An Imperfect Leader: The Superintendents and Leadership Podcast

Jamie Almanzán and I are thrilled to announce today's guest on An Imperfect Leader is Superintendent Deb Smith of Fort Washakie School s in Fremont District 21 on the Wind River Reservation, Wyoming. A proud member of the Eastern Shoshone Tribe and descendant of the NORTHERN ARAPAHO TRIBE INC , Deb has been recognized for her leadership, including being featured in the WYOMING ASSOCIATION OF SCHOO...

Jamie Almanzán and I are thrilled to announce our guest, Dr. Shelley Berman, a veteran superintendent with over 28 years of experience across Massachusetts, Kentucky, and Oregon. He's also the co-author of  The Call to Courage , a timely book co-written with Dr. Luvelle Brown, Superintendent of Ithaca. In this episode, Shelley delves into the growing ideological divisions and attacks on public edu...

In this episode of An  Imperfect Leader: The Superintendents and Leadership Podcast,   Jamie Almanzán (of The Equity Collaborative ) and I took a journey with  Dr. Christina Kishimoto , who shared her remarkable leadership experiences from Connecticut to Arizona to Hawaii to Voice4Equity LLC .   We dove into the unique challenges of leading Hawaii's only statewide school district, covering 10,000+...

Welcome to Season Three of An Imperfect Leader: The Superintendents and Leadership Podcast. We're beginning this season with something truly special—we have a co-host! Jamie Almanzán , a partner and equity coach at The Equity Collaborative , will be joining me this season. Jamie brings a wealth of experience in equity work and leadership coaching, and I'm thrilled to have him help us dive even dee...

INTRO:  In this episode of An Imperfect Leader, we have a very special guest.  The Chief Ruckus Maker of Better Leaders Better Schools , Danny Bauer, is here. You might be asking yourself what makes a Ruckus Maker. I assure you, I ask Danny that in the episode. Let me set the stage a little bit about why today is exciting. Danny describes himself as: An UNORTHODOX leadership coach and who loves to...

Intro: Hartford, Connecticut was the location of my very first hockey game. The Hartford Whalers vs the NY Rangers. And what a scene it was. During the second period, there was an obvious offense because both benches cleared and both teams were absolutely brawling! I find myself in Hartford at least once a year and so every year, I revisit, in my mind, that very violent episode in my life. But now...

Hello, Imperfect Leaders! INTRO:   Evaluations. In every single profession, employees are evaluated. They are evaluated by their direct supervisors or evaluated by a board of directors. Often they are evaluated by the people they lead in the form of a survey (often referred to as a 360 survey). Plus, there are informal evaluations conducted by the community over social media (those can be brutal)....

INTRO:  In this episode, Matt Robbins is my guest. Matt is the Superintendent of the Daviess County Public Schools in Daviess County, Kentucky. What's different about Matt is that he didn't follow a traditional route to the superintendency. His background is in finance. In this episode, we talk a little about how his past experiences help him in his current job. In Part 2, in his After Action Revi...

Hello Imperfect Leaders!  It's summer!! And for leaders, that means reflection. And it means planning for the coming year. It is for that reason that this week's episode is an encore episode specifically picked with your upcoming year in mind.  As Labor Day approaches, Season 3 will kick off. And I am so excited about THAT because   Jamie Almanzán from The Equity Collaborative will be joining me a...

Hello Imperfect Leaders!  It's summer!! And for leaders, that means reflection. And it means planning for the coming year. It is for that reason that this week's episode is an encore episode specifically picked with your upcoming year in mind.  As Labor Day approaches, Season 3 will kick off. And I am so excited about THAT because   Jamie Almanzán from The Equity Collaborative will be joining me a...

 Hello Imperfect Leaders!  It's summer!! And for leaders, that means reflection. And it means planning for the coming year. It is for that reason that this week's episode is an encore episode specifically picked with your upcoming year in mind.  As Labor Day approaches, Season 3 will kick off. And I am so excited about THAT because   Jamie Almanzán from The Equity Collaborative will be joining me...

 Hello Imperfect Leaders!  It's summer!! And for leaders, that means reflection. And it means planning for the coming year. It is for that reason that this week's episode is an encore episode specifically picked with your upcoming year in mind.  As Labor Day approaches, Season 3 will kick off. And I am so excited about THAT because   Jamie Almanzán from The Equity Collaborative will be joining me...

