Leadership Lenses with Barry Kislowicz

Leadership Lenses Podcast

Leadership Lenses is a new podcast designed for Heads of School, Principals, Menahalim, Roshei Yeshiva and anyone who wants to improve Jewish day school and yeshiva education. These podcast episodes will come out in weekly installments designed for busy leaders. Each one will address a dilemma submitted to us by our listeners and provide our thoughts and hopefully some helpful insights.

  1. 1d ago

    The Art of Donor and Parent Relations with Raimy Rubin

    Most schools are good at asking. They are far less consistent at thanking and reporting. And that gap is quietly costing them the relationships that matter most.In this episode of Leadership Lenses, I speak with Raimy Rubin, fundraising consultant and communications expert, about what it really takes to make donors and parents feel genuinely connected to a school.We explore why the hero of every communication should be the audience, not the organization, what the "Ask-Thank-Report" cycle is and why keeping each step separate is so powerful, and how to build deeper relationships even when time is impossibly tight.Raimy also shares a simple and immediately actionable approach for the summer months, and a mindset shift that makes the whole thing feel manageable rather than overwhelming.It is a conversation that starts with donors and ends up being about every stakeholder relationship a school leader has.I can't wait to hear what you take away from this conversation.Reach out to our guest: 🌐 Website: https://www.raimyrubin.com/ ✉️ Email: raimy@raimyrubin.com Get in touch with us:  Website:⁠⁠ https://kislowiczconsulting.com⁠⁠ Subscribe to my Substack:⁠⁠ https://kislowiczconsulting.substack.com⁠⁠ Instagram:⁠⁠ https://www.instagram.com/leadershiplenses/⁠⁠ LinkedIn:⁠⁠ https://www.linkedin.com/in/bkislowicz/⁠⁠ Listen on Apple Podcasts: ⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-lenses-with-barry-kislowicz/id1813728680

    33 min
  2. Jun 3

    Sustaining Excellence: A Community Approach to Jewish Education with Dr. Miriam Heller Stern

    Moving from the academic study of Jewish education to leading an entire Jewish community is no small shift. But Dr. Miriam Heller Stern did not step into the CEO role at BJE Los Angeles to maintain what already exists. She stepped in to reimagine it.In this episode of Leadership Lenses, I speak with Dr. Miriam Heller Stern about what it means to build a communal engine for Jewish education, and why the questions we ask about our work matter as much as the answers we give. We explore her three-pillar approach to supporting families, teachers, and schools across Los Angeles, what she is learning about parent anxiety in this moment in Jewish history, and why teacher retention is not separate from the question of how we nourish educator souls.We also dig into what sustainable excellence actually means, and why schools need to stop thinking about themselves in isolation and start thinking about the ecosystem they operate within.It is a conversation about building systems that lift up the whole, and a reminder that the way forward is not about doing more with less. It is about doing what matters most.I can't wait to hear what you take away from this conversation. Reach out to our guest: 🌐 Website: https://www.bjela.org/✉️ Email: Miriam@bjela.org.Get in touch with us:  Website:⁠⁠ https://kislowiczconsulting.com⁠⁠ Subscribe to my Substack:⁠⁠ https://kislowiczconsulting.substack.com⁠⁠ Instagram:⁠⁠ https://www.instagram.com/leadershiplenses/⁠⁠ LinkedIn:⁠⁠ https://www.linkedin.com/in/bkislowicz/⁠⁠ Listen on Apple Podcasts: ⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-lenses-with-barry-kislowicz/id1813728680

