional leaders (i.e., rulers or dictators). There are specific ways to embrace and embody leadership as a leader who is for others, and this is the kind of leadership we need to develop in one another. Third, I opted to get a concentration in Change Leadership as part of my Master’s program. My first few classes in change leadership felt a little dry and didn’t totally resonate with me. While the content felt helpful from an informational standpoint, it didn’t light a fire in me. Then I ended up in a change leadership class that completely flipped my notion of change leadership on its head, and I had this glaring realization that I am a change leader and have been for years (decades??). I was just looking at myself and my work through the wrong lens. When you hear my story about this, I think you might be able to see yourself and your change leadership capabilities through a new lens, too! The last two years have been an incredible ride. Thank you for your words of support and encouragement, as well as your many congratulations on social media and via email over the last week. I appreciate you!! If you have any questions about going back to school as a middle-aged, full-time working mom, please reach out. I’m an open book! Links Mentioned: Hire Sara to speak: saradean.com/speaking Coach with Sara: Connect with Sara on LinkedIn: Watch Shameless Leadership episodes on YouTube: Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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992: Three Grad School Takeaways That Might Help You as Much as They Helped Me Leadership Stories is an episode from The Shameless Mom Academy by Sara Dean.

This episode is 28:29 long.

This episode was published on May 19, 2026.

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