Walk the Walk: Learning and Leading For a Better World

What We Carry Into Summer

In this episode of Walk the Walk, Scott McLarty reflects on the emotional threshold that arrives at the end of every school year, a moment filled with exhaustion, gratitude, celebration, uncertainty, and hope. As students, parents, teachers, and school leaders prepare to step into summer, Scott explores what it means to navigate seasons of transition and change.  Drawing on themes explored throughout the first season of the podcast, Scott revisits the challenges of living and leading in a VUCA and BANI world — one marked by volatility, anxiety, complexity, and rapid change. Rather than offering simple answers, he invites listeners to consider the kind of leadership and humanity this moment requires: courage, curiosity, humility, resilience, compassion, and the willingness to embrace mystery. Throughout the episode, Scott highlights several meaningful practices for renewal this summer, including:  * Recovering Our Attention: Reclaiming space for presence, reflection, and deeper human connection.  * Reading, Listening, and Wandering: Following curiosity and allowing ideas to stretch and renew us.  * Practicing Better Questions: Developing the habit of asking thoughtful, courageous, and compassionate questions.  * Making Room for Joy: Remembering that rest, laughter, wonder, and play are essential parts of human flourishing.  Scott also looks ahead to the next two episodes — as well as the next season — of Walk the Walk, which will explore one of the defining forces shaping our future: artificial intelligence. Through questions about wisdom, consciousness, leadership, and what it means to be fully human, the upcoming series will examine how we prepare young people to navigate an increasingly technological world without losing their humanity in the process. Scott then leaves listeners with one final invitation: to take a walk with a single meaningful question and resist the urge to rush toward an answer, allowing the question to slowly shape their perspective, reflection, and growth.  Please visit www.providencehigh.org/walkthewalk [https://www.providencehigh.org/walkthewalk?utm_source=chatgpt.com] to join our mailing list and become part of the ongoing conversation.   Walk the Walk can be found on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com], Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com], Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com], Amazon Music [https://music.amazon.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com], LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com] — or wherever you listen. Please support us by liking and subscribing.  Thanks for walking the walk.

Marla Cornelius: Part 2

In this episode of Walk the Walk, Scott McLarty continues his conversation with Marla Cornelius, a nonprofit consultant, coach, and strengths-based leadership expert. Together, they take a deeper look at the CliftonStrengths Assessment, exploring what it is, why it matters, and how it can be applied in everyday leadership, learning, and relationships. Marla unpacks the shift from a deficit-based mindset to a strengths-based approach, emphasizing the importance of focusing on what’s right with people and how that perspective drives engagement, growth, and impact. The conversation explores several key themes: * Understanding Strengths: Examining CliftonStrengths as a research-based, descriptive tool that helps individuals identify and articulate their natural talents. * From Insight to Action: Exploring the “name it, claim it, aim it” framework and how strengths can be intentionally applied to real challenges and goals. * Strengths in Practice: Looking at how strengths show up in the classroom, in leadership, and in everyday decision-making. * Relationships and Communication: Understanding how awareness of our own strengths, and those of others, can reduce friction and improve how we work and live together. Scott and Marla also walk through Scott’s own CliftonStrengths results, offering a practical, real-time example of how this work can deepen understanding and shape leadership. They conclude with a clear takeaway: strengths aren’t just something to identify—they’re something to use, intentionally, in how we learn deeply, lead bravely, and connect with others. Please visit www.providencehigh.org/walkthewalk [https://www.providencehigh.org/walkthewalk] to join our mailing list and become a part of the ongoing conversation. Walk the Walk can be found on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, LinkedIn – or wherever you listen. Please support us by liking and subscribing.  Thanks for walking the walk.

