One of the most rewarding parts of hosting Leaning Into Leadership is hearing from listeners who are doing the work every day.

In this episode, Darrin responds to a question from a first-year principal in upstate New York who asked a challenge many school leaders face:

How do you stay responsive to parents while still leading the school effectively?

Parent emails, phone calls, and concerns can quickly fill a leader’s day. Without systems in place, communication can pull leaders into a reactive cycle that leaves little time for the work that matters most.

Drawing from his own experience as a principal and from insights shared on the podcast, Darrin explores how leaders can break free from the Cycle of CHAOS and build systems that protect their time while strengthening communication with their school community.

Along the way, he shares practical strategies that help leaders communicate clearly, set expectations, and stay focused on their highest priorities.

This episode also highlights an idea shared by Rae Hughart in Episode 199 and connects to leadership lessons from Darrin’s book Road to Awesome: The Journey of a Leader.

At the heart of the conversation is a powerful reminder for every leader:

"Stop sacrificing the important on the altar of the urgent."

Resources Mentioned:

Road to Awesome: The Journey of a Leader

School Leader Weekly Planner

Episode 199 – Rae Hughart

Thank you to our Amazing Sponsors

This episode is brought to you by HeyTutor, delivering high-impact, research-based tutoring that supports students while reducing leadership overwhelm. Connect with them at HeyTutor.com

This episode is also sponored by DigiCoach, helping leaders capture real-time instructional data, provide meaningful feedback, and build clarity through strong systems. Go to digicoach.com and tell them you heard about them here on the Leaning into Leadership podcast for special partner pricing.

Leadership today often feels like navigating constant change.

Volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity are realities many leaders face daily. But resilience is not about simply pushing through the chaos — it’s about learning how to lead yourself and others through it.

In this episode, Darrin sits down with Russell Harvey, The Resilience Coach, to explore how leaders can build resilience in themselves and their teams while navigating the modern leadership landscape.

Russell shares powerful frameworks and practical strategies that help leaders move from overwhelm to clarity, from control to command, and from reactive leadership to intentional leadership.

This conversation offers practical insights for leaders who want to strengthen their mindset, support their teams more effectively, and build sustainable leadership habits.

1. Why resilience is one of the most important leadership skills today
2. The difference between being in control and being in command as a leader
3. How the VUCA framework explains the constant change leaders face
4. The importance of developing personal resilience before leading others
5. Why great leaders focus on delegating brilliantly and removing obstacles for their teams
6. How identifying your purpose can strengthen resilience and confidence
7. A practical strengths and skills grid exercise leaders can use immediately

A resilient leader focuses on three core responsibilities:

1. Delegate brilliantly based on the strengths of your team
2. Build and nurture a resilient team culture
3. Develop your own personal resilience

When leaders invest in these three areas, they create the conditions for trust, clarity, and stronger team performance.

Russell Harvey, known as The Resilience Coach, is a leadership coach, facilitator, speaker, and resilience expert with more than 20 years of experience in leadership and organizational development.

His work focuses on helping leaders and organizations build resilience in the face of constant change and uncertainty.

Russell works with leaders and organizations to develop practical strategies that improve leadership effectiveness, strengthen team relationships, and help individuals rediscover their energy and purpose.

Website: https://www.theresiliencecoach.co.uk

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/russelltheresiliencecoach/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theresiliencecoach/

Connect with Darrin

If this episode resonated with you and you're looking for support in developing stronger leadership teams, clearer systems, and healthier school cultures, connect with Darrin.

Website: https://darrinpeppard.com/

Thank you to our Amazing Sponsors

This episode is sponored by DigiCoach, helping leaders capture real-time instructional data, provide meaningful feedback, and build clarity through strong systems. Go to digicoach.com and tell them you heard about them here on the Leaning into Leadership podcast for special partner pricing.

This episode is also brought to you by HeyTutor, delivering high-impact, research-based tutoring that supports students while reducing leadership overwhelm. Connect with them at HeyTutor.com

One of the most common mistakes schools make is confusing a resource with a curriculum.

A textbook gets adopted. A program is purchased. A shiny new initiative is rolled out.

And suddenly everyone says, “Great… we have a curriculum.”

But that’s not curriculum.

In this episode, Darrin sits down with Emily Makelky from the Curriculum Leadership Institute (CLI) to unpack what curriculum actually means and why empowering teachers to lead curriculum development can transform how schools serve students.

