An Imperfect Leader: The Superintendents and Leadership Podcast

In this episode of An Imperfect Leader: Leadership in (After) Action, my guest is the Superintendent from Ferguson-Florissant, Dr. Joe Davis. In our conversation, we talk about programming for #STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math). We talk about #faith. We talk about how leaders monitor progress, and make midcourse course corrections, when needed. You can't talk with Joe Davis and not talk about his greatest passion - mathematics. Give a listen as he deconstructs a decision he made to train teachers to be the best #math teachers.

BIO: Dr. Joe Davis has been the Superintendent of the Ferguson-Florissant School District since 2015. He began his teaching career in North Carolina where he taught middle school and high school mathematics. Dr. Davis has been an assistant principal at both the middle school and high school levels and a principal at every level K-12. In 2012, Dr. Davis joined the Chicago Public Schools as Deputy Chief of Schools and then Superintendent of the Washington County Schools District until 2015.

This week on An Imperfect Leader, Dr. Deanna Ashby is my guest. Deanna is a retired superintendent who now works as a leader coach with Studer Education in Madisonville, Kentucky (link below). Deanna urges school leaders to pause and reflect before planning.

BIO:

Dr. Ashby's five years as a superintendent built a strong belief in education and her mission in the field. Working in public schools for 29 years, Deanna has come to consider education a calling that has a positive impact on the community.

Deanna has served as a high school business and marketing teacher, guidance counselor, elementary and high school principal, and district administrator, all in Hopkins County Schools.

Source: https://www.studereducation.com/

Dr. Ashby can be found on Twitter: @ashby_de

This week, Dr. Eric Knost, Superintendent of MERS/Missouri Goodwill Excel Center, a system of adult high schools.

During our conversation, we talk about the role of adult high schools and their ties to ecomomic development. We talk about leadership, specifically vulnerable and human-centered leadership.

BIO: Dr. Eric Knost is serving as the Superintendent of MERS/Missouri Goodwill Excel Center. Eric has thirty-four years' experience in the education field, and seventeen years of experience as a superintendent and deputy superintendent in three school districts in Iowa and Missouri.

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: This week, I am thrilled to spend time with a friend, Dr. Trisha Kocanda, Superintendent of Fremont 79, a PreK-8 school district outside of Chicago, IL.

During our conversation, we talk about vulnerable leadership (a shout out to Brene Brown!) and we talk about the process for reaching a shared image of what a graduate looks like (sometimes referred to as a portrait of a graduate). She unpacks something all leaders need to consider - succession planning.

BIO: Dr. Trisha Kocanda is the Superintendent of Fremont 79, a PreK through 8th grade district outside of Chicago. Prior to that, she served as Superintendent for Winnetka Public Schools District 36 for 8 years.

This week, I am thrilled to spend time with a friend, Dr. Sharonica Hardin-Bartley, Superintendent of The School District of University City.

During our conversation, we talked about storytelling, heroism, equity, and vulnerable leadership. I am grateful for Sharonica's willingness to be genuine and present. There is so much learning in this episode - for any leader in any industry!

BIO: Dr. Sharonica Hardin-Bartley "an outspoken advocate for racial equity, traumatic-informed practices and student voice in education. Before becoming a the University City's Superintendent, she was the assistant superintendent for human resources and leadership development for the Ritenour School District. Before that, she occupied a number of leadership roles over 15 years for the St. Louis Public Schools.

In 2021, she was awarded Missouri's Pearce Award. In January, 2022, she was named one of "Five Superintendents to Watch" nationally by "K-12 Dive" and then a month later, in February 2022, she was selected as a prestigious Children and Family Fellow by The Annie E. Casey Foundation.

This week, I am get to visit with Dr. Kevin Carl, Superintendent of Hancock Place, a school district outside of St. Louis.

Kevin talks about his first job at a batting cage. He gives his thoughts on the term an imperfect leader. He talks about learning how to be a little less impulsive when pursuing innovations. And he talks about the art and science of hiring teachers.

