Aspire: The Leadership Development Podcast

Why do some students sit and do “nothing” when we give them plenty of time to work, and why does “just get to work” rarely change anything? In this episode of Aspire to Lead, Joshua Stamper talks with executive function coach Carrie Bonnett about task initiation as a teachable brain based skill rather than a character flaw. Drawing on her years as a middle and high school teacher and her current coaching practice with students, families, and schools, Carrie explains how to reframe “procrastination,” “laziness,” and “defiance” as executive function challenges that show up when tasks feel boring, overwhelming, or too big.​ Carrie shares practical strategies from her free Task Initiation Toolkit, including chunking work by task and by time, using timers as “dopamine tools,” and making the invisible visible with clear routines and visual cues so the environment does more of the prompting than the adult. She also offers concrete language shifts educators can use, such as moving from “You are lazy” to “Your brai