Marla Cornelius: Part 1

In this episode of Walk the Walk, Scott McLarty, Head of School at Providence High School, sits down with Marla Cornelius, nonprofit consultant, coach, and strengths-based leadership expert. Together, they explore what it means to lead with purpose in a rapidly changing world, examining how leaders can balance vision and execution while staying grounded in values and impact. Marla shares her journey into the nonprofit sector, helping leaders better understand themselves through strengths-based coaching. She emphasizes the importance of self-awareness, authenticity, and continuous growth as the foundation for effective leadership. The conversation explores several key themes: * Leading Self First: Understanding how purpose, values, and self-awareness shape effective leadership. * Management vs. Leadership: Exploring the balance between big-picture vision and the practical execution needed to achieve it. * Adapting to Change: Examining how leaders can navigate uncertainty by focusing on impact, embracing flexibility, and using tools like scenario planning. * Strengths-Based Leadership: Highlighting how identifying and leveraging natural talents can empower individuals and teams. Scott and Marla also reflect on the role of humility in leadership, the tension between ego and purpose, and the idea that leadership is not about position, but about influence and authenticity. They conclude by reinforcing a powerful idea: anyone can lead from anywhere, and meaningful impact begins with knowing who you are and choosing how you show up. Please visit www.providencehigh.org/walkthewalk [https://www.providencehigh.org/walkthewalk] to join our mailing list and become a part of the ongoing conversation. Walk the Walk can be found on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, LinkedIn – or wherever you listen. Please support us by liking and subscribing. Thanks for walking the walk.

If the World Is Incomprehensible, We Must Embrace Mystery

If the World Is Incomprehensible, We Must Embrace Mystery In this episode of Walk the Walk, Scott McLarty, Head of School at Providence High School, reflects on what it means to live in a world that often feels impossible to fully understand. Rather than treating life’s contradictions as problems to solve, he invites listeners to see mystery as an essential part of being human. Drawing on spiritual insight, philosophy, and lived experience, Scott explores how our craving for certainty can narrow our awareness. When we release the need to explain everything, we make room for humility, compassion, and a deeper sense of presence. Mystery becomes less of a threat and more of a companion, one that expands our capacity for wonder. To help listeners engage with the unknown in a meaningful way, Scott offers several practical practices:  * Sit With the Unresolved. Spend a few quiet moments acknowledging something in your life that lacks clarity, without rushing to fix or define it.  * Ask “What Is This Moment Asking of Me?” Shift from analyzing life to participating in it bringing you back to embodied presence.  * Trade Judgment for Curiosity. When you catch yourself labeling an experience as good or bad, ask what else might be true, opening the door to deeper understanding.  * Let Mystery Have Space. Identify one area where you’ve been demanding certainty and observe how your relationship to it shifts.  * Ground Yourself in Simple Rituals. Use breathing, walking, and silence to stay steady while navigating the unknown.  Scott concludes with a gentle reminder that mystery is not a failure of understanding but a pathway to wisdom. By welcoming the incomprehensible rather than resisting it, we learn to walk through life with greater grace, courage, and trust.  Please visit www.providencehigh.org/walkthewalk [https://www.providencehigh.org/walkthewalk] to join our mailing list and become a part of the ongoing conversation. Walk the Walk can be found on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, LinkedIn – or wherever you listen. Please support us by liking and subscribing. Thanks for walking the walk.

If the World Is Nonlinear, We Must Become Agile

If the World Is Nonlinear, We Must Become Agile In this episode of Walk the Walk, Scott McLarty, Head of School at Providence High School, reflects on one of the most frustrating realities of modern life: effort doesn’t always lead to expected results. Welcome to a nonlinear world—where cause and effect feel disconnected, progress is unpredictable, and outcomes don’t always match the work we put in. Drawing on insights from Leaders Make the Future: 10 New Skills to Humanize Leadership with Generative AI, Scott explores how this nonlinear reality shows up in everything from global systems to our everyday lives, and why the key response isn’t working harder but becoming more agile.  Agility, as Scott explains, isn’t about moving faster—it’s about staying responsive, adaptable, and grounded in purpose even when the path forward is unclear. Inspired by the inspiring legacy of the Sisters of Providence, this episode challenges listeners to embrace flexibility, trust the process, and remain anchored in what matters most. Here are a few practices Scott recommends: * Hold goals lightly and values firmly. Stay rooted in purpose while remaining flexible in your approach.   * Treat surprises as information, not interruption. Ask, “What is this teaching me?”  * Iterate to shorten the feedback loop. Learn through small experiments and adjust in real time.   * Normalize course correction. Changing direction isn’t failure, it’s awareness.   In a world that resists predictability, this episode is a reminder that we can’t control outcomes, but we can choose how we respond: with openness, humility, and trust. Please visit www.providencehigh.org/walkthewalk [https://www.providencehigh.org/walkthewalk] to join our mailing list and become a part of the ongoing conversation. Walk the Walk can be found on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, LinkedIn – or wherever you listen. Please support us by liking and subscribing. Thanks for walking the walk.