Dr. Howard Spearman, one of the 2026 Studer Education Difference Maker Award winners, believes that knowing your "why" is essential for a leader. Without knowing your why, Dr. Spearman shares that a leader can "lose their way." When a leader knows their why, students and communities thrive, and outcomes are met. Dr. Spearman is an example of how knowing and living your why reaps benefits. Listen as he shares with Dr. Janet Pilcher his experiences with aligning daily work with the why and the positive results that follow.

Recommended Resources:  Remember Your Why: From Struggle to Purpose, Connecting Operations to Student Success 

Follow Host Dr. Janet Pilcher on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janetpilcher/ 

Even the best leaders know that they can continue to learn. That mindset is partially what makes them good leaders; they continue to seek ways to improve. In this episode, Dr. Janet Pilcher talks with Dr. Vincent June, one of those great leaders who continues to seek ways to improve. His leadership has had a tremendous impact on the institutions and communities that he has served. As a result, he was the recipient of a 2026 Studer Education Difference Maker Award.

Listen as Dr. June shares candid advice and wisdom about what good leadership looks like and feels like and the value of becoming a student of leadership. 

Recommended Resources:  Leaders as Lifelong Learners, Higher Education Isn't One Size Fits All 

Follow Host Dr. Janet Pilcher on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janetpilcher/ 

Change is everyday business for leaders, and employees rely on leaders to guide them through change by effectively managing and leading change efforts. 

Listen as Dr. Janet Pilcher reflects on the idea that change is everyday business and shares three key concepts related to how leaders can effectively manage and lead the "everyday business" of change:

• Align leader behaviors that produce results and consider what this means in relation to change.
• Apply tactics to show people that they are valued and to demonstrate that what they do adds value.
• Commit to the reality that solid performance is not good enough.

Recommended Resources:  9 Pillars of Leadership Excellence: A New Operating System for Education, Just Start: Driving Change in Education 

Follow Host Dr. Janet Pilcher on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janetpilcher/ 

People want to do good work, and they want to work in an organization that has a positive work environment. According to Kelly Krostag, Assistant Superintendent of Human Resource Services for Escambia County Public Schools in Florida, a positive work environment “is the culture,” and she shares that developing, implementing, and living standards of excellence in the organization can transform organizational culture. 

In this episode, Dr. Janet Pilcher talks with Ms. Krostag about how the Human Resource Services Department of Escambia County Public Schools created and implemented standards of behavior and the positive impact those standards have had on the culture of the department. She also shares how she recognizes the standards “walking the halls.” Listen to hear how standards of excellence can make a positive impact on organizational culture.

Recommended Resources:   Develop and Apply Standards of Excellence, Transform Culture with Reward and Recognition 

Follow Host Dr. Janet Pilcher on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janetpilcher/ 

On the heals of Studer Education's 2026 Destination High Performance Higher Education Conference, Dr. Janet Pilcher reflects on the event and her takeaways. She calls out an idea shared by Dr. Brendan Kelly, President of Eastern Michigan University: the idea that education institutions serve and support students best when they align "what they do" with what students want and need --  not what the institution wants and needs. Listen as Dr. Pilcher shares a way to identify what students want and need and how education institutions can align what they do to student wants and needs with the intention of enhancing the student experience.

Recommended Resources:   Drive Student Achievement with Scorecards, Get Aligned: Strategic Plans, Scorecards, and Measures that Matter 

Follow Host Dr. Janet Pilcher on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janetpilcher/ 

As Dr. Kristine Strickland, Chancellor of Fletcher Technical Community College, proposes in this week’s episode, strategic plans are important…if they don’t sit on a shelf to collect dust. Rather, as Dr. Strickland shares, strategic plans must be “alive” in daily work and conversations to keep everyone in an organization aligned with the goals and priorities outlined in the strategic plan. Scorecards are one effective way to keep strategic plans alive and a central focus of daily work. 

Dr. Janet Pilcher and Dr. Strickland discuss how scorecards have kept Fletcher Technical Community College moving toward collective goals. They explore how scorecards help internal and external stakeholders understand where the organization is going, how they are tracking toward goals, and how the work of each individual in the organization supports goal attainment. Listen to hear how scorecards have helped Fletcher take their strategic plan “off the shelf.” 

Recommended Resources:   Drive Student Achievement with Scorecards, Get Aligned: Strategic Plans, Scorecards, and Measures that Matter 

Follow Host Dr. Janet Pilcher on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janetpilcher/ 

Employees want to feel valued and heard at work. When they feel this way, they feel safe sharing ideas, are motivated to do their best, and see the impact of their contributions and the contributions of others. In these ways, value and voice build a strong workplace culture. Rounding and recognition can help add value and voice to an organization to a strong culture. 
 
Listen to this conversation between Dr. Janet Pilcher and Mr. Bill Adams, a Studer Education Leader Coach, to learn how to use rounding and recognition as tactics to add voice and value to an organization. They discuss 

• the value of rounding and recognition, 
• how rounding and recognition work together, and 
• how organizations have successfully implemented rounding and recognition. 

Recommended Resources:  Strengthen Your District with Rounding and Recognition, Transform Culture with Reward and Recognition, The Power of Reward and Recognition 

Follow Host Dr. Janet Pilcher on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janetpilcher/

Bright spots of good work are all around us in organizations. It is a leader's responsibility to create ways for people to harvest the stories of these bright spots. These stories reinforce why someone's work is valued, the impact it has on others, and how individual contributions make a positive impact. “Connecting to Purpose" is a tactic outlined in Pillar 4 of the 9 Pillars of Leadership Excellence that highlights an approach to sharing bright spots. Connecting to Purpose stories are powerful.

In today’s episode, Dr. KK Owen shares the Connecting to Purpose story of a struggling school district that changed their community by saving education. They transformed the perceptions and outcomes of their district through hard work and an unwillingness to give up. This is a story of how education can save a community by restoring hope, pride, and success. Listen as Dr. Owen shares the story of Tarrant City School District and what we can all learn from the “Little School District That Could.” 

Recommended Resources:  Transform Communities by Transforming Schools, Bridging Community Divides 

Follow Host Dr. Janet Pilcher on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janetpilcher/

In preparation for an upcoming webinar, Dr. Janet Pilcher provides a brief introduction to the idea that feedback is a gift. She discusses how feedback is a two-way gift – leaders must provide and receive feedback. Feedback is a gift that provides valuable data that informs solid decisions, but it must be received with the right mindset. Listen as Janet shares tips for receiving feedback in the “right” way; explains how leaders must provide meaningful, constructive feedback; and explains how leaders receive feedback as a means to improvement. 

Recommended Resources:  Listen, Learn, Improve: The Gift of Feedback, Master the Art of Feedback

Follow Host Dr. Janet Pilcher on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janetpilcher/

Every day in an organization, good work is being done. Ensuring that all this good work is aligned and focused on the same goals and outcomes is what Superintendent Michael Maine of Martin County, Florida calls getting “locked tight,” and Superintendent Maine is a master at this alignment process.

In this episode, Dr. Janet Pilcher and Superintendent Maine discuss how getting locked tight has resulted in the success of Martin County School District. Listen as they explore the power of aligning strategic plans, goals, scorecards, and measures that matter; and they talk about the importance of having a strong, united team working together to create this alignment.

Recommended Resources:  Measure Impact to Drive Improvement, Drive Student Achievement with Scorecards

Follow Host Dr. Janet Pilcher on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janetpilcher/