Lassoing Leadership

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...

Summary Time is the one resource we cannot make more of. That is the uncomfortable truth sitting at the centre of Cassie Holmes' remarkable book, and it is the thread Garth and I pull on throughout this conversation. Cassie is a professor at UCLA Anderson School of Management, and her research does something rare. It takes happiness seriously as a subject of rigorous study. Not as a feel-good...

Summary In this episode of Lassoing Leadership , Jason and Garth sit down with Cassie Holmes—professor at UCLA and author of Happier Hour —to explore a powerful and often overlooked leadership truth: how we spend our time is how we shape our lives . Cassie shares her personal journey into the science of happiness, unpacking the concept of time poverty and how the feeling of “never having enough ti...

Episode Summary What if the biggest barrier to happiness isn’t a lack of success—but how we spend our time? In this energizing and deeply practical conversation, Jason and Garth sit down with UCLA professor and The Happier Hour author Cassie Holmes to unpack the powerful connection between time, intention, and happiness . Cassie blends cutting-edge research with real-life application, challenging...

Episode Summary This is more than a recap—it’s a reckoning . After a powerful conversation with Jennifer Wallace, Jason and Garth come back together to unpack what might be one of the most important leadership ideas of our time: mattering . In a world that relentlessly pushes achievement, performance, and external validation, this episode asks a deeper question: Do the people around us feel like t...

Episode Summary In this episode of Lassoing Leadership , Jason Rogers and co-host Garth Nichols sit down with bestselling author Jennifer Wallace to explore one of the most important—and often overlooked—ideas in leadership and education today: mattering. Together, they unpack what happens when achievement becomes the only currency in schools, and how leaders can intentionally build cultures where...

Summary In this episode, we explore the powerful work of Jennifer Wallace and her insights into the growing impact of toxic achievement culture on students and leaders alike. Drawing from Never Enough and her ongoing work on mattering, we unpack a central tension facing schools today: how do we pursue excellence without tying self-worth to performance? This conversation challenges leaders, educato...

Episode Summary In this episode, Jason and Garth explore leadership through a powerful and practical lens—authenticity, storytelling, and reflection—guided by insights from Drew Dudley. Together, they unpack how these three pillars show up in real leadership moments and how they can elevate trust, deepen connection, and strengthen culture. From the stories we choose to tell, to the time we take to...

Episode Summary In this episode of Lassoing Leadership , Jason Rogers and Garth Nichols sit down with Drew Dudley to explore a simple but powerful idea: leadership isn’t defined by titles or big moments — it’s shaped by the small behaviors we practice every single day. Drawing from his book This Is Day One , Drew shares the mental models, questions, and habits that help leaders move from intention...

Episode Summary In this episode of Lassoing Leadership , Jason Rogers and Garth Nichols explore the ideas and leadership philosophy of Drew Dudley , whose work has helped reshape how many people think about leadership. For years, leadership has often been framed as something tied to titles, positions, or big moments on big stages. Drew challenges that idea. Instead, he reminds us that leadership s...

Episode Summary In this episode of Lassoing Leadership , Garth Nichols and I dig into a conversation that’s been sitting with both of us for a while — the difference between joy and happiness , and why that distinction matters so much for leaders. Happiness is often momentary. It’s the result of something good happening in the moment. Joy, on the other hand, runs deeper. It’s the thing that carrie...

Keywords Leadership, Joy, Mattering, Workplace Culture, Hiring for Character, Storytelling, Optimism, Resilience, Service, Organizational Health, Chief Joy Officer What if joy isn’t the byproduct of great leadership… but the job itself? In this episode of Lassoing Leadership , Jason Rogers and Garth Nichols sit down with Rich Sheridan , CEO of Menlo Innovations and author of The Chief Joy Officer...

Summary In this episode, hosts Jason Rogers and Garth Nichols explore the transformative power of joyful leadership through insights from Rich Sheridan, author of 'Chief Joy Officer'. They discuss how joy, authenticity, humility, love, and optimism can be integrated into leadership practices to create highly performing and deeply human cultures. Keywords Joyful Leadership, Rich Sheridan, C...

Keywords Crisis Communication · Leadership · Empathy · Clarity · Trust · Communication Principles · Leadership Mistakes · Ted Lasso · Risk Management · Community Engagement Summary In this episode of Lassoing Leadership , Jason Rogers and Garth Nichols sit down with Benjamin Morgan, Senior Fellow in Crisis Communications, to unpack what really matters when the pressure is on. Drawing from decades...

Episode Keywords Education • Innovation • Leadership • Learning • Professional Growth • Storytelling • Educators • Curiosity • Meaningful Experiences • Community Summary In this episode of Lassoing Leadership , Jason Rogers and Garth Nichols zoom out—and then right back in—on why education remains one of the most exciting, challenging, and hopeful industries around. Drawing inspiration from George...

Episode Keywords Education • Leadership • Community • Storytelling • Emotional Connection • Change • School Leadership • Relationships • Narrative Summary In this episode of Lassoing Leadership , Jason Rogers and Garth Nichols sit down with George Couros to talk about his newest book, Forward Together —and what it really takes to build schools where people feel seen, valued, and connected. George...

Keywords education, leadership, innovation, AI, stoicism, learning, resilience, community, George Couros, Innovator's Mindset Takeaways George Couros emphasizes the importance of innovation in education. The Innovator's Mindset is relevant even after 10 years since its publication. Change should be viewed as an opportunity for growth. AI can enhance learning experiences when embraced posit...

Keywords education, leadership, innovation, George Couros, Innovator’s Mindset, Forward Together, storytelling, professional development, change management, psychological safety Summary In this episode of Lassoing Leadership , Garth and Jason return to two books that continue to shape their thinking: The Innovator’s Mindset and Forward Together by George Couros. Rather than treating innovation as...

Keywords leadership, mattering, anti-mattering, gratitude, recognition, emotional intelligence, education, community, strengths, unseen work Summary In this episode of Lassoing Leadership , Jason Rogers and Garth Nichols dive into one of the most human—and often overlooked—dimensions of leadership: mattering . Together, they unpack how people come to feel valued, seen, and significant at work—and...