INTRO: Hop on the Energy Bus for our latest podcast episode! This week, we're thrilled to have Dr. Jim Van Allan, a nationally recognized speaker and co-author of  The Energy Bus for Schools , take the wheel. Jim shares his expertise on school leadership, student engagement, and the power of positivity in education. In this episode, discover how Jim's journey and dynamic approach can transform a s...

INTRO: Welcome to today's episode of An Imperfect Leader, where we sit down with Dr. Peter Dillon, a superintendent in Western Massachusetts. Peter shares his experiences working in a rural region serving, at one time, two school districts and the lessons he learned along the way.   In this episode, he shares insights on leading multiple districts, the challenges and rewards of serving small commu...

INTRO: In my third year as a superintendent, the AVID classes at one of my high schools invited me to the school library at 7:30 in the morning. That is EARLY for high school students accustomed to starting school at almost 9 o'clock, so it had to be important. Over donuts and juice, it was the students who led an activity called Philosophical Chairs. The topic? Weighted grades. Our school distric...

INTRO: As many of you know, I serve on the Board of Directors for Be the Change Volunteers . We build schools, teacher housing, and bathrooms all over the world (currently in Peru, Malawi, India, Rwanda, Puerto Rico, and Papua New Guinea). It's an incredible experience – if you ever want to join a build, please let me know – and one thing we try to be mindful about is the return back home after a...

INTRO: When I was a superintendent, we created a geometry and construction class. Kids would take geometry on A days and then apply those principles to building a tiny home on B days. And I loved asking a student who was out there working on the home in the dead of winter why it was important to be out there working when it was so cold outside. "Today, I'm cold. Tomorrow, someone will have this ho...

INTRO: I almost called this episode: You're the Villain in this Story because of the absolutely horrific story my guest shared with me in this week's episode. Holy cow, you're going to want to listen to this entire episode!   Sometimes as school leaders, you are forced to make difficult decisions. Whether or not to non-renew an employee can be really difficult. Whether to close a teaching section,...

INTRO: When I first became a superintendent, I learned about Positive Coaching. Positive Coaching is a framework for winning kids with sport by building relationships with children first and foremost. The way I saw it, Positive Coaching emphasized the aspect of doing something together and learning how to be a team. It wasn't about winning at all costs. I loved it. My guest today will talk about s...

In this week's An Imperfect Leader: The Superintendents and Leadership Podcast, we dive into another authentic story of someone navigating the complexities of leadership. I'm your host, Peter Stiepleman, and today, we have the honor of welcoming a remarkable leader, Merle Horowitz .   Today, we'll explore Merle's journey through a lens of empathy, resilience, and the pursuit of progress - or in he...

INTRO: Before listening to this episode, I want to make sure that you know that this episode deals with trauma. If you have experienced trauma in your past, you might want to find the right time to listen to this episode. And remember, if you or someone you know needs the suicide or crisis lifeline, you can dial 988 from any phone.  For me, the experiences my guest describes in this episode were a...

INTRO: Hello Imperfect Leaders! In this episode,  Esusu co-founder, Samir Goel, talks about empowering individuals to build credit and access financial opportunities previously out of reach. 💡   Samir shares invaluable insights gleaned from his partner, Wemimo Abbey and mentor Jeff Weiner (emphasizing the crucial role of compassion and transparency). In part 1, we talk about the company he co-fou...

INTRO: I told my guest that  this podcast has almost exclusively been reserved for district leaders and education-adjacent leaders. While that is true, I think it's important to live something I say whenever I describe the hierarchy of a school district - and that's that there are leaders at every level. I believe it's through our teachers that we can truly transform our schools. So when my guest...

INTRO: I was interested to see how ChatGPT might create an intro for me. I gave it some information and it spat out: "Welcome to a journey that transcends the conventional boundaries of education. Imagine a school where purpose is not just a buzzword but the very essence that breathes life into every corridor, classroom, and curriculum."   Yeesh. I asked it to sound less like a carnival announcer...

Dr. Monique Darrisaw-Akil, the Superintendent of the Uniondale School District, is my guest. One simply had to read the following excerpt from the Long Island Herald to know why had to talk with Dr. Akil: "Residents throughout Uniondale will tell you — this community, once grappling with educational challenges that seemed insurmountable, has undergone a remarkable transformation under the leadersh...