Accelerate Your Performance

What about the students? What are the effects of 20 months of disruption on them? Young people are feeling more stressed than ever before. Their lives are difficult to understand for adults. We often think about how students are feeling from our adult lens, yet they don't have the adult experiences we've gained. How do we really know how our students are feeling? 

This episode addresses questions, such as:

• How can school leaders gather input from students? 
• Why do students need us to listen to their concerns? 
• What can we do to teach students how to problem-solve while also paying attention to their needs? 

 Recommended Resources: Listening to Customer Feedback, Organizational Feedback Loop, Improvement and Innovation & Set Aligned Goals
Recommended Podcasts: Listen to People to Continuously Improve, Listen for Ideas, Perspective & Connection, Break Down the Disconnect Between School Teachers and Leaders, & Bold Leaders, Bold Decisions, Bold Results

Embedding the context of local culture into classrooms results in a more successful, memorable experience for students. It's likely that your community has a rich culture and history, much like Lac du Flambeau in Northern Wisconsin. Today, we revisit an interview with Lac du Flambeau School District Superintendent Dr. Larry Ouimette. During this conversation, we discuss how the local Native American Ojibwe Tribe is an integral piece of Lac du Flambeau's history and the ties between its school system and local cultural values.

This episode answers questions such as:

• How can local culture fit into our schools?
• Why is it important to understand the history of the local community?
• What do people need right now from school leaders?

Read Superintendent Larry Quimette's AASA article: Embedding Local Culture in Student Learning

Recommended Resources: Does Local Culture Have a Place in Schools?, Building the Conditions for a Learning Culture & Listen Intently
Recommended Podcasts: Prioritizing Local Culture in Schools, Focus on the Fundamentals to Improve, Define Values to Guide Your Decisions & Bold Leaders, Bold Decisions and Bold Results

Why are teachers choosing to leave the profession at even higher rates than before? Teachers have a great passion for helping students learn, yet the stress has increased and teachers aren't feeling heard. Today, Dr. Janet Pilcher discusses why there is a disconnect between school leaders and teachers, and what administrators can do to get teachers to stay.

This episode addresses questions, such as:

• Why are teachers leaving the profession at such high rates?
• How can we build better connections between school leaders and teachers?
• What can leaders do today to help teachers want to stay?

Recommended Podcasts: How to Ask Meaningful Rounding Questions, Listen for Ideas, Perspective, & Connection, Listen to People to Continuously Improve & Retain New Hires with 30 & 90 Day Conversations

Changing the culture of an organization doesn't happen overnight. However, when leaders focus on the fundamentals to build trust a positive culture can emerge. Today's episode revisits an interview with Dr. Pat Greco, who shares how the School District of Menomonee Falls stayed 8 months ahead of other districts. Leaders communicated the measures that matter and decision rules to all teams to ensure every employee could own their work and do what is best for students.

This episode addresses questions, such as:

• What fundamentals can leaders have in place to help employees feel a sense of calm during chaos?
• How can continuous improvement be viewed as part of the work rather than an add-on to the work?
• Why do clear measures motivate people and teams?

Recommended Resources: Measuring What Matters, Building the Conditions for a Learning Culture, Lead Your Work & Remain Confident Despite an Uncertain Future
Recommended Podcasts: Measures that Matter and Decision Rules, Leadership Development is a Lifeline, Strong Teams Don't Happen by Chance & Improve by Measuring What Matters

Being a leader of an organization is never easy. Not to mention leading an organization that is experiencing constant change in relatively unpredictable times. Today, Janet shares three important suggestions to apply 100% of the time to best manage change.

This episode addresses questions, such as:

• What usually goes wrong when leaders are managing change and what should be done differently?
• How can reduce employee anxiety as change initiatives are implemented?
• Why does connecting employee's minds with their hearts help achieve results?

Recommended Resources: Remain Confident Despite an Uncertain Future, Leading Change, Guiding Your Team Through Change & Communicating Change
Recommended Podcasts: Leading Change with Creative Tension, How Can We Build Strategic Agility for Continuous Change?, Leading Change with Empathy & Identify Barriers to Change

Our school systems, leaders and educators have role-modeled tremendous resiliency since March of 2020. Despite the challenges the pandemic has brought, there have also been bright spots and bold leaders encouraging their teams to thrive. Today, we revisit a conversation with Tea Area Superintendent Dr. Jennifer Lowery, to highlight the difference their district makes by leaning on its values and focusing on its entire community.

