Beth Napleton

About Beth Napleton

I believe the opposite of growth is death: all humans need to grow in some way in order to survive and ultimately, thrive. The seasons of our professional life influence the growth we need: the depth, the level, the pace. In the absence of growth, humans stagnate or decline. Growth–even the most gradual–ensures forward movement and momentum, setting the stage for humans to flourish. I’m obsessed with learning lessons about leadership from watching Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. The first time I saw them perform live was in 2007: I was discouraged and frustrated, working at a school where I was aligned with what the mission was, but misaligned with the how. When I saw the band on stage that night, a lightbulb went off as I watched a performance that embodied what effective teams look like in action. Each person had a clear role, leveraging their strengths and they respected the roles of other people, helping the team create an experience collectively that no one person could do on their own. Bruce embodies a confident and authoritative leader, filled with joy and purpose. Since then, I’ve seen Bruce perform live over 20 times in 12 different states: every time, I leave inspired. I’ve overcome the challenges of leading through change many times - whether founding a small charter network (as one of only two charter schools approved to open that year), having three kids in three years during that time, or founding and leading the network through eight straight years of growth, wrestling with the questions so many leaders have: how do I translate my expectations into systems? How do I sustain these results without simply throwing more time at the problem? How can and should I be an instructional and cultural leader while transitioning some of my responsibilities? I had to continuously shift as I led a bigger team, through more layers, in a more complex landscape, learning to integrate systems and relationships to ensure that students were thriving.In my coach-sulting, I combine the capacity-building, done-for-you parts of consulting with the encouragement of a coach cheering you on through implementation, leveraging my instructional expertise, robust cultural leadership toolkit, Gallup strengths coach certification and decades of leadership experience to get single site charter schools, small districts and growing nonprofits where they want to go.Since 2021, I have worked with over 175 leaders across over 60 organizations in 21 US states and in 4 countries, impacting over students to make the work of leading through layers easier.

Experience

1. Consultant

   Catalyst Exchange

   Jun 2021 — Present

   I work with a variety of clients on projects in the nonprofit sector and am proud to be a vetted provider for the Catalyst: Exchange and Talent Well.

Education

• Barnard College, Columbia University

  Bachelor of Arts, American Studies

  1996 — 2000

• Relay Graduate School of Education

  National Principal Supervisor's Academy

• Pace University

  Masters of Science, Teaching

  2001 — 2003