An Imperfect Leader: The Superintendents and Leadership Podcast

Book Update!

Imperfect Leaders! My book, An Imperfect Leader: Leadership in (After) Action is available on Amazon.com. If there is no hyperlink to follow, please go to Amazon.com or peterstiepleman.com. You can order it there.

Intro: Hello Imperfect Leaders! On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina, a Category 3 hurricane with recorded wind speeds of 140 miles per hour devastated communities in Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. I remember being a teacher in Missouri, and hearing reports of families heading north to find refuge all along the Mississippi River.

Our school system welcomed families, and quickly learned of their very specific needs. The children had been through a great deal of trauma. What I didn't know until now was that after Katrina, in 2014, the New Orleans Public Schools transitioned from a traditional school district to a 100% charter school district. The superintendent would be hired by a school board, and it would be their responsibility to oversee and authorize each charter school (working with each charter school's own school boards). What a task!

My guest this week describes that important work. Dr. Avis Williams is the New Orleans superintendent. She reminds us that "When you're bringing people together around an issue, there is a difference between buy in and commitment (you'll hear her say, "if people can buy in, they can be bought out."). Listen for it.

She also describes the creation of a Joyful Educator Collaborative where she convenes teachers to learn more about what is going well as well as areas for continued growth. Thanks for tuning in!

Bio: Dr. Avis Williams is the superintendent of schools for the NOLA Public Schools in New Orleans, Louisiana. Prior to her historic appointment to lead the Nola Public Schools, Dr. Williams served as superintendent of Historic Selma City Schools in Selma, AL for five years.

An award-winning educator and sought-after speaker, she is a native of Salisbury, NC. A product of poverty, Dr. Williams dreamed of being a teacher from an early age. As a first generation 4-year college student, she followed the path of her older siblings and joined the Army right after high school. While in the Army, she was stationed at Fort Jackson, SC, Yongsan, Korea, and Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, AL.

Further Info: Dr. Williams is a leader, a learner, and an author. She is the author of Welcome to Chase Shadows and of professional articles like Leading with Joy as a Prerequisite to Better Outcomes. Additionally, she has a professional book (co-authored with Bren Elliott) coming out soon.

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This episode is brought to you, in part, by the Waters Center for Systems Thinking. The Waters Center helps people understand what systems thinking is and how to incorporate the Habits, tools and concepts of systems thinking into their work and life to achieve desired results. To learn more, go to waterscenterst.org.

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An Imperfect Leader: The Superintendents and Leadership Podcast is supported by ILAA, LLC, a firm dedicated to supporting aspiring, new, and established leaders. For more information, please find them at www.human-centeredleaders.com.

Music for An Imperfect Leader was written and arranged by Ian Varley.

Sam Falbo created our artwork, a wood-print inspired daruma doll butterfly.

www.peterstiepleman.com

Book Update!

Imperfect Leaders! My book, An Imperfect Leader: Leadership in (After) Action is available on Amazon.com. If there is no hyperlink to follow, please go to Amazon.com or peterstiepleman.com. You can order it there.

Intro: Hello Imperfect Leaders. I am publishing this episode on October 9. I feel an incredible amount of grief and rage and loss for the people of Israel. I feel an incredible amount of grief, too, for the innocent Palestinians in Gaza who are powerless to stop Hamas from bringing about the destruction of their homes and their lives, not to mention the devastation to so many of our hopes for peace and the dream of two states.

The last time I felt this sense of loss was nearly 28 years ago, on November 4, 1995. On that tragic day, we learned that Yitzhak Rabin had been assassinated. We feared the progress made during the Oslo Accord would be lost. So much loss. Loss is a profound and sometimes paralyzing feeling. It can push us into despair. School leaders must regularly deal with loss.

This week, my guest, Dr. Uyi Osunde uses his After Action Review segment to discuss loss and the promise he made to never allow someone to feel alone, to grieve alone. There's a good deal of advice for leaders at every level.

Thanks for tuning in.

Bio: Dr. Uyi Osunde has been the superintendent of schools in Stratford, Connecticut since 2021. Dr. Osunde possesses a wealth of school leadership experience, serving as a high school principal, an assistant principal and counselor in Connecticut high schools.

Further Info: In 2014, a former colleague of Uyi's, Scott Goldsmith, wrote an incredibly moving piece. He chronicled Uyi's college and professional football career in such a human-centered way. I urge listeners to follow the link to learn more about Dr. Osunde's life and tremendous display of resilience.

