Leaning into Leadership
We all want to see successes in both our personal and professional lives. Often, that requires strong leadership. In a time when leadership can be more challenging than ever, this podcast is dedicated to cultivating leaders by elevating the voices of leaders and promoting positivity. Join Dr. Darrin Peppard, lifelong educator and best-selling author, for this mixed platform podcast (some solo, some guest interview) for inspiration and insight, and some great leadership stories from those are living it, excelling at it, and celebrating it. Together, let's lean into leadership.
Recent Episodes
March 18, 2026
Episode 267: Listener Question - Managing Parent Communication Without Losing Your Day
One of the most rewarding parts of hosting Leaning Into Leadership is hearing from listeners who are doing the work every day. In this episode, Darrin responds to a question from a first-year principal in upstate New York who...
March 15, 2026
Episode 266: Building Resilient Leaders and Teams with Russell Harvey
Leadership today often feels like navigating constant change. Volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity are realities many leaders face daily. But resilience is not about simply pushing through the chaos — it’s about...
March 8, 2026
Episode 265: A Textbook Isn’t a Curriculum with Emily Makelky
One of the most common mistakes schools make is confusing a resource with a curriculum. A textbook gets adopted. A program is purchased. A shiny new initiative is rolled out. And suddenly everyone says, “Great… we have a curr...
March 1, 2026
Episode 264: Leadership Presence (Part 3) - The Interpersonal Work That Makes It Real
This is Part 3 of a three-part series on leadership presence. In Episode 262, we explored the hidden cost of distraction and how trust and psychological safety erode when leaders aren’t fully present. In Episode 263, we discu...
Feb. 22, 2026
Episode 263: Leadership Presence (Part 2)- Breaking Through the Chaos
In Episode 262 , we explored the hidden cost of distraction and how trust, psychological safety, and connection erode when leaders aren’t fully present. This is Part 2 of our three-part series on leadership presence. In this ...
Feb. 19, 2026
Episode 262: Leadership Presence (Part 1) - The Hidden Cost of Leadership Distraction
This episode kicks off a powerful three-part series on leadership presence. In Part 1, Darrin explores the hidden cost of distraction and how leaders unintentionally erode trust, psychological safety, and emotional connection...
Feb. 15, 2026
Episode 261: Reclaiming Human Connection with Joe Beckman
In Episode 261, I’m coming to you on location from Edmond, Oklahoma, where I had the opportunity to sit down with my friend Joe Beckman at the OASSP conference. Joe has spent more than 20 years traveling the world with one si...
Feb. 8, 2026
Episode 260: Forward Together with George Couros - Leadership, Community, and Learning in Contentious Times
In this episode of Leaning Into Leadership , I’m joined by George Couros , one of the most influential voices in education around innovation, culture, and human-centered leadership. George and I dig into his leadership journe...
Feb. 1, 2026
Episode 259: ALIGN - The Antidote to the Cycle of Chaos in Leadership Teams
Ever left a leadership team meeting feeling like it was so productive —then realized a week later nothing really changed? In this solo episode, Darrin unpacks why that gap between effort and impact is rarely about commitment—...
Jan. 25, 2026
Episode 258: The Hidden Work - What Separates High Performers from Underachievers with Weston Kieschnick
Weston Kieschnick has been in the work for a long time—as a classroom teacher, coach, author, and speaker—and this conversation feels like two colleagues reconnecting around what actually drives performance. We dig into Westo...
Jan. 21, 2026
Episode 257: Escaping the Cycle of Chaos
Leadership doesn’t fall apart overnight. More often, it slowly drifts into a pattern that feels overwhelming, exhausting, and reactive. In this solo episode, Darrin introduces The Cycle of Chaos —a framework that helps leader...
Jan. 18, 2026
Episode 256: Rethinking Intervention and Tutoring with Jennifer Sheffield
School leaders everywhere are wrestling with the same challenge: How do we support students who are behind — without overwhelming teachers or relying on systems that don’t deliver results? In this episode of Leaning Into Lead...
Jan. 12, 2026
Episode 255: Angry Parents, Calm Leaders - A Framework for School Leaders
In this special shared episode, Darrin Peppard and Dr. Frederick Buskey —host of The Assistant Principal Podcast —tackle a challenge leaders are facing more and more often: angry, escalated parent interactions . This conversa...
Jan. 4, 2026
Episode 254: Hope Dealer with Dr. Mark Brown
What does it mean to be a dealer in hope — not as the source of hope, but as someone who helps others discover it for themselves? In this first episode of 2026, Darrin sits down with longtime friend and colleague Dr. Mark Bro...
Dec. 28, 2025
Episode 253: A Look Back, A Look Forward, and Trends I'm Seeing for 2026
As 2025 comes to a close, Dr. Darrin Peppard reflects on the year that was and what the work of leadership is asking of us as we head into 2026. In this year-end solo episode, Darrin invites both individual leaders and leader...
Dec. 21, 2025
Episode 252: The Leader You're Not with Scott Borba
This episode is sponsored by DigiCoach. Make walkthroughs meaningful. Simplify your coaching culture. Visit digiCOACH.com and mention Darrin for special partner pricing. In Episode 252 of Leaning Into Leadership , Darrin Pepp...
Dec. 14, 2025
Episode 251: Overcoming Passion Drift - A Conversation with Dr. Danny Steele
This episode is sponsored by DigiCoach. Make walkthroughs meaningful. Simplify your coaching culture. Visit digiCOACH.com and mention Darrin for special partner pricing. In this powerful and deeply personal conversation, Darr...
Dec. 10, 2025
Episode 250: Flipping the Mic - Lessons from 250 Episodes of Leaning Into Leadership
This episode is sponsored by DigiCoach Make walkthroughs meaningful. Simplify your coaching culture. Visit digiCOACH.com and mention Darrin for special partner pricing. For this milestone episode, the script gets flipped. Lon...
Dec. 7, 2025
Episode 249: From Pioneer to Powerhouse - Building Culture at Valor Christian with Keith Wahl
This episode is sponsored by DigiCoach Make walkthroughs meaningful. Simplify your coaching culture. Visit digiCOACH.com and mention Darrin for special partner pricing. If you’ve followed high-level high school athletics—espe...
Nov. 30, 2025
Episode 248: People First Leadership - A Conversation with NAESP President April Knight
This episode is sponsored by DigiCoach Make walkthroughs meaningful. Simplify your coaching culture. Visit digiCOACH.com and mention Darrin for special partner pricing. In this inspiring episode, NAESP President April D. Knig...
Nov. 23, 2025
Episode 247: You Don’t Have to Leave to Lead - A Conversation with Dr. Chris Jochum
Sponsor Spotlight: digiCOACH Support for today’s episode comes from digiCOACH — the walkthrough and coaching platform designed to simplify data collection, strengthen feedback, and improve instructional clarity. Visit digiCOA...
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