I reached a milestone on the podcast today! 100,000 downloads. Wow. I never imagined that this would be this successful. First of all, thank you to all of you for listening to this podcast for the last three and a half years.

This is a really difficult post to write, because there are so many great episodes with amazing leaders that all of them can’t be in the top 10, and so I have included a few honorable mentions below, which are some selections from the top 20 and maybe even the top 50.

Truly, though, I have learned so much from every single interview I have done over the last three years. Listening to the entire back catalog of Transformative Principal is like a Masters in Educational Leadership.

If you implement just 1 thing from each interview, I am sure you will be a top educational leader in your area very quickly. These people are amazing!

So, let’s get to the list!

1. Helping Great Teachers Fly with Rick Wormeli and Todd Whitaker Transformative Principal Special #nassp16

This interview with Rick Wormeli and Todd Whitaker was really amazing. Not only did these two spend 30 minutes after a keynote with me, they also spent a few extra minutes answering my specific questions and really encouraging me. These guys are amazing.

2. Dealing with Toxic Staff with Randy Sprick Transformative Principal 143

One of the difficult things we experience in schools is dealing with people who choose to be toxic. Randy gives some great advice here to help us

3. Stop Stealing Dreams with Seth Godin Transformative Principal 131

When I emailed Seth Godin to invite him to be part of the podcast, he very graciously agreed. Be sure to read “Stop Stealing Dreams“

4. How to Listen to Students with Amy Fast Transformative Principal 133

Somebody mentioned that I should read Amy’s book, “It’s the Mission, Not the Mandates.” So, I thought I should reach out and have her on the podcast. She has a fascinating story!

5. School-Wide Meetings with Jonathon Wennstrom Transformative Principal 124

Jon Wennstrom was on the leadership summit last year, and this is the interview that I knew would be awesome.

6. Failure is not an Option with Rachel Yanof Transformative Principal 135

This is a great interview that talks about how Rachel’s goal is every single student in College when they graduate. Powerful stories from Arizona.

7. It’s the Mission with Amy Fast Transformative Principal 132

Amy Fast repeats on this Top 10 list. You’ll see why here.

8. Routines to Make Yourself More Successful with Karine Veldhoen Transformative Principal 160

Don’t we all want to be better? Putting routines into practice is a difficult thing to master, but easy for anyone to start. It requires setting aside time to be intentional and plan appropriately! Don’t delay, get started on this today!

9. Establishing PLCs with Geri Parscale Transformative Principal 087

We all want to get to the point of having highly functional teams. Geri gives us the insight here:

10. Changing Hearts with Scott Beebe Transformative Principal 129

This conversation with Scott Beebe really came at a good time for me and I implemented many of the things he talks about, with great results.

Honorable Mention

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The Gift of Failure with Jessica Lahey Transformative Principal 161

This was like a dream to me to interview Jessica Lahey. She is so kind and so generous and really helped challenge me to provide more opportunities for kids to learn successfully from their failures. And this will be in the top 10 shortly because lots of people are listening to this one repeatedly.

My Bad with Jon Harper Transformative Principal 169
A long time listener emailed me after this one and said, “This is probably your best yet!“ I love this interview as Jon and I talk about how to recognize your own mistakes as a leader and how to overcome them.

Positive Behavior with Chris Wejr Transformative Principal 021

I just love this interview with Chris Wejr. He really shaped my thinking early on in my career and it is powerful stuff when you talk about getting kids to do the right thing because it is the right thing.

Shameless Self-promotion!

RTI scheduling with Jethro Jones Transformative Principal 100

I’m plugging this one because my then-AP (@damonhargraves) and I discuss the ways that we made a huge impact in our school by creating a real RTI schedule. What does that mean? It means we created a schedule that gives kids what they need, when they need it, and allows for some choice.