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This episode is brought to you, in part, by the Waters Center for Systems Thinking. The Waters Center helps people understand what systems thinking is and how to incorporate the Habits, tools and concepts of systems thinking into their work and life to achieve desired results. To learn more, go to waterscenterst.org.

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An Imperfect Leader: The Superintendents and Leadership Podcast is supported by ILAA, LLC, a firm dedicated to supporting aspiring, new, and established leaders. For more information, please find them at www.human-centeredleaders.com.

Music for An Imperfect Leader was written and arranged by Ian Varley.

Sam Falbo created our artwork, a wood-print inspired daruma doll butterfly.

www.peterstiepleman.com

Book Update!

Imperfect Leaders! My book, An Imperfect Leader: Leadership in (After) Action is available on Amazon.com. If there is no hyperlink to follow, please go to Amazon.com or peterstiepleman.com. You can order it there.

Intro: Hello Imperfect Leaders! Nearly all leaders craft a narrative to help define their organization, to define the values of that organization, and to establish a compelling purpose. Storytelling is a one way to do that. Story, as my mentor Linda Henke says, "triggers emotions and conections that are seldom accessed in other kinds of language."

Metaphor is another way. Some leaders use the metaphor of a symphony conductor to describe their role – coordinating immensely talented people to perform something complex so beautifully. An umpire is another great metaphor. An umpire creates confidence when they are clear on what is a ball and what is a strike. They maintain integrity of the game and also have a front row seat to the strategy and talent unfolding right before their eyes.

My guest didn't tell me he had been selected to be one of 16 Little League World Series umpires in 2013. Out of 10,000 people who applied from around the world, and after a 20-year process with many steps along the way, he kept progressing toward the promised land of Williamsport, PA. I was thrilled to learn this, and also not surprised.

John Bell is my guest. We talk about leadership and decision making. We talk about advice for all leaders, and especially those hired to lead a school district in their hometown. John didn't shy away from a professional wild pitch that was thrown at him. Brushed back, he stayed focused on children. Thanks for tuning in!

Bio: John Bell is the superintendent of the Port Jervis School District in Port Jervis, NY. He has been in that role since 2022, but he is not new to Port Jervis. He previously served as assistant superintendent for instruction at Port Jervis from 2006-2012 and returning to Port Jervis, he was superintendent at a neighboring district for 10 years.

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This episode is brought to you, in part, by the Waters Center for Systems Thinking. The Waters Center helps people understand what systems thinking is and how to incorporate the Habits, tools and concepts of systems thinking into their work and life to achieve desired results. To learn more, go to waterscenterst.org.

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An Imperfect Leader: The Superintendents and Leadership Podcast is supported by ILAA, LLC, a firm dedicated to supporting aspiring, new, and established leaders. For more information, please find them at www.human-centeredleaders.com.

Music for An Imperfect Leader was written and arranged by Ian Varley.

Sam Falbo created our artwork, a wood-print inspired daruma doll butterfly.

www.peterstiepleman.com

Book Update!

Imperfect Leaders! My book, An Imperfect Leader: Leadership in (After) Action is available on Amazon.com. If there is no hyperlink to follow, please go to Amazon.com or peterstiepleman.com. You can order it there.

Intro: Hello Imperfect Leaders! Choosing a name for a public building is a challenging process. With schools, a new name often includes the choosing of a mascot as well. Renaming a school or changing a mascot is often even more difficult. Community members will allege you're erasing history. I was a superintendent presiding over the renaming of Robert E. Lee Elementary School in Missouri! Most recently, I served on a renaming committee in the Seattle area. The committee process was well conceived and thoughtfully carried out by one of the school district's leaders, Amii Thompson. She made sure to make decisions with those most impacted, in this case, the Suquamish Tribe.

Now, imagine if you were the principal and your school board decided on a Thursday night to remove an offensive mascot effective immediately. My guest is Dr. Andrew Dolloff, superintendent of Yarmouth Schools in Yarmouth, Maine. His After Action Review is about exactly that! Thanks for tuning in.

Bio: Dr. Andrew Dolloff has been the superintendent of schools in Yarmouth, Maine since 2014. He is a 35-year veteran of Maine public schools, having begun his career as a chemistry teacher and basketball coach in central Maine before moving into school administration in Greater Portland in 1996. Andrew has served as a superintendent, assistant superintendent, high school principal, high school assistant principal, and athletic administrator. For 9nearly 10 years he has served a community that is deeply personal to him as his grandfather graduated from Yarmouth High School. I have no doubt that leading in a hometown district must have made it even more meaningful when he was named Maine's Superintendent of the Year in 2021.

