Link to post on LinkedIn for book giveaway

Description:

Today’s interview will be a bit different as my guest is coming from four decades of leadership experience in the corporate arena. Despite the different setting, the leadership lessons will sound familiar to you. I think this discussion with someone coming from a different place invites us to reexamine fundamental leadership themes from a slightly different perspective.

Sponsor Spot 1:Administrators, you walk through classrooms, take notes, and you plan to follow up… but how much of that feedback actually reaches teachers in a meaningful way?With digiCOACH, you don’t just observe—you coach in the moment. Provide clear, specific feedback instantly and track progress over time. No more forgotten notes or lost opportunities—just real conversations that drive real change.With digiCOACH, you’re not just giving feedback—you’re building a system for growth. Track trends, measure progress, and give teachers the real-time feedback they love. Ready to make coaching more impactful? Start today at digiCOACH.com.

Show Intro

Guest Bio:

With over 30 years of leadership experience, Jim Carlough is an accomplished business strategist, speaker, and author. Having successfully driven explosive growth for healthcare organizations—from start-ups to industry leaders — Jim is a trusted expert in building high-performing teams, revitalizing underperforming businesses, and guiding organizations through transformational change. Jim's core philosophy—leaders aren’t born; they’re developed—challenges the myth of innate leadership. In his book, The Six Pillars of Effective Leadership: A Roadmap to Success, Jim delivers a practical and inspiring guide for leaders at every stage of their journey. His approach focuses on six essential traits that empower individuals to embrace leadership as a skill that can be learned, honed, and mastered through experience, mentorship, and intentional growth.

Warmup questions:

• We always like to start with a celebration. What are you celebrating today?
• Is there a story that will help listeners understand why you are doing what you do?

Questions/Topics/Prompts

• You’ve written a book based on your experiences and the leadership lessons you’ve learned from others. In The Six Pillars of Effective Leadership, you identify empathy and compassion as two of the six. I am really intrigued by this as my immediate reaction was, “aren’t these the same thing?” Help me understand…
• You shared with me in our email exchange you had a story involving a middle school principal that related to empathy and compassion. Can you share it?
• Your background is in the private sector and I noticed you were a VP of Client Development for Health Management Systems. I’ve done some work with corporate leaders and have been amazed at how similar being a VP is to being a school administrator. Corporate has their demands and the people you serve have a different set of demands, and you are right there in the middle trying to muddle your way through. Can you talk about this tension and then share some wisdom about how school leaders can navigate this?

Sponsor Spot 3:I want to thank IXL for sponsoring this podcast…
Everyone talks about the power of data-driven instruction. But what does that actually look like? Look no further than IXL, the ultimate online learning and teaching platform for K to 12. IXL gives you meaningful insights that drive real progress, and research can prove it. Studies across 45 states show that schools who use IXL outperform other schools on state tests. Educators who use IXL love that they can easily see how their school is performing in real-time to make better instructional decisions.
And IXL doesn’t stop at just data. IXL also brings an entire ecosystem of resources for your teachers, with a complete curriculum, personalized learning plans, and so much more. It’s no wonder that IXL is used in 95 of the top 100 school districts. Ready to join them? Visit ixl.com/assistant to get started.

Closing questions:

• What part of your own leadership are you still trying to get better at?
• If listeners could take just one thing away from today’s podcast, what would it be?
• Before we go, is there anything else that you’d like to share with our listeners?
• Where can people learn more about you and your work…

Sponsor Spot 4:Before we wrap, I’d like to thank Kaleidoscope Adventures for sponsoring today’s show. Lots of companies can help you organize class trips, but Kaleidoscope helps you organize adventures – because isn’t that what student trips should be? Kaleidscope is a full-service tour company offering a range of adventure opportunities and they excel at customizing trips based on your unique context, needs, and goals. Kaleidoscope offers exceptional travel experiences for students (and their group leaders). Thinking about student travel? Reach out to Kaleidoscope using the link in the show notes.

Summary/wrap up

• Whether you are in a school or the private sector, you can’t lead from your office (MBWA)
• Tasks versus people; tension between priorities
• Transparency, honesty, information => trust (integrity)
• Even during an end, your work matters (should be much easier in education, but we need to stay compassionate by supporting and growing our people)
• Link in the show notes – free books to the first three who comment on our LinkedIn post!

Thank you to our sponsors!

• IXL: https://www.ixl.com/assistant 
• Kaleidoscope Adventures: https://www.kaleidoscopeadventures.com/the-assistant-principal-podcast-kaleidoscope-adventures/
• digiCOACH: https://digicoach.com/ 

Jim’s links:

FaceBook: http://www.facebook.com/jimcarloughms

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jimcarloughmotivation/

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/jimcarloughms

YouTube: www.youtube.com/@jimcarloughms

Frederick’s Links:

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://www.frederic...