The School Leadership Show

In this episode I interview Tim Bowman, a teacher, author, and entrepreneur from Australia.  In addition to having the best accent of anyone I’ve interviewed yet, Tim has a great deal to share from a teacher’s perspective.  His book Forget Being the Favourite: 88 Ideas on Teaching Differently is destined to become one of the most important and useful books for helping teachers improve their craft.  We talk about some of the highest leverage strategies teachers can use and how to support that work from an administrator’s perspective.  I learned a ton from Tim and really enjoyed our conversation. Tim is also the founder of Class Creator, a software program designed to help schools with one of the most unpleasant tasks that leaders face - creating balanced class lists.  You can learn more about Class Creator and Tim’s work at www.classcreator.io. You can reach Tim directly by email at Tim@classcreator.io. As always, send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.  Consider rating the podcast in itunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues. If you’d like help improving your productivity and leadership skills, please contact me at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com or on Twitter @doughtymike.

In this episode I interview Doug Stone, one of the authors (along with Sheila Heen) of the book Thanks for the Feedback and Jenn David-Lang who summarized the book for her Main Idea publication.  We have a spirited discussion about the different types of feedback, why giving and receiving feedback can be so difficult, and how to get better at both sides of the process.  You can reach Jenn at her website for The Main Idea (www.themainidea.net) or on Twitter @The_Mainidea.  I’m a happy subscriber of The Main Idea, and a big fan of Jenn’s work.  Doug can be reached through his consulting group’s website at triadconsultinggroup.com/.  After you read Thanks for the Feedback, check out one of Doug’s other books: Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most. As always, send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.  Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues. If you’d like help improving your productivity and leadership skills, please contact me at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com or on Twitter @doughtymike.

In this episode I interview Andrew Sykes of Habits at Work (www.habitsatwork.com and www.bratlab.com).  His company helps organizations of all kinds tap their greatest source of competitive advantage - their people.  Andrew and I talk about the pivotal habits that are essential for helping companies (and schools) foster the health, happiness, and security of all their employees.  Time flew during this interview.  Andrew had so many great things to share about how to develop habits to improve all aspects of your professional and personal life that we may need to do a part two.  You can reach Andrew by email at andrew@habitsatwork.com and on Twitter @sykesandrew.  Enjoy this interview with Andrew Sykes. As always, send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.  Consider rating the podcast in itunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues. If you’d like help improving your productivity and leadership skills, please contact me at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com or on twitter @doughtymike.

If you’re a school administrator, you probably spend more time than you would like in meetings of all kinds.  In this episode Jeff Cimmerer and I talk about all things meetings - things that bug us, strategies to improve their effectiveness, and ways to avoid scheduling them in the first place.  It is possible to reduce the number of meetings you attend and make the ones you have to have more effective.  We rant and rave a little bit, but end up providing some pretty solid tips and advice. You can reach Jeff to complain about this episode at drjpc21@gmail.com or on Twitter @jeffcimmerer.  If you’d like help improving your leadership skills and knowledge, please contact me at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com or on twitter @doughtymike.  Send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.  Consider rating the podcast in itunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues.

  Ever since I read her book Every Patient Tells a Story, I have wanted to talk to Dr. Lisa Sanders.  Dr. Sanders is a physician, author, and teacher of physicians.  Her speciality is what works and what doesn’t work in the process of diagnosis.  We talk about everything from how the process of diagnosis is like a detective story and how the cognitive biases inherent in the process apply to decision making for school leaders.  We get into health, wellness, work-life balance (spinning multiple plates), diet, exercise, burnout, and how to get comfortable with uncertainty.  We even talk about Dr. Sanders’s favorite and least favorite TV shows about doctors.  Enjoy this interview with Dr. Lisa Sanders. Send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com. Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues. If you’d like help improving your productivity skills, please contact me at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com or on twitter @doughtymike.

If you’re like me, you probably get a lot of email, and it’s one of the worst parts of your job.  If email is the best part of your job, then you need a new job.  In this episode Dr. Jeff Cimmerer and I talk about all things email - its history, how people use and misuse it, strategies for managing it, and much more.  While email isn’t one of those things that’s likely to make your career, using email inappropriately could send you into obscurity, or worse, unemployment.  You can get control of your email in a positive way and spend more time with your friends and family.  It’s time to stop letting this “tool” control your life.  For more on mastering email consider listening to my interview with Merlin Mann. If you’d like help improving your productivity skills, please contact me at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com or on twitter @doughtymike.

In this episode I interview author, coach, triathlete, and competitive mountain bike rider Selene Yeager.  Bicycling Magazine calls her the Fit Chick, and she was a lot of fun to talk to.  Selene is a regular contributor to many different fitness magazines on training, nutrition, and injury prevention.  I became a big fan when Selene’s article Sitting is the New Smoking appeared as the cover story in Runners World in 2013.  We talk about how school administrators can combat the health effects of sitting in too many meetings. We also get into strategies for getting yourself to exercise like, “because it feels good, and I enjoy it.”  Selene shares several of her personal productivity tips and routines as well as the projects she’s currently pursuing. We may need to do a part two. To learn more about Selene and her work follow her on twitter @FitChick3 and visit her website: seleneyeager.com/.  Enjoy this interview with Selene Yeager.

In this episode I sit down with friend and colleague, Dr. Jeff Cimmerer.  Jeff is the Chief Information Officer for a large suburban school district in Upstate New York.  He and I have a lively discussion about the horrible presentations we have seen during our time as school leaders.  We share a bunch of dos and don’ts about planning, designing, and delivering effective presentations.  Don’t be one of those school administrators that we talk about for giving bad presentations.  You can get better. For more on this topic consider listening to my interviews with Dr. Stephanie Evergreen and Dr. Nick Morgan.   If you’d like help improving your presentation skills or would like one of us to come talk to your team, please contact us.  You can reach me at  mike@schoolleadershipshow.com and Dr. Jeff Cimmerer at drjpc21@gmail.com. Send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com. Consider rating the podcast in itunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues.

In this episode I interview political reporter, television pundit, and author Eleanor Clift. Eleanor is a regular contributor to The Daily Beast and has a long history covering national politics - every presidential election since 1976.  Many people know Eleanor as a perennial panelist on the syndicated talk show, “The McLaughlin Group.”  I started watching “The Group” as a high school student in the early 90s, and I’ve been a faithful viewer ever since.  Eleanor and I talk about writing, communication with new media, what makes a good leader, and the challenges facing K-12 education.  She even predicts the candidates and the outcome of the 2016 presidential election. To learn more about Eleanor and her work visit http://www.eleanorclift.com/.  Enjoy this interview with Eleanor Clift.

In this episode I interview writer, speaker, and broadcaster Merlin Mann. We talk about managing all of the inputs that come your way.  We go into great depth on managing email and working toward what Merlin has coined “inbox zero.”  We also talk about strategies for managing your time and attention in order to set yourself up for doing your best, most creative work.  To learn more about Merlin and his work visit http://www.merlinmann.com/.  Enjoy this interview with Merlin Mann. Send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.  Consider rating the podcast in itunes and leaving a comment.  And please pass the show along to your colleagues.