“When Critics Become Catalysts“

The Ruckus Maker Flywheel Chapter 13

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The room provides feedback

You can plan a staff meeting.

You can prepare the talking points.

But you can’t predict the moment someone says something that makes the entire room hold its breath.

In this chapter, Jordan brings her bruised ego — and her open notebook — to her first mastermind call.

She doesn’t expect a solution.

She gets something better.

Not pity.

Perspective.

And a question that shifts her from shame into strategy:

“What do you think your next move is?”

📖 Never miss a chapter of Jordan’s story. You can read each chapter in the First in Line section of Ruckus Makers.

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The Room

Jordan logged into the Zoom room two minutes early.

She didn’t want to overthink it.

But she also didn’t want to be late.

The screen filled with faces. A few smiles. A few nods. Someone had a dog in the background. Someone else muted quickly to hush a toddler.

Max showed up last.

RUCKUS MAKER hat. Hoodie. Cup of something steaming.

“Alright,” he said, leaning into the camera. “Let’s breathe.”

Everyone closed their eyes for a beat.

“One word to describe your leadership this week,” Max said.

“Popcorn style. Just speak when you’re ready.”

The words came in:

“Turbulent.”

“Clear.”

“Shaky.”

“Uncomfortable.”

“Tired.”

Jordan waited. Then said quietly: “Exposed.”

No one flinched.

Max nodded. “Tell us more.”

She shared what happened. The staff meeting. The article. Ms. Holloway’s line: “We don’t need another article.”

The silence in the room after.

The silence inside her now.

“She didn’t attack me,” Jordan said. “She just… told the truth. And it hit hard.”

She paused. “And the thing is, I’m not mad at her. I’m mad that she said it first. That she saw it before I did.”

There was no pity in the Zoom room.

No platitudes.

Just one voice — Devon, a high school principal from the West Coast — who said: “I used to think critics were just blockers. Now I think they’re mirrors. And if I’m brave enough to look, they show me exactly what I need to clarify.”

Jordan didn’t nod.

She breathed.

Then someone else added: “Maybe she’s not resisting your leadership. She’s resisting the part of it that feels disconnected.”