We all want to attain excellence - some of us are just more systematic and focused on how to get there. Today's guest, Dr. JoAnn Sternke cautions, "You'll never achieve excellence if you don't have purpose, focus and alignment." In this episode, Janet and JoAnn discuss how to better align operational leaders and teams to realize their impacts in academic organizations. When we bring operational and department leaders together with school and classroom leaders, good things happen.

This episode answers questions such as:

• What obstacles stop operational leaders from getting on board with continuous improvement?
• How can we help operations employees recognize they are doing meaningful work?
• What can we do to best support department leaders in implementing cycles of improvement?

Download JoAnn's Communication Toolkit: Communicate with Greater Clarity: Leveraging the Execution Triangle

Recommended Resources: Collect the Right Data to Reflect: Results from High Performing Operations Leaders, How Well Does Your Team Focus?, Bobsled Alignment & Short Cycle Planning: 8 Tips to Help You Better Plan for the Year Ahead 
Recommended Podcasts: Strong Teams Don't Happen by Chance, Words Have Power, Who Hears What When? & To Innovate Focus on Value