The Authority Podcast — Expert Insights and Fresh Ideas for Education Leaders

In our latest "Best Of" episode, I'm bringing back my second conversation with Mark Miller. Each of my episodes with Mark is worth revisiting. Mark is a Wall Street Journal and international best-selling author, communicator, and the former Vice President of High Performance Leadership at Chick-fil-A. Today, Mark serves as the Co-Founder of Lead Every Day, an extension of his life-inspired mission to encourage and equip leaders with the tools they need to be successful. As an author, Mark has more than one million books in print in 25+ languages. His latest is Uncommon Greatness: Five Fundamentals to Transform Your Leadership.We discuss:Mark’s journey to leadership and how it influenced his understanding of uncommon vs. “common” greatnessReasons for the global leadership crisis33% of organizations believe there’s not sufficient leadership for today and 50% of leaders don’t believe their organization has enough emerging leaders for the needs of the future“How can I add the most value in this situation?”The Five Fundamentals: See the Future, Engage and Develop Others, Reinvent Continuously, Value Results and Relationships, Embody a Leader’s HeartBeing a leader people want to followSubscribe to The Authority to get more deep-dive interviews with education authors. It’s available wherever you get your podcasts. Visit https://bepodcast.network to learn more about the Be Podcast Network for educators.Connect with our guest:Get Uncommon Greatness at https://www.leadeveryday.com or wherever you get your booksReach out to Mark directly at 678-612-8441Text UNCOMMON to 66866 for additional resourcesConnect on social media at https://www.linkedin.com/in/highperformanceleaders and @MarkMillerLeads About our guestMark Miller is a Wall Street Journal and international best-selling author, communicator, and the former Vice President of High Performance Leadership at Chick-fil-A. Mark started his Chick-fil-A career working as an hourly team member in 1977. In 1978, he joined the corporate staff working in the warehouse and mailroom. During his tenure with Chick-fil-A, the company grew from seventy-five restaurants to over 2,700 locations with annual sales exceeding $19 billion. Today, Mark serves as the Co-Founder of Lead Every Day, an extension of his life-inspired mission to encourage and equip leaders with the tools they need to be successful. Mark began writing almost twenty years ago when he teamed up with Ken Blanchard, co-author of The One Minute Manager, to write The Secret: What Great Leaders Know and Do. With over one million books in print in more than twenty-five languages, his global impact continues to grow. For more information, please visit https://leadeveryday.com.  Learn more about today's sponsor, Playworks:We’re proud to be sponsored by Playworks, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with evidence-based practices that help schools improve the health and well-being of children by increasing opportunities for physical activity and safe, meaningful play.If you’re a school or district leader struggling with the challenge of chronic absenteeism, as so many are across the U.S., you may not realize that structured recess is a research-backed approach to keep kids in school. In fact, a UC Berkeley study of Title I schools found that those partnering with Playworks had significantly lower chronic absenteeism rates. Further, Mathematica research demonstrated that Playworks schools spent 27% less time transitioning from recess back to learning, saving teachers valuable instructional time. These results are possible for your students, too. Learn how Playworks can help you improve student-educator relationships, belonging, and attendance by signing up for a quick no-obligation conversation. 

Danny Steele worked for 31 years in education as a principal, assistant principal, teacher, coach, and assistant professor of Instructional Leadership.  In 2005, Steele was recognized as Alabama’s “Assistant Principal of the Year,” and in 2016, he was recognized  as Alabama’s “Secondary Principal of the Year.”  He has written six books including two with Todd Whitaker, has presented at numerous state and national conferences, and has spoken in school districts around the country.  His new book is The Instructional Leader in You: 10 Strategies for Every School Leader.We discuss:Instructional Leader: a necessary part of every principalship?What are the barriers to instructional leadership?Being strategic with delegationBeing curiousBeing visibleBeing About the CultureInterconnectedness of the strategiesGet Danny’s book from Routledge and learn more about his work here: www.leadershiplearningandculture.com About the hostRoss Romano is a co-founder of the Be Podcast Network and CEO of September Strategies, a coaching and consulting firm that helps organizations and high-performing leaders in the K-12 education industry communicate their vision and make strategic decisions that lead to long-term success. Connect on Bluesky or LinkedIn I also host Sideline Sessions, a podcast for coaches and parents of student-athletes. The show features conversations with coaches and performance experts in the NFL, NBA, NCAA, Olympics, and more. Listen here: https://bit.ly/3Rp0QGt  Learn more about today's sponsor, Playworks:We’re proud to be sponsored by Playworks, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with evidence-based practices that help schools improve the health and well-being of children by increasing opportunities for physical activity and safe, meaningful play.If you’re a school or district leader struggling with the challenge of chronic absenteeism, as so many are across the U.S., you may not realize that structured recess is a research-backed approach to keep kids in school. In fact, a UC Berkeley study of Title I schools found that those partnering with Playworks had significantly lower chronic absenteeism rates. Further, Mathematica research demonstrated that Playworks schools spent 27% less time transitioning from recess back to learning, saving teachers valuable instructional time. These results are possible for your students, too. Learn how Playworks can help you improve student-educator relationships, belonging, and attendance by signing up for a quick no-obligation conversation. 

