Improvement is a team effort, and teams must support one another to be able to move forward together. As Dr. Jennifer Kubista, Superintendent of Central School District 13J in Oregon states, “You have to be reflective and working hard together.” Survey data provides the data and feedback for an organization to reflect on and work on together. In fact, effectively using survey results can improve an organization and its culture. In this episode, Dr. Kubista shares how acting on survey data has done just that in her school district.

This episode addresses questions such as

• What is the value of survey data?
• Why is it important to act on survey data and feedback?
• How does survey data connect with organizational improvement?

Listen as Dr. Janet Pilcher and Dr. Kubista discuss these and other questions and explore the powerful story of one district’s journey toward improvement by using survey results to move toward real growth.

Recommended Resources: 9 Pillars of Leadership Excellence: A New Operating System for Education, Use Feedback to Unlock Operational Excellence, Convert Surveys to Solutions

Follow Host Dr. Janet Pilcher on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janetpilcher/

In this episode, Dr. KK Owen, a leader coach at Studer Education, shares that “our best chance of success is through our people.” As she explains, it’s for this reason that people need to understand that they are valued and that they bring value to an organization. Building a people-first mindset allows for this kind of focus through recognition, intentional communication, and shining lights on bright spots.

What is a people-first mindset? What does it look like? Why is it important, and how can it be built? Listen as Dr. Janet Pilcher and Dr. Owen discuss these questions and explain why leaders must "just start" intentionally recognizing good work, shining lights on bright spots, upholding the good work and value of others, and maintaining a “people-first” mindset.

Recommended Resources: 9 Pillars of Leadership Excellence: A New Operating System for Education, Transform District Culture with People-First Strategies, People-First Leadership in Classrooms and Communities

Follow Host Dr. Janet Pilcher on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janetpilcher/

According to Dr. Reggie Todd, the guest in this episode, “Service excellence is critical because it directly shapes the experiences people have with an organization.” The truth is that service matters, and service excellence is an all day, every day, all-in proposition.

What does it mean to have great customer service? What does service excellence entail? How can you build service excellence practices in your organization? These are questions addressed in this episode. Join Dr. Janet Pilcher and Dr. Todd as they dive into these and other questions related to Pillar 6: Exceed Customer Expectations from the 9 Pillars of Leadership Excellence.

Listen to learn how you can transform your customer service practices from good to great and how you can positively shape the experiences people have with your organization.

Recommended Resources: 9 Pillars of Leadership Excellence: A New Operating System for Education, Provide Excellent Service, How K12 District Leaders Can Foster Service Excellence

Follow Host Dr. Janet Pilcher on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janetpilcher/

Do you want to improve your communication skills but don’t know how to get started? This episode of the Accelerate Your Performance podcast is for you! Join Dr. Janet Pilcher in the third episode in a series focused on communication and Pillar 3: Communicate for Alignment, part of the 9 Pillars of Leadership Excellence. In this episode, Dr. Pilcher provides practical tactics that you can use to communicate effectively and build a positive, trusting workplace culture. Because as Dr. Pilcher explains, as leaders, our communication “can make the biggest difference for those we serve each and every day.”

In this episode, Dr. Pilcher shares how to effectively use two tactics from the 9 Pillars for Leadership Excellence Toolkit that are specifically related to communicating for alignment: Key Words at Key Times and Starting with "Why."

Listen to hear why these tactics are important and how you can immediately use them to enhance your communication by using words with purpose.

Recommended Resources: Pillar 3: Communicate for Alignment, 9 Pillars of Leadership Excellence: A New Operating System for Education, Words Have Power

Follow Host Dr. Janet Pilcher on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janetpilcher/

Effective leadership necessitates effective communication.

If you want to grow your communication skills, join Dr. Janet Pilcher this week for the second episode in a series related to Pillar 3: Communicate for Alignment. In this episode, she shares specific communication barriers and ways to tackle to those barriers.

Listen as Dr. Pilcher explains how communication barriers impact employees and leadership and how you can grow your leadership through effectively managing communication barriers. This episode will leave you armed with at least one thing that you can begin doing immediately to improve your communication skills. Then, as Dr. Pilcher suggests, "when you think of that one thing, go do it and then see what happens."

Recommended Resources: Pillar 3: Communicate for Alignment, 9 Pillars of Leadership Excellence: A New Operating System for Education

Follow Host Dr. Janet Pilcher on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janetpilcher/

“Great leadership requires leaders to be great communicators.”

That’s why Dr. Janet Pilcher shares a deeper dive into Pillar 3: Communicate for Alignment, one of the overarching 9 Pillars of Leadership Excellence.

Join her for the first in a series of episodes exploring:

• the importance of communicating effectively;
• the value of communicating for alignment;
• the barriers to effective communication; and
• the tactics to ensure communication is positive, impactful, and results-driven.

Dr. Pilcher also pauses to express gratitude for coaches and partners doing meaningful work in the field. As she shares, “We can always spend time learning to improve and expressing gratitude.”

Recommended Resources: Building Lasting Impact with 9 Pillars for Leadership Excellence, 9 Pillars of Leadership Excellence: A New Operating System for Education, 9 Pillars of Leadership Excellence Toolkit

Follow Host Dr. Janet Pilcher on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janetpilcher/

Sometimes, a pause is all that is needed to get an organization moving faster. This may sound counterintuitive, but, as Dr. Casey Blochowiak explains, pausing to reflect on what may be bogging down systems and processes allows organizations to refine their work, improve processes, and operate more efficiently.

Listen as Dr. Janet Pilcher talks with Dr. Blochowiak, Vice President of Coaching at Studer Education, about how improving processes can save resources that can then be invested in students and their learning. The partner stories Dr. Blochowiak shares demonstrate how organizations are effectively using the power of the pause to strengthen processes and reinvest in student success.

Recommended Resource: Go Slow to Go Fast

Follow Host Dr. Janet Pilcher on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janetpilcher/

Join Dr. Janet Pilcher, Founder and President of Studer Education, as she reflects on four decades in education leadership and shares why this moment calls for greater focus, consistency, and action.

In this episode, Dr. Pilcher explains the 9 Pillars of Leadership Excellence—a practical leadership operating system designed to help organizations move from intention to results.

Listen to hear how leaders can:

• Establish consistent leadership behaviors and routines that build trust and alignment.
• Focus on what matters most to drive engagement, performance, and improvement.
• Create people-first systems that sustain excellence over time.

This episode sets the foundation for a deeper exploration of the 9 Pillars and invites leaders to reflect on where they are, where they want to go, and the next step they can take to lead their organizations to the next level.

Follow Host Dr. Janet Pilcher on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janetpilcher/