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The School Leadership Show

This is the School Leadership Show. Learn everything you need to know to thrive in school administration. The School leadership show is where ordinary school administrators become extraordinary leaders. The only podcast dedicated to helping practicing and aspiring school leaders realize their potential, advance their careers, and achieve work-life balance, The School Leadership Show brings together the greatest minds from inside and outside of education to deliver you the insights and tools you need to succeed in school leadership.
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Now displaying: Category: Educational Leadership
Jun 11, 2022

In this episode, Jenn David-Lang of The Main Idea and I discuss the book Street Data: A Next-Generation Model for Equity, Pedagogy, and School Transformation by Shane Safir  and Jamila Dugan. We talk about what street data is and why we should care about it, equity traps and tropes, a new framework for approaching school improvement, changing pedagogy, and changing adult culture all to support improving teaching and learning.

Jenn has done a Main Idea summary of the book, and If you would like a copy, you can email her at Jenn@TheMainIdea.net

As always, send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.  Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues.  If you or someone you know would like to sponsor the show, send me an email at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.

May 12, 2022

In this special and short episode, Jenn David-Lang of The Main Idea and I discuss leadership resilience in the context of three must-read books that Jenn has summarized and that we recorded podcasts about:

These three books are a great place to start if you want to dig more deeply into the idea of leadership resilience.

Send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.  Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues.  If you or someone you know would like to sponsor the show, send me an email at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.

Feb 10, 2022
In this episode, Jenn David-Lang of The Main Idea and I have a conversation with Joe Jones and T.J. Vari about their book Candid and Compassionate Feedback: Transforming Everyday Practice in Schools. We talk about how leaders can empower teachers and change culture with an approach to feedback that can be challenging for many leaders who have developed ineffective habits over time. We could have gone on for hours. These gentlemen bring a level of experience and insight to school leadership that is both refreshing and instructive. You can learn more about their work at their website: TheSchoolHouse302.com.

Send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.  Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues.  If you or someone you know would like to sponsor the show, send me an email at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.

Aug 20, 2018

In this episode sometimes co-host Dan White and I get into all things teams - how to build them, how to think about the larger context, and much more.


Send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.  Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues. If you or someone you know would like to sponsor the show, send me an email at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.

Aug 13, 2018

In this episode occasional co-host Dan White and I interview, Noah, a recent high school graduate about his experiences in a typical Upstate New York High School.  Noah’s candid assessment of what works and what doesn’t in our classrooms is refreshing and compelling. And it’s certainly not all rainbows and unicorns.


Send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.  Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues. If you or someone you know would like to sponsor the show, send me an email at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.

Dec 23, 2017

During this conversation, Jenn and I talk about her summary of the book The Mindful School Leader: Practices to Transform Your Leadership and School, a book by Valerie Brown and Kirsten Olson.  We both make a case for the need for school administrators to develop their own mindfulness practices.  Science, stories, and strategies.  It’s all here.  And if you don’t think you have time for mindfulness practices, then you need them more than anyone.  

You can reach Jenn at her website for The Main Idea (www.themainidea.net).  I’m a happy subscriber of The Main Idea and a big fan of Jenn’s work.  She’s offered to send listeners of this episode a free summary of The Mindful School Leader if you send her an email at J.David-Lang@TheMainIdea.net.  It’s definitely worth the time.  Enjoy this interview with Jenn David-Lang.

Send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.  Consider rating the podcast in itunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues.  If you would like to support the show, visit www.patreon.com/leadership.

Nov 27, 2017

Jenn David-Lang makes her fifth appearance on the show.  She still holds the record.  And there’s a reason I keep talking to Jenn - I always learn so much.  Jenn produces The Main Idea (http://www.themainidea.net/), a monthly summary of a current education book.  Jenn has over 30,000 subscribers and has an incredible perspective on all things education.  We talk about David Allen’s updated edition of his classic Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity.  We get into Allen’s organizational system to help “people with too much to do and too little time,” Jenn’s words.

You can reach Jenn at her website for The Main Idea (www.themainidea.net).  I’m a happy subscriber of The Main Idea and a big fan of Jenn’s work.  She’s offered to send listeners of this episode a free summaries of Getting Things Done if you send her an email at J.David-Lang@TheMainIdea.net.  It’s definitely worth the time.  Enjoy this interview with Jenn David-Lang.

Send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.  Consider rating the podcast in itunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues.  If you would like to support the show, visit www.patreon.com/leadership.

Apr 19, 2016

 

In this episode I interview Dr. Maurice Elias, an accomplished author and professor of clinical psychology and clinical health at Rutgers University.   He is also the director of the Rutgers Social-Emotional Learning Lab, and Academic Director of The Collaborative, Rutgers' Center for Community-Based Research and Service.  Maurice and I talk about the importance of social emotional learning and character development, particularly when it comes to adolescents.   We get into emotional intelligence, misconceptions about SEL, what’s most important for school leaders to know, trauma-informed care, fostering a supportive climate, and mistakes to avoid.  Maurice mentions several helpful links during the interview including the following:

He also blogs at edutopia.org: http://www.edutopia.org/user/67.  And I encourage you to check out his book The Other Side of the Report Card: Assessing Students' Social, Emotional, and Character Development.  I found it on Amazon.com.  You can learn more about Maurice and his work at http://www.secdlab.org/.