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This episode is brought to you, in part, by the Waters Center for Systems Thinking. The Waters Center helps people understand what systems thinking is and how to incorporate the Habits, tools and concepts of systems thinking into their work and life to achieve desired results. To learn more, go to waterscenterst.org.

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An Imperfect Leader: Leadership in (After) Action is supported by ILAA, LLC, a firm dedicated to supporting aspiring, new, and established leaders. For more information, please find them at www.human-centeredleaders.com.

Music for An Imperfect Leader was written and arranged by Ian Varley.

Sam Falbo created our artwork, a wood-print inspired daruma doll butterfly.

www.peterstiepleman.com

Book Update!

Imperfect Leaders! My book, An Imperfect Leader: Leadership in (After) Action is available on Amazon.com. If there is no hyperlink to follow, please go to Amazon.com or peterstiepleman.com. You can order it there.

Intro: Hello Imperfect Leaders! Hope is a powerful theme for today's conversation.

My guest today starts with a quote from poet, activist, and National Youth Poet Laureate, Amanda Gorman. I found it to be such a perfect way to start our conversation because my guest, Ms. Hattie Tate, speaks to hope. She speaks to how important it is to maintain hope. In fact, she reflects on the words of Amanda Gorman and reminds listeners how "every day, we have not lost hope."

And the key to maintaining this hope is a simple one to say aloud and sometimes so hard to achieve. It's relationships. The influence and impact that comes from a deep and genuine relationship. So to kick off this really inspiring conversation with Hattie Tate, a district leader in Oakland, CA, I give you four more stanzas from an Amanda Gorman poem New Day's Lyric, written and performed as the pandemic began to experience a waning (vaccines we on the horizon and brighter days appeared to be imminent). She wrote:

Are now these moments we make, The moments we meet, And our hearts, once all together beaten, Now all together beat.

Never is that more important than those working with our children struggling to achieve their promise. Often labeled as at-risk, Hattie discusses this with honesty and optimism. In her After-Action Review, she reflects on career choices - a deeply personal conversation. Thanks for tuning in!

BIO: Ms. Hattie Tate has many titles. They include educator, principal, and administrator in the Oakland Unified School District in Oakland, CA. She has been the principal of an alternative school, has worked with the Department of Violence Prevention/DVP, Oakland, CA 2011-2023, has served as an Administrator/Coordinator for the Juvenile Justice Center, has been a leader with Youth Diversion and Re-Entry Strategy, and has been an important piece to Stanford University's Impact Labs as a researcher.

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This episode is brought to you, in part, by the Waters Center for Systems Thinking. The Waters Center helps people understand what systems thinking is and how to incorporate the Habits, tools and concepts of systems thinking into their work and life to achieve desired results. To learn more, go to waterscenterst.org.

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An Imperfect Leader: Leadership in (After) Action is supported by ILAA, LLC, a firm dedicated to supporting aspiring, new, and established leaders. For more information, please find them at www.human-centeredleaders.com.

Music for An Imperfect Leader was written and arranged by Ian Varley.

Sam Falbo created our artwork, a wood-print inspired daruma doll butterfly.

www.peterstiepleman.com

Book Update!

Imperfect Leaders! My book, An Imperfect Leader: Leadership in (After) Action is available on Amazon.com. If there is no hyperlink to follow, please go to Amazon.com or peterstiepleman.com. You can order it there.

Intro: Hello Imperfect Leaders! A few months ago, I read White Bird by RJ. Palacio. It is such a powerful story, a graphic novel. The story of a Jewish child in France, hidden by a non-Jewish family, during World War II. I HIGHLY recommend it for anyone interested in knowing more about the Holocaust – or is looking for a book to help future generations understand what happened so that it may never happen again. It's a story about friendship. It's a story about regrets. It's a story about courage. It's a story about standing up against injustice. It's about dreaming about a better future and doing something about it.

While I was speaking to my guest today, the story popped into my head. My guest describes the shift in how leaders can lead. He talks about the current landscape and how by working closely with others (I was struck by how often he talked about his colleagues by name) – by working with others, great things can happen.

My guest is Max Silverman. He talks about shifting an entire system – transforming it, really. For those who are not familiar with the the organization he leads, the Center for Educational Leadership (CEL) leads national projects to implement new systems to improve leadership effectiveness by supporting the growth of superintendents, principals and teacher leader teams.

Thanks for tuning in.

