Lassoing Leadership

Episode Summary In this episode, Beck Tinch from Harvard’s Project Zero joins us to talk about what it means to slow down in a digital age. We explore her participatory research with young people, what attention restoration actually looks like in practice, and how educators and parents can approach AI and social media with more intention and less fear. Keywords digital thriving, attention restorat...

Episode Summary In this episode, Beck Tinch from Harvard's Project Zero joins us to talk about what it means to slow down in a digital age. We explore her participatory research with young people, what attention restoration actually looks like in practice, and how educators and parents can approach AI and social media with more intention and less fear. Keywords digital thriving, attention rest...

Summary Garth and Jason explore digital wellness, the arrival of generative AI in schools, and why values will guide educators further than rules. Drawing on research from Harvard's Project Zero and the work of Beck Tench, they set the table for next week's conversation. Full show notes Ted Lasso arrived in Richmond to coach a game he did not know. Many educators feel the same way about AI...

Summary In this episode, Kathy Bishop joins us to talk about leadership rooted in values, the wisdom found in nature, and why both matter more than ever if we want leaders who last. We explore how naming what we truly value can protect against burnout, and how stepping outside, literally, can restore the kind of clarity that sustains a leader over the long haul. Keywords values-based leadership, w...

Summary In this episode, Jason Rogers and Garth Nichols explore leadership lessons from Ted Lasso season four and insights from expert Kathy Bishop on values-based leadership and well-being. Keywords Leadership, Ted Lasso, Values-Based Leadership, Well-Being, Burnout, Team Culture, Emotional Support, Leadership Development Key Topics Leadership lessons from Ted Lasso season four Values-based leade...

Summary In this episode, we sit with the quiet shift happening in schools and homes alike, from content to connection. Jake Ernst helps us understand what young people are losing in a digital age, why co-regulation has to come before self-regulation, and what it actually looks like for parents and educators to become a steady presence for the kids in their care. Keywords social health, co-regulati...

Episode Summary In this episode, Jason Rogers and Garth Nichols move past belief and into practice. They sit down with Jake Ernst to talk about what it actually takes to build mental health, connection, and co-regulation into the daily life of a school. The conversation covers practical tools, honest stories, and a look ahead at the resources coming this season to support social health and emotion...

Summary There is a version of kindness that gets mistaken for softness. Joanna Povall spent this conversation dismantling it. As Principal of Wales International School in Abu Dhabi and author of Kind Leadership , Joanna has built her framework, CHASE, around a claim that runs against the grain of most leadership advice: that communication, honesty, accountability, self esteem, and ego management...

SUMMARY In this episode, Garth and Jason sit with the themes of kind leadership, trust, and mental health in education. Drawing on insights from Joanna Povall's book, Kind Leadership: Leading Schools with Empathy, Honesty and Impact, the conversation moves from communication and honesty through to ego and humility, with a preview of upcoming conferences and speakers worth watching this season. KEY...

Summary We have spent three seasons building this podcast around a simple bet: that a sitcom about a losing football club could teach us something true about leading schools. Season Four asks a harder question than the ones we started with. Not whether to believe. What to do once belief is not enough on its own. That is the idea behind Beyond Believe, and it framed everything Garth and I talked ab...

Summary In this episode, we explore the future of independent schools, leadership challenges, and the impact of AI with Anand Mahadevan, Executive Director of CAIS. Discover insights on continuous improvement, community engagement, and adapting to rapid technological change. Keywords independent schools, leadership, AI in education, continuous improvement, community engagement, school accreditatio...

Summary In this episode, Joe Wilson discusses the human stories behind AI development, the hidden labour involved, and the importance of critical thinking about AI narratives. He emphasizes understanding the human stack and encourages skepticism and curiosity in AI adoption. Keywords AI, human stories, labour, critical thinking, AI narratives, technology, ethics, education, AI development, societa...

