Adversity and Whiskey in Education

Meet Ralph.

Ralph was one of the hundreds of school leaders that we interviewed for our book, Escaping the School Leader’s Dunk Tank. Ralph was faced with on-the-job adversity every single day that he reported to work. His supervisor wanted him out and for no good reason. Ralph was a good Professional Development Coordinator. He loved his co-workers and tried to do his very best each day. But, it wasn’t good enough for his Director. The writing was on the wall. His contract would not be renewed.

Ralph had a hobby of researching and drinking fine whiskey—a sort of connoisseur he considered himself. But, Ralph’s hobby soon became an addiction and a means for self-medicating himself each night that he got home from work. Ralph had consumed 110 different bottles of whiskey in just 90 days back in 2012. After spending about $5,000 on whiskey, Ralph went to rehab, quit his job, and landed on his feet years later.

In Chapter 6, the "Dunk Tank" book talks about the dark side of substance abuse and working in the field of education. It is a taboo chapter, to say the least, but one of incredible importance to the field of education. In Chapters 2 and 3, we will show you how organizational adversity can cripple us through various emotional driving forces and the tactics that our adversaries use against us. But, most importantly, the "Dunk Tank" provides us with a B-12 shot of how leaders can prevail in any adversarial condition or circumstance that you might face.

Learn more about Ralph and the other courageous school leaders who shared their stories with us by visiting www.leadershipdunktank.com in order to download our FREE Reflection Guide that accompanies our book. You won’t be able to put this book down. I promise. Grab a copy on Amazon.