Good leaders are effective at showing care and concern for others. Acts of care and concern can be demonstrated in both expected ways (such as check-in meetings) and unexpected ways (such as difficult conversations). The bottom line is that when people feel cared for, they are more engaged, feel a deeper investment to their work, and feel safe. In environments that build these feelings, a community is built and supported. People just want to know they are valued and that their work matters. 

Listen as Dr. Janet Pilcher and Adam Bowen, Superintendent of New Buffalo Area Schools in Michigan, use an improvement mindset lens to discuss the importance of care and concern, ways to show care and concern, and the impact that care and concern have on building and supporting a community. 

Recommended Resources:  Serve Others with Great Care and Concern, Build Trust to Strengthen Culture  

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

Getting and keeping employees engaged is hard, intentional work, but it's worth the continuous time and effort. As Lana Fontenot, Vice Chancellor for Institutional Advancement and External Relations at South Louisiana Community College, states, "Engagement is not a one-time thing, it happens day in and day out, year-round. You never stop doing it. It's not a check the box." 

In the first part of this two-part interview, Dr. Janet Pilcher and Ms. Fontenot discussed the importance of getting employees engaged from very early in their tenure at an organization. In this second part of this interview, they talk about how important it is to continue keeping employees engaged throughout their career at an organization. 

Listen as they discuss the importance of employee engagement; the impact of employee engagement on organizational culture; and ways to keep employees engaged, such as  

• Holding regular touch points,
• Listening strategically and deliberately,
• Capitalizing on wins,
• Showing care and concern for employees' growth and well-being,
• Taking an interest in employees’ work, and
• Removing barriers.

Recommended Resources:  Small Conversations, Big Impact: Strengthening Culture Through Rounding, Shape Culture Through Connection 

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

Employee engagement is key to a successful organization, and getting team members engaged should begin even before their first day of work as a new hire. New hires naturally feel a mix of excitement and anxiety, but leaders must capitalize on the excitement while minimizing the anxiety to stimulate employee engagement from the outset. According to Lana Fontenot, Vice Chancellor for Institutional Advancement and External Relations for South Louisiana Community College, effective pre-boarding and onboarding programs are effective ways to not only stimulate excitement and reduce anxiety but to build engagement and increase retention rates. 

Listen to the first part of Dr. Janet Pilcher's two-part interview with Ms. Fontenot as they discuss her model for pre-boarding and onboarding and her personal experience as a new hire that instilled within her the passion for effective onboarding and employee engagement. 

Recommended Resources:  Focus on Employee Engagement, Increase Employee Engagement with Recognition

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

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/