Change Starts Here

Franklin Covey Education

Change Starts Here, presented by FranklinCovey Education, is the podcast for K–12 school and district leaders who are shaping—or ready to lead—meaningful change in their schools and communities. Through interviews with innovative educators and research-backed insights, each episode explores how to build leadership at all levels, foster high-trust school cultures, and achieve breakthrough results around what matters most. This podcast offers practical ideas and bold thinking to help you create lasting impact in your school community. Explore the episodes and dive into real stories, proven strategies, and the leadership mindset that transforms schools. This is your space for inspiration, clarity, and action. Real change starts here.

  1. 1h ago

    What Great Leaders Choose to Notice

    Episode Description: On this episode of Change Starts Here, Dustin Odham challenges a habit many leaders don't even realize they've fallen into: being so focused on helping people improve that we forget to notice how good they already are. This episode is a reset for anyone who leads people — whether a classroom, a school, or a district. Dustin unpacks why it's possible to deeply admire someone's work and still leave them feeling unseen, and why that gap matters more than most leaders think. You'll walk away with a simple, repeatable practice for making appreciation part of how you lead every day — not something reserved for a holiday or a once-a-year recognition week — along with an easy exercise you can try with your team at your next leadership meeting. If you've ever wondered whether the people around you actually know how much they're valued, this episode will change how you answer that question. Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and share your thoughts in the comments! Save your seat! 2026 4DX Authors Tour - Register Now: https://www.fcevents.com/website/98987/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=4DX_Fall_Campaign&utm_term=4DX_fall&utm_content=webinar  The 4 Disciplines of Execution for Educators - Buy It Now:  https://a.co/d/08diT9EK Host: Dustin Odham  Time Stamps & Show Notes: 00:00 The Encouragement That Backfired  01:28 Connecting Culture, Progress, and People  02:41 What Leaders Miss Moving Fast  04:00 The Scoreboard Versus Human Stories  05:22 4DX Leadership Experience Announcement  06:33 The Observation Note That Hurt  07:43 The Cost of Silent Appreciation  09:55 Moving Past Once-a-Year Gratitude  11:20 Meaningful Recognition in Tough Times  12:30 Notice It, Name It, Repeat It  13:37 Five-Minute Team Leadership Challenge  14:46 Spreadsheets Don't Change Schools

    What Great Leaders Choose to Notice

  2. Oct 27

    The Myth of Distributed Leadership

    Episode Description: Are you truly sharing leadership—or just delegating responsibility? In part one of this two-part Change Starts Here: Research Conversations series, hosts Kim Yaris and Dr. Eve Miller challenge common assumptions about distributed leadership. Drawing on research into trust, teacher motivation, and student achievement, they explore why well-intentioned efforts to maintain control can unintentionally diminish motivation—and why teacher influence over decisions like discipline policies and school improvement plans matters more than you might think. Discover why effective distributed leadership isn't about choosing between autonomy and accountability. It's about building trust, sharing meaningful decision-making, and creating the conditions for educators to do their best work. Don’t forget to share your thoughts in the comments, and subscribe for part two! Are your teams just carrying out decisions, or are they helping make them? Download from your preferred platform the free Distributed Leadership Audit to find out:  Spotify: https://resources.franklincovey.com/c/csh-s7e11-handout?x=BaUe_e&utm_source=Spotify&utm_medium=CSH  Apple: https://resources.franklincovey.com/c/csh-s7e11-handout?x=BaUe_e&utm_source=Apple&utm_medium=CSH  Host(s): Kim Yaris, Associate Director of Research with FranklinCovey Education & Dr. Eve Miller, Director of Research with FranklinCovey Education  Time Stamps & Show Notes: 00:00 The Minimum Expectation Trap 02:02 Defining Distributed Leadership Realities 03:10 Two Contrasting School Climates 05:22 Control Versus Real Judgment 06:15 The Falk and Kosfeld Experiment 07:43 The Cost of Setting Minimums 09:45 Shared Influence in 90 Schools 11:10 Which Decisions Move Achievement 12:39 The Influence of School-Wide Decisions 13:46 Autonomy Is Not Abandonment 14:49 Conducting the Leadership Audit 16:41 Reflecting on Genuine Influence Resources and ReferencesFalk, A., & Kosfeld, M. (2006). The hidden costs of control. American Economic Review, 96(5), 1611–1630. Ingersoll, R. M., Sirinides, P., & Dougherty, P. (2017). School leadership, teachers' roles in school decision making, and student achievement (CPRE Working Paper). Consortium for Policy Research in Education, University of Pennsylvania. Ingersoll, R. M., Sirinides, P., & Dougherty, P. (2018). Leadership matters: Teachers' roles in school decision making and school performance. American Educator, 42(1), 13–17, 39. Leithwood, K., & Mascall, B. (2008). Collective leadership effects on student achievement. Educational Administration Quarterly, 44(4), 529–561. Ziegelmeyer, A., Schmelz, K., & Ploner, M. (2012). Hidden costs of control: Four repetitions and an extension. Experimental Economics, 15(2), 323–340.

