Accelerate Your Performance

Hosted by Studer Education

Business Management EducationInterviews guestsExplicit

Website RSS feed

Episodes

438

Latest episode

Jun 2026

Language

EN-US

About the show

Accelerate Your Performance is a weekly podcast hosted by Dr. Janet Pilcher, Managing Director of Studer Education and author of Hardwiring Excellence in Education . Every week, Janet highlights tactical and actionable strategies that leaders in educational organizations can hardwire to meet successful student, service, and people outcomes. Listen now, and you’ll see why it’s ranked by ListenNotes in the top 5% of podcasts worldwide. As she introduces a variety of pivotal leadership practices from the 9 Pillars of Leadership Excellence, Janet underscores the importance of seamlessly integrating each practice to deliver positive and impactful results. For each leadership practice she introduces, Janet provides a solid foundation and then collaborates with coaching experts to dig deeper and demonstrate its practical application. Janet also interviews leaders and partners who excel at the tactics to hear about their implementation journeys, hurdles they’ve faced, and their notable achievements. To bring it all together, she offers a broader perspective on leadership, interviewing guests about a diverse array of topics on their paths to achieving organizational excellence. Follow for weekly insights and actionable strategies to accelerate your performance and become your best at work!

Listen to episodes

60 recent

June 15, 2026Episode 43821 min

Change Organizational Culture With Standards of Excellence

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/

June 8, 2026Episode 4374 min

Enhance the Student Experience with Student Rounding

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/

June 1, 2026Episode 43626 min

Using Scorecards to Keep the Strategic Plan “Alive”

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/

May 18, 2026Episode 43516 min

Add Voice and Value with Rounding and Recognition

Employees want to feel valued and heard at work. When they feel this way, they feel safe sharing ideas, are motivated to do their best, and see the impact of their contributions and the contributions of others. In these ways, value and voice build a strong workplace culture. Rounding and recognition can help add value and voice to an organization to a strong culture. Listen to this conversation between Dr. Janet Pilcher and Mr. Bill Adams, a Studer Education Leader Coach, to learn how to use rounding and recognition as tactics to add voice and value to an organization. They discuss the value of rounding and recognition, how rounding and recognition work together, and how organizations have successfully implemented rounding and recognition. Recommended Resources: Strengthen Your District with Rounding and Recognition, Transform Culture with Reward and Recognition, The Power of Reward and Recognition Follow Host Dr. Janet Pilcher on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janetpilcher/

May 11, 2026Episode 4347 min

Connecting to Purpose: The Little School District That Could

Bright spots of good work are all around us in organizations. It is a leader's responsibility to create ways for people to harvest the stories of these bright spots. These stories reinforce why someone's work is valued, the impact it has on others, and how individual contributions make a positive impact. “Connecting to Purpose" is a tactic outlined in Pillar 4 of the 9 Pillars of Leadership Excellence that highlights an approach to sharing bright spots. Connecting to Purpose stories are powerful.In today’s episode, Dr. KK Owen shares the Connecting to Purpose story of a struggling school district that changed their community by saving education. They transformed the perceptions and outcomes of their district through hard work and an unwillingness to give up. This is a story of how education can save a community by restoring hope, pride, and success. Listen as Dr. Owen shares the story of Tarrant City School District and what we can all learn from the “Little School District That Could.” Recommended Resources: Transform Communities by Transforming Schools, Bridging Community Divides Follow Host Dr. Janet Pilcher on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janetpilcher/

May 4, 2026Episode 4337 min

Build a Feedback Culture

In preparation for an upcoming webinar, Dr. Janet Pilcher provides a brief introduction to the idea that feedback is a gift. She discusses how feedback is a two-way gift – leaders must provide and receive feedback. Feedback is a gift that provides valuable data that informs solid decisions, but it must be received with the right mindset. Listen as Janet shares tips for receiving feedback in the “right” way; explains how leaders must provide meaningful, constructive feedback; and explains how leaders receive feedback as a means to improvement. Recommended Resources: Listen, Learn, Improve: The Gift of Feedback, Master the Art of FeedbackFollow Host Dr. Janet Pilcher on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janetpilcher/

April 27, 2026Episode 43218 min

Get Aligned: Strategic Plans, Scorecards, and Measures that Matter

Every day in an organization, good work is being done. Ensuring that all this good work is aligned and focused on the same goals and outcomes is what Superintendent Michael Maine of Martin County, Florida calls getting “locked tight,” and Superintendent Maine is a master at this alignment process.In this episode, Dr. Janet Pilcher and Superintendent Maine discuss how getting locked tight has resulted in the success of Martin County School District. Listen as they explore the power of aligning strategic plans, goals, scorecards, and measures that matter; and they talk about the importance of having a strong, united team working together to create this alignment.Recommended Resources: Measure Impact to Drive Improvement, Drive Student Achievement with ScorecardsFollow Host Dr. Janet Pilcher on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janetpilcher/

April 20, 2026Episode 43116 min

Listen, Learn, Improve: The Gift of Feedback

Getting feedback is one thing; capturing feedback with the mindset that it is a gift is another. The idea that “feedback is a gift” relates to proactively seeking feedback to better understand what is working well and what needs improvement. Join Dr. Janet Pilcher and, Kathy Myles, a Studer Education Leader Coach, as they explore the idea of feedback being a gift and listening to others for the purpose of learning. Kathy shares her personal experiences and suggests that feedback isn't personal; it's about the system, and it's about improvement. When leaders hold this mindset, they see feedback as a gift and use feedback to grow and improve. Listen as Janet and Kathy discuss: how leaders can listen to learn, tips for developing the mindset that feedback is a gift, and tactics for effectively listening to learn. Recommended Resources: 9 Pillars of Leadership Excellence: A New Operating System for Education, Feedback Is a Gift...or is itFollow Host Dr. Janet Pilcher on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janetpilcher/

April 13, 2026Episode 4306 min

DHP 2026 Virtual K12 Leadership Conference Launch

Good leaders continuously seek improvement; they want to grow and learn. They lead the way in growing, improving, and surpassing status quo. The 9 Pillars of Leadership Excellence frame these kinds of continuous improvement efforts and shape how leaders execute effective leadership practices. The Pillars offer the means to grow, learn, and excel in leadership. In this episode, Dr. Janet Pilcher discusses the DHP 2026 Virtual K12 Leadership Conference, an opportunity for leaders to see the 9 Pillars in action, grow their leadership skills, and share their continuous improvement stories. Listen as Dr. Pilcher provides an overview of this conference and the 9 Pillars of Leadership Excellence. Our goal is to support leaders who are on a continuous improvement journey develop effective leadership practices and learn how to use specific strategies, concepts, and tactics in everyday work to be the best leaders they can be. Recommended Resources: 9 Pillars of Leadership Excellence: A New Operating System for Education, Building Lasting Impact with 9 Pillars for Leadership ExcellenceFollow Host Dr. Janet Pilcher on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janetpilcher/

April 6, 2026Episode 4294 min

Words Have Power

"Words have power," which is why Dr. Janet Pilcher issues a call for leaders to be thoughtful of words, choosing them carefully and using them in positive ways. Leaders model how to use words effectively, and operationalizing values, including those related to how words are used, encourages the use of words that build a positive workplace culture. Listen as Dr. Pilcher discusses two compelling quotes about the power of words, explains why words matter, challenges leaders to be intentional about their words, and ties the power of words to Pillar 3: Communicate for Alignment. Recommended Resources: 9 Pillars of Leadership Excellence: A New Operating System for Education, Use Words With Purpose, Count Your WordsFollow Host Dr. Janet Pilcher on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janetpilcher/