AJ Crabill has been on a Leader Chat before, but based on the quality of our last conversation with him, and his new book, we simply had to have him back. AJ’s understanding of school board governance is beyond reproach. His new book, ‘Great on Their Behalf’, is a must read for any school or district leader. School boards have the potential to focus their efforts on students, and if they shed the temptation to focus on adult issues, great things can happen.

Anne Erwin and Jeff clearly go way back. She was a principal working with him when he was a superintendent in Oregon. Anne joined us because she was not an ordinary principal. She turned around the high school in a very unique way and leaned on a community process and bold vision that did in fact come to fruition. Anne is brutally honest, focused, and passionate about what schools, communities, and especially students are capable of.

Mike Rutherford supports teachers and leaders all over the country. His philosophy supports the art, creativity, and capacity of educators. As you listen to this Leader Chat, you will notice that Mike has his finger on the pulse of what was, is, and will be in schools. His perspective and advice for leaders is something we recommend you listen carefully to.

We were so thankful Jimmy Casas was able to join us in person for this Leader Chat. Jimmy and his work supporting leaders is extremely unique. His advice specific to culture is not just philosophical, it’s pragmatic. He provides leaders with protocols and processes. This Leader Chat is informative, but also inspiring. You will love Jimmy Casas!

We are big fans of Dr Tim Elmore. This is his second Leader Chat. Last time we discussed his impressive book, Eight Paradoxes of Great Leadership. We invited him back to talk through his newest book, A New Kind of Diversity. His research and insights are invaluable for us as leaders. Here, he and Jeff talk through strategies on how to recognize the challenges of generational diversity in the workplace and leverage them into opportunities. It’s an awesome discussion. 

What is one of the key ingredients for the health of any organization that starts with a ’T’? Likely you guessed it- its TRUST. In a school district, how is trust established between superintendents and principals? That’s what we asked Dr. Justin Benna, a professor in North Dakota who has studied and written on this very topic. Lean in, listen and enjoy!

If one is truly a ‘student of the game’ when it comes to studying and developing their own leadership skills, they likely have read John C. Maxwell’s work. If not, they should. John C. Maxwell is known as the #1 leadership author in the world. In this inspirational Leader Chat, he shares his wisdom, passion, and empathy with us. He is in our corner, and we are thrilled to be working with and learning from him. We can’t wait for him to join us in person during our Leadership Circle Summit in...

Universal Design for Learning, (UDL) can sometimes be misunderstood or potentially overwhelm teachers and leaders. Not if they listen to or read the work of Katie Novak. She is a teacher at heart and has rich leadership experience. She makes UDL pragmatic and accessible. This Leader Chat episode is incredible!

There are very few topics in education as relevant today as Social and Emotional Health, for students and adults. There is also not any organization as knowledgeable on this topic as the Collaborative for Social and Emotional Learning. The CEO of CASEL, Dr. Aaliyah Samuel, joined us in this Leader Chat. It was a phenomenal and enlightening discussion.

As educational leaders, we all want and need to find peace and satisfaction within the context of the challenging times and work we are experiencing. It’s easier said than done. Kim Strobel provides some insightful and pragmatic advice to us, helping us to keep our head up and moving forward.

In this episode, Jeff engages with Dr. Roger Cleveland about the importance and challenge of embracing cultural proficiency as educators. It’s a political topic, but as you listen, maybe they uncover why it does not have to be. If we have strategies to meet the needs of students, with the awareness that kids come from different backgrounds, experiences, and skill sets and it’s our job to love and teach them all.

If you are an educator, a leader in schools or in districts at any level, this is a must listen. Anthony Muhammad and Luis Cruz brought so much practical and powerful advice that it was actually hard for me to get Jeff to stop talking with them. These authors are not just researchers- they are practitioners who have been on the front lines. They get it!

This is the second part of a two-part series. This week, Pamela Swanson had her board president, Ken Ciancio, join us. Jeff was so excited to compare and contrast what Pam had to say in episode one with what Ken might bring to light in our second chat. Bottom line, Ken and Pam are two peas in a pod- they are a team and their mutual respect for each other and their roles shines through. If only all superintendent and board relationships were this strong.