Drawing on years of classroom experience and consulting with districts across the country, Emily shares how leaders can move beyond resource adoption and build sustainable curriculum systems that reflect their community, their teachers, and their students.

The conversation also explores how leadership teams can prioritize curriculum work, avoid overwhelming teachers, and create structures that support long-term improvement.

If you’ve ever wrestled with questions like “What should we really be teaching?” or “How do we align instruction across classrooms?” this episode offers practical insight for school and district leaders.

1. Why a textbook is not a curriculum
2. The difference between resources and true curriculum alignment
3. How schools can build local curriculum that reflects their community
4. Why teacher voice and teacher leadership are essential in curriculum development
5. How leaders can create systems and routines that support curriculum work
6. Why going slow to go fast matters when implementing curriculum changes
7. How districts can create a long-range plan for curriculum development

Just like when she was in the classroom, Emily loves it when the “lightbulb” comes on for teachers.

Combining her teaching experience with a foundation in business management, Emily now works as a consultant with the Curriculum Leadership Institute, helping schools and districts take a systematic approach to curriculum development and alignment.

Emily’s work focuses on helping educators clarify what should be taught, align instruction and assessment, and empower teachers to lead meaningful curriculum work within their schools.

Curriculum Leadership Institute

https://www.cliweb.org

Free tools and resources (including the Long Range Plan template)

https://www.cliweb.org/toolsandinspiration

Free Long Range Planning Session

https://calendly.com/d/3sk-z55-pg2/develop-your-long-range-plan

If this episode resonated with you and you're looking for support in developing stronger leadership teams, clearer systems, and healthier school cultures, connect with Darrin.

Website: https://darrinpeppard.com/

Thank you to our Amazing Sponsors

This episode is sponored by DigiCoach, helping leaders capture real-time instructional data, provide meaningful feedback, and build clarity through strong systems. Go to digicoach.com and tell them you heard about them here on the Leaning into Leadership podcast for special partner pricing.

This episode is also brought to you by HeyTutor, delivering high-impact, research-based tutoring that supports students while reducing leadership overwhelm. Connect with them at HeyTutor.com

This is Part 3 of a three-part series on leadership presence.

In Episode 262, we explored the hidden cost of distraction and how trust and psychological safety erode when leaders aren’t fully present.

In Episode 263, we discussed how to engineer margin through calendar integrity, decision discipline, and clarity around your top priorities.

Now we bring it home.

Because presence isn’t performance.

Presence is connection.

In this episode, Darrin dives into the relational and interpersonal work that makes leadership presence genuine — not polished, not performative, but real.

You’ll learn:

1. Why presence is more than eye contact and good posture
2. The three foundations of genuine presence:
3. Attention
4. Curiosity
5. Emotional regulation
6. Why you cannot fake nervous system safety
7. The danger of listening to fix instead of listening to understand
8. Four practical signals of authentic presence you can use immediately
9. Why follow-up is one of the most powerful leadership moves you can make

Darrin also shares a story from his superintendent experience that highlights the difference between listening to correct and listening to comprehend.

Reflection Question: Where do you need to replace fixing with listening?

Thank you to our Amazing Sponsors

This episode is brought to you by HeyTutor, delivering high-impact, research-based tutoring that supports students while reducing leadership overwhelm. Connect with them at HeyTutor.com

This episode is also sponored by DigiCoach, helping leaders capture real-time instructional data, provide meaningful feedback, and build clarity through strong systems. Go to digicoach.com and tell them you heard about them here on the Leaning into Leadership podcast for special partner pricing.

In Episode 262, we explored the hidden cost of distraction and how trust, psychological safety, and connection erode when leaders aren’t fully present. This is Part 2 of our three-part series on leadership presence.

In this episode, Darrin focuses on why distraction keeps happening — and how to intentionally break through the cycle of overwhelm.

Chaos isn’t loud.

It’s cumulative.

It’s the stacking of interruptions, back-to-back meetings, unresolved conversations, decision fatigue, and carrying problems that aren’t yours to carry. When leaders operate in survival mode, presence becomes nearly impossible.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

1. Why overwhelm — not incompetence — is the real issue
2. The difference between chaos being loud vs. cumulative
3. How to engineer margin into your leadership
4. The importance of calendar integrity
5. Why decision discipline protects your leadership capacity
6. How to clarify your Top Three priorities each week
7. How to use a simple 15-Minute Weekly Presence Audit

Plus, Darrin shares a free resource:

📥 The School Leaders Weekly Planner — a tool designed to help you schedule your priorities, build margin, and protect your presence. Download the free planner using the link here.

