Megan Zembik

Come see us present at TASA Midwinter! Looking forward to seeing and collaborating with the best of the best in public education. See you there!

It truly takes a village - and a committed community - to accomplish amazing things!

Today, I had the opportunity to witness local individuals, companies, and organizations being recognized for giving back and investing in Taylor through the Greater Taylor Foundation. Moments like these are a powerful reminder of what’s possible when people choose to show up for the place they call home.

There’s something special that happens when go-getters gather in the same room. Standing in line for food sparked a new community idea—proof that collaboration doesn’t always start in a boardroom.

If you can dream it, a dedicated community can make it happen. Looking forward to the partnerships ahead and the impact we’ll create together for the students at Taylor ISD!

Collaboration matters! The best ideas rarely come from working in isolation.

Over the last two days, our Taylor ISD team had the opportunity to learn from Harlingen Consolidated Independent School District’s specialty schools - including their collegiate high school and STEM elementary. Seeing what’s possible when vision, systems, and beliefs align pushes us to think differently about what we can build for our own students.

I often ask my teams: Who are you chasing? Where are you finding inspiration?

Today, we return energized, inspired, and ready to dream bigger for Taylor ISD.

Call to Action: Let’s keep learning from others, sharing ideas openly, and courageously designing what’s next for our students because kids can’t be what they can’t see!

Such a privilege to highlight the incredible work happening in Taylor ISD the other day. If we don’t tell our story, someone else will — and it will never be as full, honest, or powerful as the one we live every day.

Public education deserves strong advocates, and I’ll always show up to shine a light on the excellence happening in our classrooms.

And honestly… being in the studio at 98.5 KRXT Cowboy Broadcasting was so much fun. 🎙️ Thank you for giving us the space to celebrate our students, staff, and community!

I spent Thursday and Friday learning from and with some of the best up-and-coming leaders from across Texas at the Holdsworth Center’s Aspiring Superintendent Insights Lab.

This experience was designed to stretch our thinking, test our limits, and help us grow into stronger, more self-aware leaders. We stepped into live role-play scenarios, got real-time feedback from retired superintendents and peers, and walked away with lessons that changed our perspective forever.

It was an incredible experience - one I think every district leader should have!

This quote is relevant for leaders AND employees.

Great leaders lean into the truth because there's no room for ego in success. The goal outweighs personal comfort and keeps human resources focused in the right direction.

Hard conversations are essential when you're trying to move an organization. Your players determine the experience of that conversation once the leader has created a respectful, safe place to be vulnerable and grow.

I've worked with teams that fall under all three descriptors and hands down can confirm that those who want to be told the truth make gains they didn't even believe were possible. I've also seen great talent stall out because they wanted to make excuses rather than be reflective.

How would you rate yourself and your teams? How can you spread this self-awareness to ensure your teams operate in truth?

Have a leadership question? Send me a DM and I'll post a response.

This is a sign I have on my office door as a reminder to ask yourself - What are my thoughts saying and how are they behaving?

It's nearly impossible to interpret any given situation without filtering it through your personal lens. We interpret motive, background, intent, and so on. Our perception is influenced by our internal dialogue.

The risk with this is that sometimes ... it's NOT REALITY. Sometimes, our thoughts are not presenting people and situations in a way that encourages positive intent or accurate motive.

If we are not careful, we react to our internal story and not reality. This leads to misinterpreted intent/motives and can derail the relationship and productivity of a team.

Before reacting, get CURIOUS and make sure you're responding to reality!

       

What are your teams admiring - problems or solutions?

Admiring problems is a behavior that dismisses productivity and creativity for comfort and passivity. The depth of admiration keeps teams distracted from finding solutions.

The next time you find yourself or a team in a negative cycle, simply ask, "Are we admiring the problem?" And follow up with "How can we seek the solution?"

How do you prevent the admiration of problems in your organizations?

This is my computer at work and this sticky note reminds me to view challenges as opportunities, not barriers!

Opportunities to create, to improve, to design, to discover...

Challenges create resistance; opportunities create curiosity!

The next time you are faced with a challenge, consciously respond with "what an opportunity" and get CURIOUS!

It's not enough to possess leadership qualities - you have to recognize and replicate that talent in others. That's the difference between simply leading an organization v. building a legacy.

How are you building a LEGACY in your own organization? Commit to one thing that builds capacity in others...

Welcome to my passion project! My name is Megan Zembik and I live near Austin, Texas. I hold a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Master of Educational Leadership. I absolutely love leadership and using strategic thinking to influence those around me.

Want to know the secret to leadership? Stay CURIOUS! Over the past 15 years, I’ve learned, led, succeeded, failed, relearned, and repeated this cycle a million times. Each time, stronger and more effective - all because I wondered and leaned in.

I’m excited to share what I’ve learned from the following experiences:

15 years as an educator
10 years as an administrator
7 years as a small business owner
I’ve led approximately 100 teams
I’ve helped influence over 8500 diverse students
Social and emotional learning advocate for adolescence
Emotional intelligence coach for adults
Woman, wife, mother, sister, daughter

The common thread to leading and influence is human connection and understanding. Everything I’ve learned, I've looked for - I was curious. Do you dare to ?