As always, send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.  Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues.

 

Feb 6, 2016

In this episode I interview Doug Stone, one of the authors (along with Sheila Heen) of the book Thanks for the Feedback and Jenn David-Lang who summarized the book for her Main Idea publication.  We have a spirited discussion about the different types of feedback, why giving and receiving feedback can be so difficult, and how to get better at both sides of the process.  You can reach Jenn at her website for The Main Idea (www.themainidea.net) or on Twitter @The_Mainidea.  I’m a happy subscriber of The Main Idea, and a big fan of Jenn’s work.  Doug can be reached through his consulting group’s website at triadconsultinggroup.com/.  After you read Thanks for the Feedback, check out one of Doug’s other books: Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most.

As always, send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.  Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues.

If you’d like help improving your productivity and leadership skills, please contact me at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com or on Twitter @doughtymike.

Jan 29, 2016

 

In this episode I interview Andrew Sykes of Habits at Work (www.habitsatwork.com and www.bratlab.com).  His company helps organizations of all kinds tap their greatest source of competitive advantage - their people.  Andrew and I talk about the pivotal habits that are essential for helping companies (and schools) foster the health, happiness, and security of all their employees.  Time flew during this interview.  Andrew had so many great things to share about how to develop habits to improve all aspects of your professional and personal life that we may need to do a part two.  You can reach Andrew by email at andrew@habitsatwork.com and on Twitter @sykesandrew.  Enjoy this interview with Andrew Sykes.

As always, send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.  Consider rating the podcast in itunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues.

If you’d like help improving your productivity and leadership skills, please contact me at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com or on twitter @doughtymike.

Jan 25, 2016

If you’re a school administrator, you probably spend more time than you would like in meetings of all kinds.  In this episode Jeff Cimmerer and I talk about all things meetings - things that bug us, strategies to improve their effectiveness, and ways to avoid scheduling them in the first place.  It is possible to reduce the number of meetings you attend and make the ones you have to have more effective.  We rant and rave a little bit, but end up providing some pretty solid tips and advice.

You can reach Jeff to complain about this episode at drjpc21@gmail.com or on Twitter @jeffcimmerer.  If you’d like help improving your leadership skills and knowledge, please contact me at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com or on twitter @doughtymike. 

Send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.  Consider rating the podcast in itunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues.

Jan 13, 2016

 

Ever since I read her book Every Patient Tells a Story, I have wanted to talk to Dr. Lisa Sanders.  Dr. Sanders is a physician, author, and teacher of physicians.  Her speciality is what works and what doesn’t work in the process of diagnosis.  We talk about everything from how the process of diagnosis is like a detective story and how the cognitive biases inherent in the process apply to decision making for school leaders.  We get into health, wellness, work-life balance (spinning multiple plates), diet, exercise, burnout, and how to get comfortable with uncertainty.  We even talk about Dr. Sanders’s favorite and least favorite TV shows about doctors.  Enjoy this interview with Dr. Lisa Sanders.

Send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com. Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues.


If you’d like help improving your productivity skills, please contact me at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com or on twitter @doughtymike.

Dec 20, 2015

If you’re like me, you probably get a lot of email, and it’s one of the worst parts of your job.  If email is the best part of your job, then you need a new job.  In this episode Dr. Jeff Cimmerer and I talk about all things email - its history, how people use and misuse it, strategies for managing it, and much more.  While email isn’t one of those things that’s likely to make your career, using email inappropriately could send you into obscurity, or worse, unemployment.  You can get control of your email in a positive way and spend more time with your friends and family.  It’s time to stop letting this “tool” control your life.  For more on mastering email consider listening to my interview with Merlin Mann.


If you’d like help improving your productivity skills, please contact me at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com or on twitter @doughtymike.

Dec 8, 2015

In this episode I interview author, coach, triathlete, and competitive mountain bike rider Selene Yeager.  Bicycling Magazine calls her the Fit Chick, and she was a lot of fun to talk to.  Selene is a regular contributor to many different fitness magazines on training, nutrition, and injury prevention.  I became a big fan when Selene’s article Sitting is the New Smoking appeared as the cover story in Runners World in 2013.  We talk about how school administrators can combat the health effects of sitting in too many meetings. We also get into strategies for getting yourself to exercise like, “because it feels good, and I enjoy it.”  Selene shares several of her personal productivity tips and routines as well as the projects she’s currently pursuing. We may need to do a part two.

To learn more about Selene and her work follow her on twitter @FitChick3 and visit her website: seleneyeager.com/.  Enjoy this interview with Selene Yeager.

Nov 7, 2015

In this episode I interview political reporter, television pundit, and author Eleanor Clift. Eleanor is a regular contributor to The Daily Beast and has a long history covering national politics - every presidential election since 1976.  Many people know Eleanor as a perennial panelist on the syndicated talk show, “The McLaughlin Group.”  I started watching “The Group” as a high school student in the early 90s, and I’ve been a faithful viewer ever since.  Eleanor and I talk about writing, communication with new media, what makes a good leader, and the challenges facing K-12 education.  She even predicts the candidates and the outcome of the 2016 presidential election.


To learn more about Eleanor and her work visit http://www.eleanorclift.com/.  Enjoy this interview with Eleanor Clift.

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