Reflection Question:

What on your calendar right now is stealing margin from the moments that matter most?

Find one thing. Change one thing. Break the chaos. Build the margin. Protect the moments.

Next up in Episode 264: The interpersonal work that makes leadership presence genuine and authentic.

Thank you to our Amazing Sponsors

This episode is sponored by DigiCoach, helping leaders capture real-time instructional data, provide meaningful feedback, and build clarity through strong systems. Go to digicoach.com and tell them you heard about them here on the Leaning into Leadership podcast for special partner pricing.

This episode is also brought to you by HeyTutor, delivering high-impact, research-based tutoring that supports students while reducing leadership overwhelm. Connect with them at HeyTutor.com

This episode kicks off a powerful three-part series on leadership presence.

In Part 1, Darrin explores the hidden cost of distraction and how leaders unintentionally erode trust, psychological safety, and emotional connection when they are not fully present.

Through personal stories from his time as a high school principal, Darrin shares moments of realization when distraction cost him relational depth — and what those experiences taught him about culture and leadership.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

1. Why presence is not “soft” — it’s culture work
2. The three things that erode when leaders aren’t fully present
3. The difference between productivity and true leadership impact
4. Why leadership is about stabilizing people, not just solving problems
5. A simple 60-Second Reset you can use before your next important conversation

Reflection Question:

Where this week does someone need the fully present version of you?

This episode sets the foundation for Part 2, where we’ll explore how to intentionally create margin and break the patterns that keep leaders stuck in distraction.

Thank you to our Amazing Sponsors

This episode is brought to you by HeyTutor, delivering high-impact, research-based tutoring that supports students while reducing leadership overwhelm. Connect with them at HeyTutor.com

This episode is also sponored by DigiCoach, helping leaders capture real-time instructional data, provide meaningful feedback, and build clarity through strong systems. Go to https://www.digicoach.com/ and tell them you heard about them here on the Leaning into Leadership podcast for special partner pricing.

In Episode 261, I’m coming to you on location from Edmond, Oklahoma, where I had the opportunity to sit down with my friend Joe Beckman at the OASSP conference.

Joe has spent more than 20 years traveling the world with one simple mission: reclaim human connection.

And if we’re honest, that mission has never been more urgent. Loneliness is at an all-time high. Belonging and self-worth feel fragile. Technology is louder than conversation. So what does that mean for school leaders?

In this conversation, Joe challenges us to rethink where connection lives on our priority list. It’s not one more thing on the plate.

It is the plate.

We talk about:

1. Why connection must be the foundation of leadership
2. The powerful “Chinette plate” analogy and what it means for culture
3. How storytelling builds trust and opens students’ minds
4. Why vulnerability accelerates connection in classrooms
5. The Big Tobacco → Big Tech comparison and what leaders must understand
6. How adults must model healthy tech boundaries
7. Why conferences and networks matter in fighting leadership isolation
8. The courage required to lean into difficult conversations

Joe also shares how he is personally leaning into leadership right now by stepping into uncomfortable spaces and using his voice where it matters most.

If you care about culture…If you care about your people… If you care about leading well in a distracted world…

This episode is for you.

Connect with Joe: www.joebeckman.com

Thank you to our Amazing Sponsors

This episode is sponored by DigiCoach, helping leaders capture real-time instructional data, provide meaningful feedback, and build clarity through strong systems. Go to https://www.digicoach.com/ and tell them you heard about them here on the Leaning into Leadership podcast for special partner pricing.

This episode is also brought to you by HeyTutor, delivering high-impact, research-based tutoring that supports students while reducing leadership overwhelm. Connect with them at HeyTutor.com

In this episode of Leaning Into Leadership, I’m joined by George Couros, one of the most influential voices in education around innovation, culture, and human-centered leadership.

George and I dig into his leadership journey — not from a place of “having it all figured out,” but from a place of learning out loud. We talk about how blogging helped him find his voice, not just share it, and why writing, reflection, and vulnerability matter more than ever for leaders.

We also explore the ideas behind George’s newest book, Forward Together: Moving Schools from Conflict to Community in Contentious Times, including:

1. Why trying to “win” arguments often pushes people further away
2. The reality that somebody hates you — and why that shouldn’t drive your leadership
3. The balance between comfort and challenge in professional learning (the “warm bath / cold shower”)
4. How leaders can move communities forward during polarized, emotionally charged times

We close with a powerful reflection on leadership and self-care, as George shares how prioritizing his health has changed not only how he leads — but how he models leadership for his own kids.