    The Myth of Distributed Leadership

  3. Oct 21

    Turn Your District Goals Into Progress

    On this episode of Change Starts Here, our host Dustin Odham sits down with Maria Fleming and Betsy Wierda, co-authors of the newest edition of The 4 Disciplines of Execution for Educators. While school leaders rarely struggle to write comprehensive improvement plans, turning those high-minded goals into day-to-day results amid the daily "whirlwind" remains a persistent challenge. Maria and Betsy break down how K–12 leaders can move beyond endless initiatives to build real momentum. They share practical strategies for establishing a tight focus, acting on lead measures, keeping compelling scoreboards, and maintaining a weekly cadence of accountability. From empowering custodial staff to celebrating growth milestones with five-year-olds, this episode provides an actionable roadmap for aligning entire school communities around what matters most. Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and share your thoughts in the comments!  Join the authors of The 4 Disciplines of Execution for Educators, district leaders, and superintendents for an exclusive live webcast featuring a virtual school walkthrough and live Q&A. Learn how to build alignment, shared ownership, and lasting focus across your district. 🗓 Date: November 13 at 12:00 PM EDT Claim Your Spot for the Live 4DX Event Here : https://www.fcevents.com/website/98987/?utm_campaign=4DX_Fall_Campaign&utm_content=webinar&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=podcast&utm_term=4DX_fall Host: Dustin Odham Guest(s): Maria Fleming, Leader in Me Coach/Consultant, and Betsy Wierda, Leader in Me Coach/Consultant Time Stamps & Show Notes:00:00 The Day-to-Day Disconnect 00:53 From Great Intentions to Results 03:18 Meet Betsy Wierda and Maria Fleming 06:42 Why Executing Priorities Is Hard 08:36 Escaping the Whirlwind of School 10:23 Aligning Wildly Important Goals 12:59 Activity Versus True Progress 14:32 Building Scoreboards and Alignment 16:49 Unifying Staff Around Mission 18:36 Falling to Systems Over Goals 20:34 Turning Around College Park Elementary 24:06 Talking With Students About Data 25:25 Hope and Student Agency Research 27:28 The 4 Disciplines Explained 30:59 The Power of Celebrating Wins 32:10 Practicing Selective Abandonment 34:19 4DX Educator Learning Opportunities 36:28 Shifting Paradigms to See Outcomes

  4. Oct 13

    If-Then Beats Willpower

    In this Change Starts Here research conversation, Kim Yaris and Dr. Eve Miller pick up where their last episode on hope left off: you've named the goal and the obstacle in your way, so what do you actually do when that obstacle shows up? They dig into why following through has less to do with willpower than most of us were taught, starting with a study on distractible kindergartners and a confession from Kim about an exercise routine she abandoned on day ten. From there, Kim and Eve walk through decades of research on implementation intentions, the psychologist Peter Gollwitzer's work showing that a simple “if this happens, then I'll do that” plan outperforms a plan with no trigger attached to it by a wide margin. They close with a practical way for school leaders, teachers, and anyone managing a team to write a plan that actually survives a busy day. Download the Handout: Handout: https://resources.franklincovey.com/c/csh-s7e8-handout?x=BaUe_e Hosts:  Kim Yaris, M.Ed. (Associate Director of Research with FranklinCovey Education) Dr. Eve Miller (Director of Research with FranklinCovey Education) Timestamps:  00:00 Intro 00:14 The cartoon distraction study 02:04 Welcome to Change Starts Here Research Conversations 03:47 Kim's confession: the exercise plan that didn't stick 04:33 It's not about self-discipline 05:22 The principal who meant to get into classrooms 06:56 Getting practical with if-then plans 08:09 The winter break essay study 10:00 Eve's own dissertation story 11:06 642 studies and the real effect size 12:53 Building the principal's if-then plan 14:42 Writing your own if-then plan 16:18 Using this with teachers and with your team 18:24 This week's assignment and closing thoughts