BIO: Kevin has served as superintendent for 12 years and is known across the state of Missouri as a thoughtful, open, and forthright leader. So, it was no great surprise when he was named the 2021 recipient of the Missouri Association of School Administrator's Pearce Award. Follow him on Twitter: @HancockSupt

What's with your logo? Some have asked me about my logo. It has to do with my tendency to be impatient. The butterfly is the result of a metamorphosis. So, too, should be decision making. Idea exploration is the caterpillar. The chrysalis stage suggests finance and staffing are being explored. And when we're ready to launch, well that's the butterfly stage. I needed this reminder on more than one occassion, which is why it became my logo. Lastly, the daruma doll at the center is a reminder of the goals we set and our constant work to achieve them.

Learn more about Imperfect Leaders:

www.human-centeredleaders.com

Music written and arranged by Ian Varley: https://soundcloud.com/inobscura

Artwork by Sam Falbo:

http://www.muxoxo.com/

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This week, I am thrilled to visit with a tremendous leader, Dr. Demond Means, Superintendent of the Wauwatosa School District, a school district just outside of Milwaukee.

During our conversation, an incredibly vulnerable reflection by Dr. Means included a decision he made early in his career as a central office leader. He skipped over principals and went directly to teachers during their continuous learning process.

I've done something similar. I remember being a new assistant superintendent and going to a family's kitchen table to problem solve issues their child was having at school. It was a marvelous meeting and I felt so good… until the next day… when I better understood how my actions undermined others.

You gotta listen to that part of the conversation and the importance of recognizing the different perspectives and roles in any given situation!

BIO:

Dr. Demond Means has spent two decades transforming culture, attaining exceptional organizational results, expanding access to enhanced opportunities to historically marginalized student populations, and shifting mindsets in school districts and communities across the country, fulfilling a passion to heighten achievement expectations, and eradicate inequities in education, opportunity, and access for marginalized populations.

Learn more about Imperfect Leaders:

www.human-centeredleaders.com

Music written and arranged by Ian Varley: https://soundcloud.com/inobscura

Artwork by Sam Falbo:

http://www.muxoxo.com/

In this episode of An Imperfect Leader: Leadership in (After) Action, Dr. Chris Gaines is my guest. Chris will describe the difficult decision to non-renew a teacher as his After-Action Review.

He will talk about the role of timing as a big factor in making a decision (and how he lost a bond election as a result of overlooking it). Additionally, he will give advice to aspiring leaders and leaders new to their positions.

Oh! You're going to hear Chris mention my presence on Twitter. What I said to him was that most of my followers used to be high school students lobbying for a snow day and me telling them to go to bed! But I took it out because it was me talking and talking and really, the interview is about what we learn from leaders and how they make decisions – not me reworking the an image of the constellations in the night sky to look like the words SNOW DAY!

BIO: Chris Gaines is in his 22nd year as a superintendent – having served 3 districts in that capacity. He also publishes the Chris Gaines Daily, a resource where I have found informative (and sometimes infuriating) articles.

Many listeners will also recognize Chris as a former President of AASA (American Association of School Administrators), the Superintendent's Association.

Learn more about Imperfect Leaders:

www.human-centeredleaders.com

Music written and arranged by Ian Varley: https://soundcloud.com/inobscura

Artwork by Sam Falbo:

http://www.muxoxo.com/

In this episode of An Imperfect Leader: Leadership in (After) Action, Dr. Jeanice Swift is my guest. Jeanice will describe introducing a program as her After-Action Review.

She will talk about phasing in major changes and being ok with delays. She will reference the room of adjacent possibilities and how "we make the path by walking it together." She will remind us to think about all the people impacted by decisions, not just some.

BIO: For more than thirty years, Dr. Jeanice Swift has been a classroom teacher, a teacher coach, a principal, and school district administrator. She has been the Superintendent of Schools for the Ann Arbor Public Schools since August 2013.

Jeanice was named the Michigan Superintendent of the Year by the Michigan Association of School Administrators and was recognized as a Superintendent to Watch by the National School Public Relations Association for demonstrating dynamic leadership with a strong emphasis on communication.

Learn more about Imperfect Leaders:

www.human-centeredleaders.com

Music written and arranged by Ian Varley.

Artwork by Sam Falbo.