Global Leaders Digest
From the Education Team at Salmon Global Academy
What We Thought Would Help… Didn’t
There’s a quiet kind of disappointment that comes not from failure, but from misplaced hope.
At the beginning of this term, we—like many teams trying to juggle growth and structure—set out with what felt like a strong plan. We had the right tools, well-organized systems, and a genuine sense of motivation. Our calendars were neatly arranged. Our digital planners synced across devices. Everyone had their dashboard. We had read the blogs, watched the tutorials, and studied what “successful teams” do.
We genuinely thought we were helping ourselves.
And for a little while, it seemed like we were. Things looked good. We had metrics, scheduled check-ins, folders of content, outlines, checklists, and review sessions. We could point to everything we were doing and say, “See? We’re working.”
But slowly, and almost imperceptibly, something started to feel off.
The more we tried to hold it all together, the more fragmented we began to feel. Our tools started creating tension. Our routines became rigid. And the vision that had once felt exciting and open-ended started to feel…boxed in.
We had made the classic mistake that so many learning teams make: we confused tools with transformation.
What we thought would help us grow was keeping us busy. Efficient? Sure. Effective? Debatable.
Eventually, we reached a point where we had to pause—not because we were giving up, but because we needed to reset. To acknowledge that structure is only useful when it’s rooted in rhythm, not pressure. That productivity doesn’t equal progress. That learning, real learning, often happens in the space between systems, not within them.
So we started over—not from scratch, but from awareness.
We trimmed the excess.
Simplified our process.
And most importantly, we permitted ourselves to shift.
Instead of obsessing over the plan, we began focusing on clarity. Instead of tracking every deliverable, we began asking better questions: Is this helping us think? Is this helping us create? Is this helping us serve?
To be clear, we haven’t abandoned the tools altogether. But now we use them with more care. Fewer dashboards. More reflection. Less pressure to optimize every hour, and more focus on what’s unfolding.
The most surprising thing?
We’re learning more now than we were when everything looked perfect.
Not because things are easier, but because they’re more honest.
And that’s a shift we weren’t expecting, but deeply needed.
If you’re in a similar place—feeling like the tools that were meant to help are holding you hostage—we’d encourage you to take a moment. Step back. Reevaluate. What’s working? What’s just noise? What’s serving the kind of leader, student, or builder you’re becoming?
You don’t need to burn it all down. But you do have the freedom to change direction.
We’re doing that now. Quietly. Thoughtfully. Without guilt.
Because sometimes the most valuable thing you learn is that it’s okay to let go of what no longer fits—even if it once felt like the answer.
— Education Team
Salmon Global Academy