Bio: Max Silverman is the executive director of the University of Washington's Center for Educational Leadership (CEL) where he provides leadership for improving school systems focused on equitable outcomes for students. Throughout his career, Max has served in a variety of leadership positions including classroom teacher, school principal, district leader, and most recently as deputy director of CEL.

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This episode is brought to you, in part, by the Waters Center for Systems Thinking. The Waters Center helps people understand what systems thinking is and how to incorporate the Habits, tools and concepts of systems thinking into their work and life to achieve desired results. To learn more, go to waterscenterst.org.

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An Imperfect Leader: Leadership in (After) Action is supported by ILAA, LLC, a firm dedicated to supporting aspiring, new, and established leaders. For more information, please find them at www.human-centeredleaders.com.

Music for An Imperfect Leader was written and arranged by Ian Varley.

Sam Falbo created our artwork, a wood-print inspired daruma doll butterfly.

www.peterstiepleman.com

Book Update!

Imperfect Leaders! My book, An Imperfect Leader: Leadership in (After) Action is available on Amazon.com. If there is no hyperlink to follow, please go to Amazon.com or peterstiepleman.com. You can order it there.

Intro: Imperfect Leaders! Welcome to SEASON 2 of An Imperfect Leader: The Superintendents and Leadership Podcast. I can't believe it! Thank you for all the support you've provided me over this last year. I've learned so much during my conversations with leaders from all over our country. This week, we continue into our second season, and it's a great one!

My guest this week is Jennifer Hogan. Right off the bat, you're going to hear me refer to Jennifer as a retired educator. Jennifer Hogan was a retired educator when she and I spoke. She told me off air that she was considering getting back into it, and well, she did! I'm thrilled for the teachers and children and families at Hoover High School because they're getting a thoughtful, compassionate, and human-centered leader. They already know that because this is really a welcome home for Principal Hogan.

Jennifer's topic is so relatable because it is one that is so familiar to so many leaders. Let me put it this way... we all talk about grit or resilience and the truth is, grit is learned through experience. We all begin our leadership roles with a lack of experience. So we lead with our hearts. When we look back, we are glad we led with our hearts, and we realize how much we've learned. Sometimes, we have to take a step back to take a giant leap forward. Our experiences build resilience. Thanks for tuning in.

Bio: Jennifer has served different roles throughout her 27-year career. She has been a teacher, a coach, and an administrator. She is passionate about leadership, culture, and teaching & learning. Jennifer is the creator of The Compelled Educator, which helps teachers and leaders find meaningful resources for personal and professional well-being, growth, and development.

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This episode is brought to you, in part, by the Waters Center for Systems Thinking. The Waters Center helps people understand what systems thinking is and how to incorporate the Habits, tools and concepts of systems thinking into their work and life to achieve desired results. To learn more, go to waterscenterst.org.

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Brene Brown #Dare to Lead #Armored leadership #Daring leadership #Alabama EdChat Compelled Educator #human-centered leadership Hoover High School

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An Imperfect Leader: Leadership in (After) Action is supported by ILAA, LLC, a firm dedicated to supporting aspiring, new, and established leaders. For more information, please find them at www.human-centeredleaders.com.

Music for An Imperfect Leader was written and arranged by Ian Varley.

Sam Falbo created our artwork, a wood-print inspired daruma doll butterfly.

www.peterstiepleman.com

Imperfect Leaders! My book, An Imperfect Leader: Leadership in (After) Action is available on Amazon.com. If there is no hyperlink to follow, please go to Amazon.com or peterstiepleman.com. You can order it there.

Intro: Hello Imperfect Leaders and welcome back to Part 2 of my conversation with Joe Santana. If you tuned in last week, you learned about ERGs (or Employee Resource Groups) and how they contribute to every type of organization. Joe told us about the difference between two terms, signals and noise, when I asked him about organizations being subjected to opposition from some policy makers. If you haven't listened to it yet, please go to last week's episode first and then come on back to this one.

In this episode, Joe participates in an After Action Review and talks about a decision he made and what he learned from that decision. It's true, I used the word 'pivot' in the title. Among superintendents, this word is verboten because of the number of times we were encouraged to pivot during the pandemic. I told Joe we prefer midcourse correction instead! This episode is such a good episode because while Joe is talking about how he built a platform with over 300 million listeners, it is easy for a district leader to consider programs, strategies, and public relations approaches that required a piv...a midcourse correction. Thanks for tuning in.

Bio: Joe Santana is Chairman of CDO PowerCircle, an association of top DEI leaders. Joe is also the creator and host of the award-winning ERG PowerTalk podcast reaching over 300 million listeners AND he is also an author of many articles and books, including his latest, Supercharge Your ERG's Tips to Power-up Your ERG/BRG Strategy. His work has been published in multiple languages.