Generative AI in Education: Insights from Leading Thought Leaders Summary Discover the transformative potential and practical applications of generative AI in education through discussions with top educators and industry experts. This episode explores innovative use cases, leadership strategies, ethical considerations, and how schools can prepare for an AI-driven future. Take Aways Diverse perspec...

Summary There is a question sitting underneath most conversations about generative AI in schools right now. Not whether it belongs in the classroom. That debate is largely settled. The harder question is what happens to the parts of learning that cannot be automated. For this episode of Season 3, Garth Nichols and Jason Rogers put that question to a panel of education experts: Alan Gertner, Justin...

Summary Some leadership lessons arrive through frameworks. Others arrive on four legs. In this episode, Garth and Jason sit down with Robyn Meagher and Jason Dorland, whose book Ike traces the impact one animal had on how they think about vulnerability, joy, and connection. Their journey is not a typical leadership origin story, and that is part of what makes it worth hearing. Ike became a mirror...

Summary What does it mean to achieve something today, when the paths that used to define success are shifting under everyone's feet? That question sat at the center of our conversation with Asheesh Advani, CEO of Junior Achievement Worldwide and author of Modern Achievement . Ashish has spent his career watching how young people define success, and what he is seeing now is a generation navigat...

Summary Hospitality is not a department. It is a posture. That was the thread running through our conversation with Mia Berloni, CEO of Teatro Group, as Garth and I dug into the idea of unreasonable hospitality and what it actually asks of a leader. Mia has spent her career inside rooms where the smallest gesture, a remembered name, a note passed at the right moment, can matter more than the meal...

Summary In this inspiring episode, psychologist and author Dr. Jody Carrington shares insights on the importance of authentic connection, emotional regulation, and leadership in education. Discover practical strategies to foster social health, build resilient teams, and lead with heart in challenging times. Keywords leadership, education, emotional regulation, social health, authentic connection,...

Summary Every school has a plan. Fewer schools have a strategy. That distinction is where Garth and I began our conversation with Tom Olverson, author of Leading Through Strategy and The Architect Leader . Tom has spent years helping organizations separate the two, and what became clear early on is that a plan is a list of things to do, while a strategy is a set of integrated choices about where y...

ABOUT THIS EPISODE We have been circling this topic for a while. AI is everywhere in our schools right now, and the loudest conversations tend to be about policy and tools, about what students should or should not be allowed to do. But in this episode, Garth and Jason slow down and ask a different set of questions: What is this moment actually asking of us as leaders? What does it mean to be liter...

Summary Garth and Jason have been asking a lot of questions this season on Beard's Book Club. Questions about what it means to lead well, to show up with intention, and to stay human in a world that keeps moving faster than most of us feel ready for. This conversation with Kate Arthur might be the one that reframes all of those questions. We have been thinking a lot lately about what it actual...

Summary There is a question we keep coming back to. Not as a thought experiment. As a genuine, uncomfortable, sit-with-it question: where does the authority lie now? That is what Kate Arthur put on the table when Garth and I sat down with her for this episode of Season 3. Kate is a thinker at the crossroads of literacy, generative AI, and what it means to know something in a world where the answer...

Summary Some leaders manage from a distance. Claude Silver leads from the inside out. As Chief Heart Officer at VaynerMedia, Claude has built a career around a simple but demanding premise: that how people feel at work is not a soft concern sitting alongside strategy. It is the strategy. In this conversation, Garth and I dig into what that actually looks like in practice, and what it demands of th...

Episode Summary In this episode of Lassoing Leadership , Jason and Garth sit down with Claude Silver, Chief Heart Officer at VaynerMedia and author of Be Yourself at Work . Claude has built her career around a simple but powerful belief: workplaces perform better when leaders focus on the humans first. Throughout the conversation, Claude shares what it means to lead with vulnerability, why emotion...

Summary In this episode of Lassoing Leadership , Jason and Garth explore what it really means to “be yourself at work” through the lens of Work That’s Worth It and the leadership philosophy of Claude Silver. Together, they unpack why authenticity in leadership is harder than it sounds, especially in environments where professionalism can sometimes become performance. The conversation explores emot...