Accelerate Your Performance

The health of a school district is a leading indicator of the health of a community. That's what our guests in this episode of the Accelerate Your Performance podcast share. Today, Dr. Janet Pilcher invites Dale Shaver, Director of Waukesha County Department of Parks and Land Use, and Laura Catherman, Director of the Waukesha-Ozaukee-Washington Workforce Development Board, to discuss how to b...

There is a subconscious behavior that is common in organizations and can be dangerous to the culture. It's called We/They communication. We/They communication occurs when a leader or employee positions themselves positively at the expense of someone else. We've all done it at one time or another, probably not realizing that it is harmful. We/They communication can have damaging consequen...

What does it take to develop high-performing leaders? In this episode of the Accelerate Your Performance podcast, Dr. Sally Sugg, the Superintendent of Shelby County Public Schools in Shelbyville, Kentucky, joins us as our guest. Dr. Janet Pilcher interviews Dr. Sugg on the importance of leadership development. Dr. Sugg explains why she thinks leadership development is such a critical component fo...

The teacher is the most important variable that affects student achievement. Going into this new academic year, our schools face significant teacher shortages. In the last few podcast episodes, we have focused on this topic and ways to work toward a solution for teacher recruitment and retention. In this episode of the Accelerate Your Performance podcast, Dr. Janet Pilcher discusses the importance...

A current issue many leaders in education face is lower numbers of teachers entering the field and a growing number of teachers leaving. What will it take to address this issue? How can leaders help keep their high-performing teachers and help them feel satisfied in their jobs? This podcast episode is a call to action for leaders to shift their focus to retaining teachers and staff. Dr. Janet Pilc...

How can leaders keep their high-performing teachers? Recent studies indicate that helping employees feel valued and appreciated is key. One study found that 93% of employees who reported feeling valued at work said that they are more motivated to do their best. Another study found that 79% who left their job reported that a lack of appreciation was a key factor for leaving. In this week’s Accelera...

55% of educators indicate they’re ready to leave the profession earlier than planned due to burnout. In this episode of the Accelerate Your Performance Podcast, Dr. Sarah Miller, Director of Partnership and Student Services for TeacherReady, and Dr. Amy Fowler, Coach Director Studer Education Team join us to talk about teacher retention and recruitment. They discuss the most common factors for tea...

Safety is debatably one of humanity's foremost values. We desire to not only survive but to also feel safe and secure. How much more important is this ideology to the development of children? The safety within schools and colleges should be sought after with determination, not only for the students, but for the parents, staff, and surrounding community. In today’s episode, Dr. Janet Pilcher i...

Many leaders within education are experiencing higher turnover rates than usual. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that 300,000 teachers and school staff left the field between February 2020 and May of this year. In this episode of the Accelerate Your Performance podcast, Dr. Janet Pilcher discusses a reflection she had while driving in her car after a session where members of her team pre...

What does it take to help prepare students for life beyond the classroom? As you'll hear in today's episode, our guest, Dr. Mark Martin, shares that dreaming big and thinking outside the box have a tremendous impact on students. Dr. Martin is the Superintendent of Meade County Schools in Brandenburg, Kentucky. His bold and innovative leadership is a model for us all. Listen as he discuss...

In preparation for our in-person event, Destination High Performance: Organizational Excellence , on July 28th and 29th, Dr. Janet Pilcher discusses how leaders can practice synthesizing to help them see the bigger picture. Most individuals and leaders stop at analysis, but Dr. Pilcher explains how it is important to go the step further and combine our analyses from multiple sources of information...

Making sure that parents and students feel heard and that students feel supported in their learning and growth are key responsibilities for a leader in education. How can you sincerely, methodically, and purposefully show them that you are doing everything you can to listen to them and take action? Listen as Dr. Janet Pilcher interviews the 2022 recipient of the Human Rights Award, Matt Hillmann,...