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An Imperfect Leader: Leadership in (After) Action is supported by ILAA, LLC, a firm dedicated to supporting aspiring, new, and established leaders. For more information, please find them at www.human-centeredleaders.com.

Music for An Imperfect Leader was written and arranged by Ian Varley.

Sam Falbo created our artwork, a wood-print inspired daruma doll butterfly.

www.peterstiepleman.com

Book Update!

Imperfect Leaders! My book, An Imperfect Leader: Leadership in (After) Action is available on Amazon.com. If there is no hyperlink to follow, please go to Amazon.com or peterstiepleman.com. You can order it there.

Intro: Hello Imperfect Leaders. Sometimes, when I am listening to a podcast, I hear the host say, "This week, we're only playing part 1 of a two-part podcast." And I think to myself, "Do they really have that much good material to warrant two weeks or are they just being lazy??" Most of the time, it's really because the guest does have a lot of good examples to share. That's definitely the case this week with my guest, Joe Santana.

You're really going to enjoy Joe (not in the sense of when your mother would tell you you'll be so happy if you got a haircut - oh, was that just me?). I mean it, you REALLY are going to enjoy this episode and the follow up next week.

In Part 1, you are going to learn more about Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) and why they really are important for any organization, especially for school districts. Thanks for tuning in!

Bio: Joe Santana is Chairman of CDO PowerCircle, an association of top DEI leaders. Joe is also the creator and host of the award-winning ERG PowerTalk podcast reaching over 300 million listeners AND he is also an author of many articles and books, including his latest, Supercharge Your ERG's Tips to Power-up Your ERG/BRG Strategy. His work has been published in multiple languages.

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An Imperfect Leader: Leadership in (After) Action is supported by ILAA, LLC, a firm dedicated to supporting aspiring, new, and established leaders. For more information, please find them at www.human-centeredleaders.com.

Music for An Imperfect Leader was written and arranged by Ian Varley.

Sam Falbo created our artwork, a wood-print inspired daruma doll butterfly.

www.peterstiepleman.com

Book Update!

Imperfect Leaders! My book, An Imperfect Leader: Leadership in (After) Action is available on Amazon.com. If there is no hyperlink to follow, please go to Amazon.com or peterstiepleman.com. You can order it there.

Intro: Hartford, Connecticut was the location of my very first hockey game. The Hartford Whalers vs the NY Rangers. And what a scene it was. During the second period, there was an obvious offense because both benches cleared and both teams were absolutely brawling! I find myself in Hartford at least once a year and so every year, I revisit, in my mind, that very violent episode in my life. But now, after talking with my guest, Dr. Torres-Rodriguez, I have a delightful replacement memory and for that, I am grateful.

My mentor, Dr. Linda Henke, the creator of the human-centered school transformation model I speak so much about wrote:

The shift away from the heroic leader who goes it alone, to the transformational leader who attends to the field is perhaps the most fundamental change in the work of school leadership.

She continues by asking readers to rethink the metaphor of a leader as hero and consider, instead, a different metaphor --- someone like a midwife or a gardener or a minister. Someone who tends to the needs of others.

My guest this week cares so deeply for her district because her district is so personal to her - she graduated from the district and then returned to lead it.

She leverages the voices of her entire system, inside and outside the organization, including the voices of her children. She considers the technical skills, the emotional intelligence, and a lens focused on equity in order to make sound decisions.

And she uses all of this knowledge and skill in recounting her after action review – the recommendation to her board to consolidate or close schools in her school district. Thanks for tuning in!

BIO: Dr. Torres-Rodriguez was named the 2022 National Superintendent of the Year by the Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents (ALAS), received the 2019 Award for Educational Leadership from the Connecticut Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents (CALAS) as well as the 2019 Prospanica National Brillante Award for Educational Excellence.

Dr. Torres-Rodriguez is a member of the Governor's Workforce Council and serves on the Hartford Promise Board. She also co-chairs the Mayor's Cabinet for Young Children in Hartford.

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An Imperfect Leader: Leadership in (After) Action is supported by ILAA, LLC, a firm dedicated to supporting aspiring, new, and established leaders. For more information, please find them at www.human-centeredleaders.com.

Music for An Imperfect Leader was written and arranged by Ian Varley.

Sam Falbo created our artwork, a wood-print inspired daruma doll butterfly.

www.peterstiepleman.com