Brig Leane, former principal of Fruita Middle School in Colorado, has over 25 years of experience in education. He has been an assistant principal and has taught at the middle and high school levels in inner-city, suburban, and rural schools in California and Colorado. In 2017 and again in 2018, Fruita Middle School made the Seattle-based GettingSmart.com’s list of 85 schools in the nation that other educators should visit.His latest book is The PLC Dashboard: Implementing, Leading, and Sustaining Your Professional Learning Community at Work.We discuss:How Brig developed the PLC DashboardWhat the dashboard is and what it doesWhat to say to a principal who has unsuccessfully tried the PLC process in the past and is not clear on what to do differently this timeHow does The PLC Dashboard lighten the load for an administrator?How a principal gains confidence to start and sustain the PLC processGet the PLC Dashboard from Solution Tree. Learn more about Brig’s work at www.BrigLeane.com About the hostRoss Romano is a co-founder of the Be Podcast Network and CEO of September Strategies, a coaching and consulting firm that helps organizations and high-performing leaders in the K-12 education industry communicate their vision and make strategic decisions that lead to long-term success. Connect on Bluesky or LinkedIn I also host Sideline Sessions, a podcast for coaches and parents of student-athletes. The show features conversations with coaches and performance experts in the NFL, NBA, NCAA, Olympics, and more. Listen here: https://bit.ly/3Rp0QGt  Learn more about today's sponsor, Playworks:We’re proud to be sponsored by Playworks, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with evidence-based practices that help schools improve the health and well-being of children by increasing opportunities for physical activity and safe, meaningful play.If you’re a school or district leader struggling with the challenge of chronic absenteeism, as so many are across the U.S., you may not realize that structured recess is a research-backed approach to keep kids in school. In fact, a UC Berkeley study of Title I schools found that those partnering with Playworks had significantly lower chronic absenteeism rates. Further, Mathematica research demonstrated that Playworks schools spent 27% less time transitioning from recess back to learning, saving teachers valuable instructional time. These results are possible for your students, too. Learn how Playworks can help you improve student-educator relationships, belonging, and attendance by signing up for a quick no-obligation conversation. 

In this episode of The Authority on the BE Podcast Network, I talk with National Center for Restorative Justice founder Nicholas Bradford about what restorative justice in schools really looks like beyond the buzzwords. We explore why suspensions fail to change student behavior, how restorative practices promote true accountability and community repair, and what it takes to implement these systems well.Nicholas outlines five core pillars of school‑based restorative justice, unpacks common misunderstandings among educators and the public, and shares practical guidance on language, expectations, contracts, and follow‑through. This conversation is essential listening for school and district leaders, teachers, counselors, and anyone interested in replacing zero‑tolerance discipline with relational approaches that improve school culture and student outcomes.Find A Real-World Guide to Restorative Justice in Schools wherever you get your books.Connect with Nicholas:https://www.nationalcenterforrestorativejustice.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/bradfordnicholas/ https://www.facebook.com/4RestorativeJusticeAbout the hostRoss Romano is a co-founder of the Be Podcast Network and CEO of September Strategies, a coaching and consulting firm that helps organizations and high-performing leaders in the K-12 education industry communicate their vision and make strategic decisions that lead to long-term success. Connect on Bluesky or LinkedIn I also host Sideline Sessions, a podcast for coaches and parents of student-athletes. The show features conversations with coaches and performance experts in the NFL, NBA, NCAA, Olympics, and more. Listen here: https://bit.ly/3Rp0QGt  Learn more about today's sponsor, Playworks:We’re proud to be sponsored by Playworks, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with evidence-based practices that help schools improve the health and well-being of children by increasing opportunities for physical activity and safe, meaningful play.If you’re a school or district leader struggling with the challenge of chronic absenteeism, as so many are across the U.S., you may not realize that structured recess is a research-backed approach to keep kids in school. In fact, a UC Berkeley study of Title I schools found that those partnering with Playworks had significantly lower chronic absenteeism rates. Further, Mathematica research demonstrated that Playworks schools spent 27% less time transitioning from recess back to learning, saving teachers valuable instructional time. These results are possible for your students, too. Learn how Playworks can help you improve student-educator relationships, belonging, and attendance by signing up for a quick no-obligation conversation. 

Bill Barnes is the superintendent for the Howard County Public School System in Maryland. Bill was a recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching and has served on the board of directors for the National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics.Erin Lehmann, EdD, currently serves as an associate professor for the University of South Dakota. She is an author, leader, and facilitator, advocating for leading instructional improvement.Today, they join the show to talk about their book, Leading Educator Wellness: Six Critical Actions to Support All Staff. Our discussion covers:The tangible challenges educator wellness is meant to address—attrition, shortages, effectiveness, and moreStarting with leader wellness firstMoving from self-care to systems-care SMART wellness goalsDemonstrating authentic commitment to wellness combined with high standards of excellencePractical actions leaders can take todayGet Leading Educator Wellness from Solution Tree. About the hostRoss Romano is a co-founder of the Be Podcast Network and CEO of September Strategies, a coaching and consulting firm that helps organizations and high-performing leaders in the K-12 education industry communicate their vision and make strategic decisions that lead to long-term success. Connect on Bluesky or LinkedIn I also host Sideline Sessions, a podcast for coaches and parents of student-athletes. The show features conversations with coaches and performance experts in the NFL, NBA, NCAA, Olympics, and more. Listen here: https://bit.ly/3Rp0QGt  Learn more about today's sponsor, Playworks:We’re proud to be sponsored by Playworks, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with evidence-based practices that help schools improve the health and well-being of children by increasing opportunities for physical activity and safe, meaningful play.If you’re a school or district leader struggling with the challenge of chronic absenteeism, as so many are across the U.S., you may not realize that structured recess is a research-backed approach to keep kids in school. In fact, a UC Berkeley study of Title I schools found that those partnering with Playworks had significantly lower chronic absenteeism rates. Further, Mathematica research demonstrated that Playworks schools spent 27% less time transitioning from recess back to learning, saving teachers valuable instructional time. These results are possible for your students, too. Learn how Playworks can help you improve student-educator relationships, belonging, and attendance by signing up for a quick no-obligation conversation.