    If-Then Beats Willpower

  5. Oct 6

    The Progress Trap: When Doing More Isn’t Moving Us Forward

    In education, there’s always more to do. Competing priorities, urgent requests, new initiatives, and everyday demands can keep us constantly moving—but being busy and making progress aren’t the same thing. When everything feels important, how do we decide what deserves our focus? In this episode, Change Starts Here host Dustin Odham explores how educators can move beyond activity and create meaningful progress by focusing on what matters most. Drawing from the FranklinCovey Education report Overwhelmed and Overcommitted, Dustin challenges us to define what progress looks like, make it visible, and stay focused long enough to see the work make a difference. Download the report now to go deeper and help your team focus on what matters most: https://content.franklincovey.com/execution-report?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=4DX_Fall_Campaign&utm_term=4DX_fall&utm_content=report Host: Dustin Odham Time Stamps & Show Notes: 00:00 October Tells the Truth  00:43 The Fading August Energy  01:13 Culture Is What You Repeat  02:05 Activity Versus Actual Progress  02:58 The Trap of False Urgency  03:30 Overwhelmed and Overcommitted Report Insights  04:00 The Air Traffic Controller Analogy  04:40 Doing Less to Achieve Better  05:08 Leveraging October Evidence for Wins  06:05 Becoming Intentional About What Repeats  06:33 The Power of Visible Progress  07:25 Saying We Are Not There Yet  08:00 Three Questions for Leadership Teams  08:48 Your Progress Determinant Final Thought

    The Progress Trap: When Doing More Isn’t Moving Us Forward

  6. Sep 29

    The Head and Heart of Continuous School Improvement

    What does it take to keep improving when nothing is technically broken? In this episode of Change Starts Here, Dustin Odham sits down with Dr. Monica Schroeder, Superintendent of North Shore School District 112, to explore how a high-performing district creates urgency, focus, and shared ownership around continuous improvement. Monica shares how years of intentional work around culture, leadership, data, and student outcomes have helped North Shore 112 keep moving forward—and how tools like the 4 Disciplines of Execution® are helping the district sharpen its focus around a few wildly important goals. Their conversation gets into the leadership behind that progress: building collective efficacy, creating alignment without adding more noise, giving students a stronger voice, and continuing to raise the bar even when the district is already performing well. It’s a practical look at what sustained improvement requires when the goal isn’t to fix what’s broken, but to keep getting better. Want to learn more about North Shore School District 112? Visit their website to check out their progress and WIGs: https://www.nssd112.org/ Host: Dustin Odham Guest: Dr. Monica Schroeder, Superintendent of North Shore School District 112 Time Stamps & Show Notes:00:00 Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast 00:41 Introducing Dr. Monica Schroeder 02:15 Embracing Technical Pivots and Patience 03:09 First-Generation Roots and Work Ethic 03:55 Two Decades at North Shore 112 05:56 Measuring Staff Culture and Engagement 07:48 Rejecting the "Good Enough" Mindset 08:39 Setting Wildly Important Goals for Kids 10:29 Creating Urgency Without a Crisis 11:59 Personal Literacy Story and Student Agency 13:29 Moving Data from Compliance to Ownership 15:02 The 4 Disciplines of Execution Framework 18:18 Cutting the Noise with Focus 19:31 Applying 4DX to Personal Wellness Goals 21:33 Addressing the Student Engagement Disconnect 25:08 Putting Eighth Graders on School Board 27:37 Merging Championship Culture with Academics 29:46 Leading with an Abundance Mindset 33:15 Avoiding Internal Competition Across Schools 35:10 Transparent Dashboards and Systemic Growth

