How Reading Fuels Leadership: CEO Derek Mitchell’s Reading Habits on HTH Unboxed Podcast
"Reading builds your mental patience, your intellectual flexibility—even as it feeds the soul." — Derek Mitchell, CEO, Partners in School Innovation
In a recent mini-episode of the High Tech High Unboxed podcast, Partners in School Innovation CEO Derek Mitchell returned to talk with host Alec Patton about his daily reading practice: a routine that supports his leadership, fuels his imagination, and helps him stay rooted in reflection.
Throughout the episode, Derek describes how reading serves as a daily touchstone. He reads three times a day, each moment with its own purpose and rhythm. Mornings are for history or biographies, expanding his perspective with books like The Making of the Second Ghetto, Churchill and the Jews, and Dreams From My Father. Midday, he reads work-related books such as Change Monster and Just Connect to gain insights for leadership and team support, often dog-earing pages for future discussions. Evenings are for unwinding with science fiction and fantasy, like the Blood of the Empire series or classics like Stranger in a Strange Land, to clear his mind and aid restful sleep.
Across these daily windows, reading becomes a regenerative practice. In the 15-minute podcast, Derek reflects on how easy it is to lose focus in a world shaped by distraction. The shift toward fast media has made attention feel like a scarce resource. For him, reading is a way to reclaim that attention on purpose, in a way that aligns with his values and inspires thinking that sustains real change.
The work of school improvement requires long-range vision, emotional presence, and the ability to navigate complexity. In a profession where urgency is constant, Derek models a kind of leadership that creates space for inquiry, learning, and personal restoration. As he puts it, “We need a reading renaissance in this country.” Books offer more than content; they offer connection to self, to others, to history, and to possibility.
And if something you’re reading lately is helping you stay grounded or inspired, we’d love to hear about it.
“Unboxed” is a media platform that produces podcasts, videos, interviews, card decks, and curricular resources to spread good ideas that can improve schools.
Image description: Graphic of dark blue microphone. Underneath is the Partners in School Innovation logo and words “featured on” next to the logo of High Tech Unboxed.
