Continuous improvement is grounded in learning. In fact, continuous improvement necessitates a mindset that focuses on continued learning and growth and that acknowledges that there is always something new to discover. Through this learning, growth occurs, and growth facilitates improvement. As Brian Alaback, Director of Professional Learning for Escambia County Public Schools in Florida so aptly shares, “if I don't have the mindset of continuing to grow and learn, then it doesn't matter what I’m trying to improve.”

Listen as Dr. Janet Pilcher and Mr. Alaback

• consider how leaders model and lead the way in growing and learning to drive improvement,
• explore why investing in your own learning and the learning of others is crucial to continuous improvement, and
• discuss tactics for supporting improvement through learning.

Recommended Resources: Continuous Improvement Through Leadership, Build a Culture of Improvement

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

In today’s episode, Dr. Janet Pilcher implements her own advice to “face the brutal facts” in education. As educational leaders in both K12 and higher education face a changing landscape, Dr. Pilcher explains that it’s crucial for leaders to attend to the bottom line to provide what’s best for students. Listen as she encourages the practice of facing the brutal facts and responding in positive ways by

• using scorecards and short cycles of improvement;
• having open conversations with other leaders;
• helping people understand where they’ve been, where they are now, how they got to where they are now;
• tracking progress;
• engaging in problem-solving discussions; and
• making decisions even when they are difficult.

Recommended Resources: Drive Student Achievement with Scorecards, Get Aligned: Strategic Plans, Scorecards, and Measures that Matter

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

Dr. Howard Spearman, one of the 2026 Studer Education Difference Maker Award winners, believes that knowing your "why" is essential for a leader. Without knowing your why, Dr. Spearman shares that a leader can "lose their way." When a leader knows their why, students and communities thrive, and outcomes are met. Dr. Spearman is an example of how knowing and living your why reaps benefits. Listen as he shares with Dr. Janet Pilcher his experiences with aligning daily work with the why and the positive results that follow.

Recommended Resources: Remember Your Why: From Struggle to Purpose, Connecting Operations to Student Success

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

Even the best leaders know that they can continue to learn. That mindset is partially what makes them good leaders; they continue to seek ways to improve. In this episode, Dr. Janet Pilcher talks with Dr. Vincent June, one of those great leaders who continues to seek ways to improve. His leadership has had a tremendous impact on the institutions and communities that he has served. As a result, he was the recipient of a 2026 Studer Education Difference Maker Award.

Listen as Dr. June shares candid advice and wisdom about what good leadership looks like and feels like and the value of becoming a student of leadership.

Recommended Resources: Leaders as Lifelong Learners, Higher Education Isn't One Size Fits All

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

Change is everyday business for leaders, and employees rely on leaders to guide them through change by effectively managing and leading change efforts.

Listen as Dr. Janet Pilcher reflects on the idea that change is everyday business and shares three key concepts related to how leaders can effectively manage and lead the "everyday business" of change:

• Align leader behaviors that produce results and consider what this means in relation to change.
• Apply tactics to show people that they are valued and to demonstrate that what they do adds value.
• Commit to the reality that solid performance is not good enough.

Recommended Resources: 9 Pillars of Leadership Excellence: A New Operating System for Education, Just Start: Driving Change in Education

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

People want to do good work, and they want to work in an organization that has a positive work environment. According to Kelly Krostag, Assistant Superintendent of Human Resource Services for Escambia County Public Schools in Florida, a positive work environment “is the culture,” and she shares that developing, implementing, and living standards of excellence in the organization can transform organizational culture.

In this episode, Dr. Janet Pilcher talks with Ms. Krostag about how the Human Resource Services Department of Escambia County Public Schools created and implemented standards of behavior and the positive impact those standards have had on the culture of the department. She also shares how she recognizes the standards “walking the halls.” Listen to hear how standards of excellence can make a positive impact on organizational culture.

Recommended Resources: Develop and Apply Standards of Excellence, Transform Culture with Reward and Recognition

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

On the heals of Studer Education's 2026 Destination High Performance Higher Education Conference, Dr. Janet Pilcher reflects on the event and her takeaways. She calls out an idea shared by Dr. Brendan Kelly, President of Eastern Michigan University: the idea that education institutions serve and support students best when they align "what they do" with what students want and need -- not what the institution wants and needs. Listen as Dr. Pilcher shares a way to identify what students want and need and how education institutions can align what they do to student wants and needs with the intention of enhancing the student experience.

Recommended Resources: Drive Student Achievement with Scorecards, Get Aligned: Strategic Plans, Scorecards, and Measures that Matter

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

As Dr. Kristine Strickland, Chancellor of Fletcher Technical Community College, proposes in this week’s episode, strategic plans are important…if they don’t sit on a shelf to collect dust. Rather, as Dr. Strickland shares, strategic plans must be “alive” in daily work and conversations to keep everyone in an organization aligned with the goals and priorities outlined in the strategic plan. Scorecards are one effective way to keep strategic plans alive and a central focus of daily work.

Dr. Janet Pilcher and Dr. Strickland discuss how scorecards have kept Fletcher Technical Community College moving toward collective goals. They explore how scorecards help internal and external stakeholders understand where the organization is going, how they are tracking toward goals, and how the work of each individual in the organization supports goal attainment. Listen to hear how scorecards have helped Fletcher take their strategic plan “off the shelf.”

Recommended Resources: Drive Student Achievement with Scorecards, Get Aligned: Strategic Plans, Scorecards, and Measures that Matter

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