Everyone who pays any attention to schools or politics knows, the dynamics of a school board can have positive or negative effects on the schools and communities they serve. We have had other Leader Chats on this topic, but Pamela Swanson, superintendent of Westminster Schools in Colorado, ‘schooled us’ in this Leader Chat. Her humility and compassion are obvious. Clearly, she understands quality governance, but she also describes the art of working with her board as united front. This Leader...

Why would a K-12 educational leader listen to a Harvard Business School Professor who specializes in sales and marketing? Well, as Jeff often points out, smart leaders learn from others who are in different lanes and industries. When you listen to Frank Cespedes, you will see the leadership correlation between business and sales with education. Frank’s latest book identifies several trends and solutions that translate to leading in fast changing environments. You will love it!

Educators need to hear from leaders who have spent time in education, and in the private sector. Tim Nolan is one of these people. We are thankful we had the opportunity to pick Tim's brain. His perspective is clear and extremely pragmatic. Leaders, take note and consider how Tim's perspective can impact your day-to-day work life.

This conversation was fun and enlightening! I know Jeff pretty well, and it was obvious to me that he was giddy talking with Janet Godwin, the CEO of ACT, in this Leader Chat episode. Janet’s perspective may surprise you. Her view on the need for change in education and how we consider assessment results was refreshing. As the producer of the show, I try to ensure we keep our shows under a certain length of time. This was a difficult conversation to halt. These two passionate, educational...

If you were to close your eyes and imagine an educational leader 100% committed to serving students, educators, and her community. . . . this leader also possesses a peaceful passion for student success amidst even the most challenging times in education . . . You may not have known it, but you are thinking of Diane Starkovich. Her leadership story is pretty awesome, but hearing her talk with Jeff about leadership and love for her work is inspirational.

It makes sense that when new challenges in schools arise, so would innovative models and solutions. In an earlier Leader Chat with Richard Ingersoll regarding teacher shortages, he mentioned ‘Teacher-Powered Schools’. After some research, we invited Amy Junge and Wendy Salcedo-Fierro to talk with us. While we all think of the traditional principal leading and managing the school, there are new ways emerging. We hope you enjoy learning about this model as much as we did.

Listening to Jeff talk with Kwame Johnson is a treat. Kwame has an inspiring story, and his passion for the importance of our youth being mentored and having reliable relationships is a gift. Kwame has leveraged his own experience into what is now his life’s work, and the difference he is making is incredible. Leaders will love Kwame simply because he is forward thinking and reminds us all to simply lead aligned to our ‘WHY’.

Have you ever heard the phrase - “hope is not a strategy”? What if it is?  This conversation between Jeff and Casey Gwinn, a coauthor of Hope Rising, How the Science of Hope can Change your Life will likely impact your perspective about what hope actually is, and the power it can play in lives if understood and embraced. As you are about to hear, this is great stuff.

Our goal with our leader chats is to provide our educational leaders with pragmatic input, advice, and direction that adds to their skillset and perspective. It’s fair to say that we nailed it with this episode due to the work of David Noble and Carol Kauffman. Their book, Real Time Leadership is one we highly suggest you look into right away. When you listen to their wise advice, likely you will understand why. One thing that is great about this discussion, is that their leadership expertise...

I am Kris Richard, producer of our Leader Chat. I am not a traditional educator, so as I listen to our guests and Jeff talk, I always learn something new. This discussion with Todd Whitaker is DENSE. Clearly School Change is a topic unto itself, but the art and strategy of LEADING it is different. Jeff and Todd were like peas in a pod and could have gone on forever. Blame me or thank me, but I finally had to push them to end the discussion- otherwise, they may have talked all day. You are...

Educational leaders should not ONLY listen to and learn from educators. Districts and schools may be complicated places, but there are also other organizations that are committed to serving our youth that do incredible work. Case in point . . . this week Jeff talks with Jim Clark, the CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of America. They serve 5,100 centers/locations impacting 4.6 million students! Yeah, you read that right. A massive undertaking and leadership responsibility. You can’t listen to...

If you have not experienced or heard of our current challenges related to our teacher force, you are either lucky or not paying attention. It’s a significant challenge now and promises to be only more so in the future. In this Leader Chat Jeff engages Dr. Ingersoll who is a leading expert on America’s elementary and secondary teaching force, and a professor in education and sociology at the University of Pennsylvania. Likely, we could not have found a better leader to talk with on this...