    34 min
  3. May 27

    Building Lifelong Torah Learners with Rabbanit Dr. Yosefa Fogel Wruble

    Every school says it wants to create lifelong learners. But what does that actually take, and are we building the right foundations to get there?In this episode of Leadership Lenses, I speak with Rabbanit Dr. Yosefa Fogel Wruble, a Tanakh teacher, Yoetzet Halacha, and educator at Matan, Migdal Oz, and Herzog College, about what she sees when the students we educate in high school show up years later as adult learners. We explore what builds the lifelong learning muscle, why the Beit Midrash model may be the future of all learning, and what gets lost when schools tip too far toward religious development at the expense of intellectual rigor, or the other way around.Yosefa also shares a striking perspective on literacy in an AI world, why human connectivity is becoming the most precious currency in education, and what responsibility parents need to reclaim from school systems.It is a conversation that moves between the classroom and the Beit Midrash, between high school and adulthood, and asks the question every Jewish educator should be sitting with: what are we really preparing our students for? I can't wait to hear what you take away from this conversation.Reach out to our guest:🌐 Website: https://www.yosefafogelwruble.com/Get in touch with us: Website:⁠⁠ https://kislowiczconsulting.com⁠⁠ Subscribe to my Substack:⁠⁠ https://kislowiczconsulting.substack.com⁠⁠ Instagram:⁠⁠ https://www.instagram.com/leadershiplenses/⁠⁠ LinkedIn:⁠⁠ https://www.linkedin.com/in/bkislowicz/⁠⁠ Listen on Apple Podcasts: ⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-lenses-with-barry-kislowicz/id1813728680⁠

    34 min
  4. May 20

    What the Data Says About Great Leadership with Gali Cooks of Leading Edge

    Most leaders know they should be giving more feedback. And most leaders are not doing it. So what gets in the way, and what does it actually take to build a culture where people can grow?In this episode of Leadership Lenses, I speak with Gali Cooks, CEO of Leading Edge, about what ten years of data on Jewish nonprofit organizations reveals about how leaders can bring out the best in their people. We explore why feedback so often falls short, what it means to set up employees for success before the conversation even starts, and why the best managers are fundamentally teachers.Gali also shares what Leading Edge has learned about the highest leverage points in any organization, why two-way communication is the single biggest driver of employee engagement, and how leaders can stay close to the work without crossing into micromanagement.It is a conversation about what it really means to lead people well, and why the organizations that get this right are the ones that thrive.I can't wait to hear what you take away from this Reach out to our guest:🌐 Website: https://www.leadingedge.org/ Get in touch with us:  Website:⁠ https://kislowiczconsulting.com⁠ Subscribe to my Substack:⁠ https://kislowiczconsulting.substack.com⁠ Instagram:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/leadershiplenses/⁠ LinkedIn:⁠ https://www.linkedin.com/in/bkislowicz/⁠ Listen on Apple Podcasts: ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-lenses-with-barry-kislowicz/id1813728680

    32 min
  5. May 13

    From Consultant to Head of School: Leadership Lessons with Rabbi Maccabee Avishur

    School leadership is full of best practices. But there is a big difference between knowing what schools should do and actually sitting in the chair. So what happens when someone who spent years advising schools across the country becomes a head of school himself?In this episode of Leadership Lenses, I speak with Rabbi Maccabee Avishur, Head of School at Kohelet Yeshiva, about what shifts when you move from the broad view of a national consultant to the daily reality of leading a school. We explore what you can and cannot teach a new teacher, why hiring for charisma alone is a mistake schools keep making, and how a simple two-lesson hiring process can reveal whether someone is truly coachable.We also dig into governance, the head-board chair relationship, and why best practices in Jewish day schools are exactly that, practices and not rules, and when it might be right to color outside the lines.It is a conversation about the gap between theory and practice, and what it really takes to lead well over time. I can't wait to hear what you take away from this Reach out to our guest:🌐 Website: https://www.koheletyeshiva.org/ Get in touch with us:  Website:⁠ https://kislowiczconsulting.com⁠ Subscribe to my Substack:⁠ https://kislowiczconsulting.substack.com⁠ Instagram:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/leadershiplenses/⁠ LinkedIn:⁠ https://www.linkedin.com/in/bkislowicz/⁠ Listen on Apple Podcasts: ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-lenses-with-barry-kislowicz/id1813728680