    The Head and Heart of Continuous School Improvement

  7. Sep 22

    Hope Is A Plan

    On this episode of Change Starts Here: Research Conversations, hosts Kim Yaris and Dr. Eve Miller dive into a two-part research series on why setting big goals and visualizing success often falls short. Dr. Miller breaks down C.R. Snyder’s science-backed definition of hope, which hinges on having both actionable pathways and a sense of personal agency, and explains why relying solely on positive thinking can actually backfire. Drawing on Gabriele Oettingen’s research, the episode highlights a surprising twist: daydreaming about success without addressing reality can lower your blood pressure and drain the physiological motivation needed to get things done. To bridge that gap, Kim and Eve walk through the WOOP framework (Wish, Outcome, Obstacle, Plan). You'll learn how to use "mental contrasting" to spot the internal hurdles holding you back and pair them with simple "if-then" plans to make your school-year goals actually stick. If you enjoyed the episode, be sure to like, subscribe, and drop your thoughts in the comments! Download the free handout here: https://resources.franklincovey.com/c/csh-s7e6-handout?x=BaUe_e&utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes  Hosts:  Kim Yaris, Associate Director of Research with FranklinCovey Education  Dr. Eve Miller, Director of Research with FranklinCovey Education  Time Stamps & Show Notes:00:00 Visualizing Success Delays Offers 00:46 Setting vs Achieving Goals 01:51 C.R. Snyder's Two-Part Hope 03:23 Identifying the Goal Execution Gap 04:19 Hope Predicts Academic Performance 05:22 Why Vision Boards Backfire 06:20 The Pitfalls of Positive Fantasies 07:06 Blood Pressure and Motivation Drops 08:38 Mental Contrasting Strategy Revealed 09:24 Explaining WOOP Acronym Framework 09:38 Urban Middle School WOOP Study 10:06 Defining Wish and Expected Outcome 11:06 Identifying Internal Personal Obstacles 12:30 Creating If-Then Execution Plans 13:27 Applying WOOP in School Leadership 14:35 Action Steps for the Week

    Hope Is A Plan

  8. Sep 15

    Are You Getting In The Way of Student Leadership?

    In this episode, Dustin sits down with Adam Welcome, a former teacher, principal, and district leader who has spent his career challenging educators to rethink what kids are actually capable of. Adam has worked with over 500 school districts in 49 states, and he brings that same high energy into a conversation about the gap between the world schools are preparing kids for and the world they're actually walking into. Adam and Dustin dig into why adults do too much for kids instead of with them, what it actually takes to let go of control in a classroom or at home, and how small shifts like starting a student podcast or a coding club can build real ownership without adding another initiative to an already full plate. Learn more about Adam and his work: https://www.adamwelcome.com Symposium: https://www.leaderinme.org/symposiums/?utm_source=shownotes Host: Dustin Odham Guest: Adam Welcome, Speaker, Bestselling Author, Former Principal Timestamps:  00:00 Cold open: everything is contagious 00:32 Meet Adam Welcome 02:34 Welcome to the show 03:30 Who are you and what do you love 05:12 What's changed for kids in five years 07:50 The skills schools aren't teaching 09:10 What adults hold onto for comfort 12:54 Get kids ready for the world they're growing up in 14:41 Letting go and giving it to students 17:00 Learning through trying, failing, and following curiosity 22:41 Getting over the fear of trusting kids 25:21 What changes when kids stop just complying 29:25 All kids can achieve 30:13 One small shift, and what principals should stop doing 36:14 Everything is contagious 39:08 What to make contagious in kids 40:21 Closing message, where to find Adam, and final thoughts

    Are You Getting In The Way of Student Leadership?
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About

Change Starts Here, presented by FranklinCovey Education, is the podcast for K–12 school and district leaders who are shaping—or ready to lead—meaningful change in their schools and communities. Through interviews with innovative educators and research-backed insights, each episode explores how to build leadership at all levels, foster high-trust school cultures, and achieve breakthrough results around what matters most. This podcast offers practical ideas and bold thinking to help you create lasting impact in your school community. Explore the episodes and dive into real stories, proven strategies, and the leadership mindset that transforms schools. This is your space for inspiration, clarity, and action. Real change starts here.

Information

  • Creator
    Franklin Covey Education
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    239
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2023
  • Show Website
    Change Starts Here

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