Client Profile: Focus on Your Joy

Whether your business is a non-profit or for profit, and whether your talent is supporting other businesses behind the scenes, serving up the best coffee, or shaping the leaders of tomorrow, your best work happens when you focus on your joy.

Dr. Maureen O’Shaughnessy is the founder of the 6-12th grade micro-school, Leadership Preparatory Academy (LEADPrep), with campuses in Kirkland and Seattle, Washington. 

Maureen has served as Executive Director since LEADPrep’s inception in 2013. She is a career educational innovator who is passionately determined to create schools that work for ALL learners. 

Opening LEADPrep as a non-profit, and operating independently and without the support of a larger organization, Maureen faced a steep learning curve getting started. 

Her ability to establish a successful school while “flying blind with less resources” is a testament to her intelligence, expertise, and strong drive. 

At LEADPrep, she recognized the need for greater organization and better operational systems, especially systems that make sense and will continue to work over time. She knew the more efficiently she ran LEADPrep, the more resources she would have to expand the school and broaden her impact.

As a self-described “piler, not a filer,” Maureen wanted to spend her time understanding what each student needed to reach their full potential, not setting up systems. In 2019, Clear Solutions was hired to help LEADPrep develop and implement more efficient systems, focusing on managing information, standardizing processes, and building a framework for maintaining both.

Although not all of Clear Solution’s clients are non-profits or educational entities, Maureen and her team experienced challenges similar to what many other clients have experienced. 

For example, Maureen’s team had implemented some standards, created some documentation, and built some systems, but many improvements were still needed and no one had time. The days were full running the school and serving the student’s needs.

Clear Solutions worked within Maureen’s timeline and budget to assess the current situation, make updates to reflect how LEADPrep currently operates, and fill in the missing pieces. Processes were reviewed for efficiency. Roles were clarified. 

Clear Solutions developed the structure, templates, and guides to alleviate  a major pain point of not being able to find information in a timely manner and not knowing how to name or where to file new information. 

Removing duplicate and unnecessary documents also helped streamline information management. And, a maintenance plan was put into place to keep things running smoothly.

Focus on Your Joy

Despite a clear ability to tackle complex problems, when faced with the task of creating and improving LEADPrep’s efficiencies, Maureen chose to enlist help. She knows where her true talents lie and what brings her joy. 

“Why don’t I do my own plumbing? I could probably figure it out by watching YouTube. It would take me twice as long, and be done half as well.” 

She’d rather spend her energy “aligning with my deepest gifts and vocation, which is serving kids.”

Maureen views hiring Clear Solutions as more than helping her resolve pain points. It allowed her to focus on her passion. It allowed her to focus on her joy. 

If you need help running your non-profit or for profit more efficiently so you can focus on your joy, or if you just want to find out more, book your free consultation today.

In addition to founding and executive directing LEADPrep, Maureen has provided educational leadership to schools both locally and internationally (Kuwait, Costa Rica, Peru, Philippines, Ecuador, and Hungary). She is a strategic partner with the Flipped Learning Global Initiative, for which LEADPrep is the flagship school example, and recently authored the book, “Creating Micro-Schools for Colorful Mismatched Kids: A Step-by-Step Process that Empowers Frustrated Parents to Innovate Education.”