Leadership can be a lonely business. They say you should be one with, not one OF the team. Leaders have so much pressure on them and it can be so difficult to navigate the journey on your own, especially as a new leader. I know, I have the battle scars to prove it. I spent the better part of my first two years as a building principal breathing through a snorkel (or actually drowning). In this week's episode, I dive into the lonely life of the new leader. More importantly, I hit the two most impo...
Mar 27, 2022•31 min•Season 1Ep. 11
Based on what transpired in a few short moments in early 2006, Coach Jim Johnson is now an authority on the subject of realizing your dreams. In his many public-speaking appearances, the Rochester, New York resident relates his role in a basketball game that got Hollywood calling. He also emphasizes the importance of teamwork and sportsmanship, delivering his talks with a heartfelt style that has brought audiences to their feet. Coach Johnson has developed winning high-school basketball teams fo...
Mar 20, 2022•49 min•Season 1Ep. 10
Today's episode takes us back to the roots of the podcast. Yes, a solo episode has returned to the lineup and I'm talking about intentional leadership. Through this episode, I recap our episodes 4-8, each of which had a guest and a common theme of being intentional about something in their leadership. From Alex Carter (ep 4) we were reminded to simplify and focus, something that brought me back to work done during the change of instructional leadership that was critical to our school and distric...
Mar 13, 2022•26 min•Season 1Ep. 9
Robert Breyer resides in Broadway, NC with his wife and their four children. He serves as an elementary school principal for the past 5 years and an assistant principal at the elementary, middle school, and high school levels for the 5 years before that. He is a graduate of King’s College in Wilkes-Barre, PA where he received his Bachelors of Arts in Elementary Education. Later he received his Master’s of School Administration from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. When Robert made t...
Mar 06, 2022•42 min•Season 1Ep. 8
Episode 7 features Eric Lillis. Eric is the Executive Director of the Kingman Academy of Learning. He is in his 29th year as an educator and is one of the very best in the business. Eric leads from his heart and truly cares about everyone he serves. You'll hear that very clearly in this podcast. You'll also learn a term that was new to me, grace swagger. It's worth tuning in to find out more. You can connect with Eric through the following means: Social Media handles: facebook.com/elillis Twitte...
Feb 27, 2022•46 min•Season 1Ep. 7
Wade Stanford is the Superintendent of Westwood ISD in Palestine, TX. Wade and I sat down for a conversation about leadership, and what a conversation it was!! In this episode, we share some of our common background, passions for leadership, as well as some amazing accomplishments Westwood ISD has achieved under Wade's leadership. Connect with Wade on Twitter @wadestanford on LinkedIn @Wade Stanford or contact him via email: wstanford@westwoodisd.net High Performance Leadership Teams: Leadership...
Feb 20, 2022•42 min•Season 1Ep. 6
New from Road to Awesome, it's High Performance Leadership - a 2 day intensive leadership workshop designed to take leadership teams to the next level. High Performance Leadership increases team efficiency enhances production, and sharpens focus through a focus on 5 keys to building an awesome leadership team: Clarity of value, mission, and goals Knowing the house (strengths, fit, leveraging each other) Getting work done (workflow and sandboxes) Team dynamics (trust, delegation, and communicatio...
Feb 13, 2022•48 min•Season 1Ep. 5
In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Alex Carter to talk about leadership in challenging times. Alex brings his energy and inspiration to Leaning into Leadership. Among the great things you will hear from Alex are thoughts around simplifying and focusing to lead for impact. Below is Alex's bio and contact information. Alex Carter joined the CEI team in 2016. Alex leads the field implementation team to support districts, schools, and educators in their work to accelerate educational improvement a...
Feb 06, 2022•33 min•Season 1Ep. 4
What does it take for a leader to drive change? The answer might surprise you. Leaders have a responsibility that often leads to the trap of doing it all. Actually a leader's role is to create conditions in which change can occur. Darrin's focus in this episode is leading leaders toward collective efficacy. How do we include more voices in the change process leading to more ownership of the necessary change? Want to work with Darrin in YOUR school? Interested in having Darrin lead a two day lead...
Jan 30, 2022•29 min•Season 1Ep. 3
In episode 2, Darrin opens with a big thank you to his listeners for making the show a success after only 1 episode. Darrin talks in this episode about how a trip derailed by snow and flight cancellations led to four awesome leadership lessons. As a leader, be aware of the systems we put in place and ensure they work well together Do not be the leader who gets frozen in place, doesn't follow through, or is stuck in the mud. Be mindful of communication and having too many, too loud, or competing ...
Jan 23, 2022•32 min•Season 1Ep. 2
Episode 1 of Leaning into Leadership Who is Darrin Peppard and why should you listen to him about leadership Darrin shares the six things he focused on as a leader Darrin challenges you to find what it is that you are focusing on in your leadership Darrin goes a little further in depth with school culture and why it should be in the forefront in the minds of today's leaders This week's #PepTalk challenges listeners to take a step back and remember why they do what they do to make it through the ...
Jan 15, 2022•28 min•Season 1Ep. 1
Hi, I'm Dr. Darrin Peppard and this is the Leaning into Leadership podcast. As a 26 year educator, I have been a leader as a coach, teacher, assistant principal, principal, and superintendent. It is my goal with this podcast to bring to you every week an organic conversation all about leadership. Great leadership is great leadership regardless the context it exists in, so you will find guests from all walks of life. Everyone who is in a leadership capacity will learn something every week. Togeth...
Dec 30, 2021•3 min