This is an honest, thoughtful, and deeply human conversation about what leadership really looks like right now.

You can learn more about George at his website

Grab his new book on Amazon

Here is the link to the blogpost I referenced in the show

Thank you to our Amazing Sponsors

This episode is brought to you by HeyTutor, delivering high-impact, research-based tutoring that supports students while reducing leadership overwhelm. Connect with them at HeyTutor.com

This episode is also sponored by DigiCoach, helping leaders capture real-time instructional data, provide meaningful feedback, and build clarity through strong systems. Go to https://www.digicoach.com/ and tell them you heard about them here on the Leaning into Leadership podcast for special partner pricing.

Ever left a leadership team meeting feeling like it was so productive—then realized a week later nothing really changed?

In this solo episode, Darrin unpacks why that gap between effort and impact is rarely about commitment—and almost always about clarity. Building on his “Cycle of Chaos” episode, he shares the ALIGN Framework, a practical system for strengthening team dynamics and keeping teams focused on what matters most.

1. Why strong teams drift into reactivity when clarity is missing
2. How alignment breaks the Cycle of Chaos—not just “working harder”
3. The ALIGN Framework for healthier team dynamics:
4. A — Agree on the Vision and Goals: Ensure everyone can name the top priorities in the same language
5. L — Language and Communication: Teams don’t just make decisions—they carry the message
6. I — Intentional Role Clarity: Clear ownership prevents duplication, avoidance, and frustration
7. G — Growth Through Cross-Training: Build continuity and empathy without eroding roles
8. N — Navigate with Intention: Protect focus, pause before adding initiatives, and stay anchored to priorities

1. If I asked each team member privately, would they name the same top three priorities?
2. Are we clear on what gets communicated, who communicates it, and how it’s framed?
3. Where might I be stepping in that’s keeping someone else from stepping up?
4. Are we moving the goal forward—or just filling the calendar?

If you’re thinking, “This sounds like my team, but we’re struggling to get there,” Darrin invites you to reach out for coaching, team support, or a leadership team alignment retreat designed to reset vision, roles, and priorities.

Connect with Darrin: darrinpeppard.com | roadtoawesome.net | @darrinmpeppard

Thank you to our Amazing Sponsors

This episode is brought to you by HeyTutor, delivering high-impact, research-based tutoring that supports students while reducing leadership overwhelm. Connect with them at HeyTutor.com

This episode is also sponored by DigiCoach, helping leaders capture real-time instructional data, provide meaningful feedback, and build clarity through strong systems. Go to https://www.digicoach.com/ and tell them you heard about them here on the Leaning into Leadership podcast for special partner pricing.

Weston Kieschnick has been in the work for a long time—as a classroom teacher, coach, author, and speaker—and this conversation feels like two colleagues reconnecting around what actually drives performance.

We dig into Weston’s newest work and the idea that the gap between high performers and underachievers usually isn’t talent. It’s behavior—especially in the moments when adversity hits.

1. Why “hidden work” is the difference-maker when no one is watching
2. The four performance pitfalls that derail people at every level:
3. Blame
4. Excuses
5. Self-deception
6. Giving up
7. The flips that top performers lean into instead:
8. Ownership
9. Solutions
10. Truth
11. Grit
12. A Shark Tank green-room story with Barbara Corcoran that perfectly frames ownership vs. blame
13. Why feedback is the raw material for performance—and how self-deception blocks growth
14. Weston’s take on “growability” and why self-awareness matters more than skill level
15. How Weston is leaning into leadership right now: staying a learner, and learning from great leaders in every space

When life gets hard, your default matters. You don’t rise to the level of your goals—you fall to the level of your patterns. This episode is a gut-check and a playbook.

Find Weston at WestonKieschnick.com and connect with him on social media to follow his work (and his “10-second truth” videos).

Thank you to our Amazing Sponsors

This episode is brought to you by HeyTutor, delivering high-impact, research-based tutoring that supports students while reducing leadership overwhelm. Connect with them at: https://heytutor.com/?utm_source=RTA&utm_medium=RTA&utm_campaign=RTA

This episode is also sponored by DigiCoach, helping leaders capture real-time instructional data, provide meaningful feedback, and build clarity through strong systems. Go to https://www.digicoach.com/ and tell them you heard about them here on the Leaning into Leadership podcast for special partner pricing.