Mining & Shining Idea Lab


Excavating Hidden Gold—In People,  Educational Leaders, and Organizations


I'm James Robinson. I wear a lot of hats as a Christian and trained Jungian coach ,  a successful education and non-profit executive, a writer and poet, and  founding excavator at Mining and Shining Idea Lab, my personal website for coaching and more.


My practice is simple: dig deep into the shadows—personal, historical, organizational—and bring forth the nuggets worth shining.


Whether it's unearthing a courage gap in leadership, or helping a school/nonprofit confront uncomfortable truths , I help individuals and organizations polish overlooked opportunities into lasting impact. 


It's the mining and shining way.




Extended Bio

1:1 Coaching

Discharging Your Loyal Soldier for School Leaders in Transition is for principals, principal -managers, and  executive directors  who are transitioning into new roles, new organizations or new projects.  Ideas  are never enough,  you have to execute.  I can help.

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Courage Gap and InfoGraphics

Lo-fi talks and rants about education. Nothing like them anywhere. I dare you to watch. But if you can't , check out the infographics.  You may be surprised.

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U-Turns

U-Turns: A Life in Schools is the title of my substack. It's part memoir, part field guide  and part critique of education. During the school year, I share the tactics we're using  at Project Reflect, where I serve as the executive director, to elevate the first charter school  founded in Middle  Tennessee. -- Smithson Craighead Academy.  In the summers, I go back to opinions, policy and the Courage Gap.

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