We all face adversity from time to time at work. Maybe we don't achieve the goals we had hoped to. Perhaps an unexpected challenge keeps us from making the progress we wanted to. It's these times when our inner drive must keep us going. Our inner drive helps infuse us with a sense of purpose in our work and brings meaning to it. It brings an urgency to stay committed to doing our best ev...

Can implementing health and wellness practices positively impact leadership and the performance of an organization overall? According to Krystal Lomanto, County Superintendent of San Bonito County Office of Education, developing and supporting the health and wellness of employees can not only impact leadership and the performance of an organization, but it is imperative to leaders in leading the o...

Each day we are faced with our own battles and wars that we must push through, whether that be in the workplace, at home, in our own minds, figuratively, or literally. As many people know, there is a current battle being waged in Ukraine, and while we frequently hear about it on the news and from those around us, life still must go on. But how does it continue for some of the individuals who are v...

Have you ever positioned yourself in a positive light while delivering difficult news or information at the expense of another colleague or department? Has a coworker ever done this to you? Placing blame in the workplace can subconsciously erode the organization’s culture. It can create lose-lose scenarios for all the individuals involved. However, when modeling positive and respectful communicati...

Learn how gratitude can transform the culture of your organization. Tune in as Dr. Janet Pilcher provides three concrete steps to integrate gratitude into your daily operations, creating a workplace where your team feels valued and deeply connected. Recommended Resources: Make Recognition a Habit , Building an Emotional Bank Account , Give the Simple Gifts

Have you ever worked with someone who did the minimum just to get by? Maybe you've even heard someone say "That's not my job." These are examples of people not owning the work. To be our best at work, we must be owners of our work. When we own our work, it builds confidence, and it positively impacts our colleagues as well. In this episode, Dr. Janet Pilcher shares key characte...

How can we do better?   That is the question that drives a culture of continuous improvement. It involves listening to people and taking an authentic look at the data on how the organization is performing. It involves accountability in measuring the important things an organization values. That's how our guest in this episode puts it as he speaks about his journey to building a culture of con...

Do you ever feel reluctant to give the people you lead big challenges? How do you know when it's time to push an employee out of the nest to allow them to grow as a leader? When we step back, we can give our people a chance to problem solve, shine, and build a sense of ownership. In this episode, Dr. Janet Pilcher shares powerful leadership lessons from a former park ranger. Listen as she ref...

Clarity in focus is critical for organizations to stay on track in challenging times. As you'll see, our guests today are shining examples of staying the course amid uncertainty and change. In this episode, Dr. Kelly Thompson and Jeff Petersen from Muskego-Norway Schools in Muskego, Wisconsin join us. Kelly serves as Superintendent in the district, and Jeff serves as Assistant Superintendent...

Belonging is essential to human beings. Psychologists rank our need to belong on par with our need for love. People need to feel like they belong at work. This is more important than ever in workplaces, especially following the disruptions many of us have experienced due to COVID. We don't see our co-workers as often, and sometimes we may feel excluded. Our colleagues may feel like that too a...

The work of continuous improvement is a journey. It requires commitment and hard work, the results of which can be so powerful, as the story of our guests in today's episode attests. In this episode, the Superintendent of the Estacada School District, Ryan Carpenter, joins us, along with Studer Education Leader Coach, Dr. Kathy Oropallo— or Kathy, as we like to call her.  Ryan and Kathy recen...

The landscape of the educational system is continuously changing-- and particularly so right now. Across the country, there is a struggle to fill the demand for teaching positions in high-need areas. As today's guest puts it, it's calling us to unthink and rethink teacher preparation programs. In this episode, Dr. Sarah Miller, Director of Partnership and Student Services for TeacherRead...

Expressing sincere appreciation to others for great work is a culture changer. It boosts morale and motivates others to continue their great work. It increases engagement. Rewarding and recognizing people takes little time, and the impact is significant. In this episode, Dr. Janet Pilcher talks about the power of sincere appreciation and discusses how we can establish recognition systems in our or...