This episode addresses questions, such as:

• Why is it so important to have values and principles as an organization?
• How can schools and businesses work together for the good of the community?
• What can bold leaders do to have confidence in their decisions at the end of the day?

Recommended Resources: Walking the Halls, Remain Confident Despite an Uncertain Future, Cultivating a Culture of Resilience & Provide Feedback that Inspires
Recommended Podcasts: Powerful Practices that Build Connection, The Intersection Between Healthcare and Education, Embrace the Call for Transformation in Higher Ed & Do What's Right for Students

Bold leadership isn't about a position. Bold leaders use their hearts and minds to make a difference in the lives of others. Our profession calls on you to help young people realize their hopes and dreams - that is where educators find purpose. Bold leaders focus on the right small things that make a difference for employees, students and their communities. In this episode, hear how our host, Dr. Janet Pilcher, recommends you connect to purpose through continuous learning and improvement.

Learn more about What's Right in Education.

Recommended Resources: Build a Bold Leadership Team & The Key to Success: Continuous Leader Development
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Have you ever felt like you're running around your organization putting out fires? Today, Superintendent Ryan Carpenter, Estacada School District shares the communication tactics his team has in place that help him feel less like a firefighter. You'll also hear how these decisions were deeply rooted in data and continue to be analyzed on a consistent basis. As a result, people in Estacada are jumping ALL IN on the decisions its school district is making. Listen as Janet and Ryan discuss why his team stays laser-focused on communicating innovatively with their community and employees.  

This episode addresses questions, such as:

• Why do school districts need a communication expert to meet the needs of families and employees?
• What can Superintendents do to save time and improve their service to the community?
• How can you understand what's at the root of the data and use that information to drive meaningful results?

Recommended Resources: Accelerate Your Communication, Did that Question Catch You Off Guard?, Audit  Your Communication & Continuous Improvement: Adjusting through Disruption

Recommended Podcasts: Continuous Improvement: Where Do You Start?, Jump All-in to Improve, How Can We Improve Employee Engagement and Communication, Hiring the Right Principal, Tackle Student Learning Gaps & Do What's Right for Students

We all know that a leader's behavior has a significant influence on the employees of an organization. Great leaders are reflective, have self-awareness and are connected to the people they serve. On the other hand, bad leaders often cause employees to seek out another work environment. How can we become the type of leader that contributes to building an inspiring workplace? To answer this, Dr. Janet Pilcher shares the 5 Questions Emotionally Intelligent Leaders Ask Themselves Every Day, written by Harvey Deutschendorf.

This episode addresses questions, such as:

• What are the characteristics of emotionally intelligent leaders?
• Why is it so important to help employees achieve their career goals? 
• How can we keep people excited and motivated to continuously improve?

Recommended Resources: Emotional Intelligence, Emotional Intelligence Strategies for Leaders, Sharpening Emotional Intelligence & Leading with Emotional Intelligence: Leadership Challenge
Related Podcasts: Symptoms of Low Emotional Intelligence, What Makes an Employee a Productive One?, Be Dedicated to Being the Best, The Winning Trait Behind Underdog Teams & Are You a High Performer?

Hiring a High School Principal is a can't-miss situation. Due to decreases in qualified applicants for these positions, one school district found a unique way to find the best candidate. Joining Janet today is Sand Creek Zone District 49, Superintendent Sean Dorsey, who shares how to hire boldly and authentically engage staff and students through challenging times.

This episode answers questions such as:

• How can organizations find top talent when hiring pools decrease?
• What characteristics do parents and students look for in a Principal?
• Why is now a great time to reconnect with and re-engage ALL employees?

Recommended Resources: Right Hiring for the Right Fit, 5 Tips for Effective Virtual Job Interviews and Hiring, Tips for Recruiting Top Talent & Onboarding for Success in a Virtual Work Environment
Recommended Podcasts: Do What's Right for Students, Tackle Student Learning Gaps & Leadership Development is a Lifeline