    28 min
  6. May 6

    Building Teams That Actually Work with Dasee Berkowitz

    School leadership is only as strong as the team behind it. But too often, leadership teams are brought together to talk strategy while the human relationships underneath go unaddressed. In this episode of Leadership Lenses, I speak with Dasee Berkowitz, executive facilitator and coach, about what it actually takes to build teams that trust each other, communicate well, and move forward together. We explore practical tools for helping school leaders step into each other's shoes, what to do when two key people on your team simply can't get along, and how to shift conflict away from blame toward a values-based conversation that opens real possibility. Dasee also shares how small, concrete behavior changes — not grand gestures — are what actually move teams forward. It's a conversation about the human side of leadership that every head of school and principal needs to hear. I can't wait to hear what you take away from this conversation. Reach out to our guest:👤Linkedin: Dasse Berkowitz✉️Email: Daseeb@gmail.com🌐 Website: https://www.daseeberkowitz.com/ Get in touch with us:  Website:⁠ https://kislowiczconsulting.com⁠ Subscribe to my Substack:⁠ https://kislowiczconsulting.substack.com⁠ Instagram:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/leadershiplenses/⁠ LinkedIn:⁠ https://www.linkedin.com/in/bkislowicz/⁠ Listen on Apple Podcasts: ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-lenses-with-barry-kislowicz/id1813728680

    29 min
  7. Apr 29

    Using AI to Lead Smarter with Dr. Sarah Rubinson Levy

    School leaders today are overwhelmed with complexity — and AI is either adding to the noise or cutting through it, depending on how you approach it.In this episode of Leadership Lenses, I speak with Dr. Sarah Rubinson Levy, a consultant with over 20 years of experience in Jewish education, about how schools can use AI not just as a classroom tool, but as a lever for organizational clarity and more effective leadership.We explore the three tracks every school should be thinking about when it comes to AI, why the schools getting the most out of it are the ones willing to ask harder questions about their mission and culture, and how leaders can think more intentionally about the role they play in any given meeting or project.This episode moves from the practical to the philosophical, and offers something every Jewish school leader can take back to their desk on Monday morning. I can't wait to hear what you take away from this conversation._______________________________________________________________________Reach out to our guest:👤Linkedin: Sarah Rubinson Levy✉️Email: sarah@sarahrubinsoncc.com🌐 Website: https://www.sarahrubinsoncc.com/Get in touch with us: Website:⁠ https://kislowiczconsulting.com⁠ Subscribe to my Substack:⁠ https://kislowiczconsulting.substack.com⁠ Instagram:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/leadershiplenses/⁠ LinkedIn:⁠ https://www.linkedin.com/in/bkislowicz/⁠ Listen on Apple Podcasts: ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-lenses-with-barry-kislowicz/id1813728680

    27 min
  8. Apr 15

    Lessons from 36 Years of Day School Leadership with Rabbi Eli Rubin

    What does it take to lead Jewish day schools successfully across four decades — and what does that experience reveal about where Jewish education needs to go next?In this episode of Leadership Lenses, I speak with Rabbi Eli Rubin, who has served as Rosh Yeshiva and Head of School at Kushner in New Jersey for 18 years, following his 18 years as Dean and Headmaster at Ramaz.We explore the tension between running a school as a community and running it as an organization, and why leaders must be willing to hold both at once.Rabbi Rubin shares how he thinks about financial sustainability, what it really takes to make the case to donors, and why strong governance is the foundation of it all.Then the conversation opens up into something bigger: in a moment of historic disruption for American Jewry, what are we actually preparing our students for?Rabbi Rubin argues that Jewish day schools must cultivate not only strong Jewish identity, but genuine ownership of American civic life — and that we have very little time to get there.This episode moves from the operational to the visionary, and offers a perspective that every Jewish school leader should hear.I can't wait to hear what you take away from this conversation.Reach out to our guest and learn more about his school:🌐 School Website: https://www.jkha.org/Get in touch with us:  Website:⁠ https://kislowiczconsulting.com⁠ Subscribe to my Substack:⁠ https://kislowiczconsulting.substack.com⁠ Instagram:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/leadershiplenses/⁠ LinkedIn:⁠ https://www.linkedin.com/in/bkislowicz/⁠ Listen on Apple Podcasts: ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-lenses-with-barry-kislowicz/id1813728680

    29 min

About

Leadership Lenses is a new podcast designed for Heads of School, Principals, Menahalim, Roshei Yeshiva and anyone who wants to improve Jewish day school and yeshiva education. These podcast episodes will come out in weekly installments designed for busy leaders. Each one will address a dilemma submitted to us by our listeners and provide our thoughts and hopefully some helpful insights.

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