Thrilled to welcome Dr. Jason Radford, recently-retired Superintendent of Oldham County Schools (KY), to An Imperfect Leader: The Superintendents and Leadership Podcast. His journey is a terrific example of trust, strategy, and servant leadership.
Here are three big takeaways for all of us imperfect leaders:
✨ 1. Trust Through Transparency & Vulnerability: When trust was low and turnover high, Dr. Radford launched a “Rounding Roadshow” to connect with all 1,500 employees. In year one, he publicly shared the most critical feedback (including comments about himself). That honesty shifted the culture. By year three, 99% said the district was on the right track.
📚 2. Strategy That Reaches the Student’s Desk: Oldham County’s strategic plan boils down to one clear promise: every student feels known, valued, supported, loved, and safe.
🤝 3. Presence Heals: The Roadshows revealed staff were starved to hear directly from their superintendent. Showing up did more than close the gap between central office and schools. It created space for healing after the pandemic. Dr. Radford shared that the process healed him, too. 💙
A heartfelt thank you to Dr. Radford for modeling imperfect leadership with such honesty and care.
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Superintendent Support Reimagined!
Zach Taylor and I are creating a reflective, virtual Community of Practice designed exclusively for Superintendents and Senior District Leaders. While calling it An Imperfect Leadership Community of Practice makes sense, I keep advocating for Talk Supt 🙂. Want to learn more? Check out our video here 👇 or visit:
https://imperfectleader.com/imperfect-leadership-community-of-practice/
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An Imperfect Leader is sponsored by Yondr.
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Go to overyondr.com to learn more.
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An Imperfect Leader: Leadership in (After) Action is supported by ILAA, LLC, a firm dedicated to supporting aspiring, new, and established leaders. For more information, please find them at imperfectleader.com.
Music for An Imperfect Leader was written and arranged by Ian Varley.
Sam Falbo created our artwork, a wood-print inspired daruma doll butterfly.