Episode 231

Episode 231: Building Trust and Leading with Courage - A Conversation with Dr. Jen Schwanke

Published on: 24th August, 2025

This week on the Leaning Into Leadership podcast, I sit down with Dr. Jen Schwanke, a seasoned educator, author, and deputy superintendent with nearly three decades of experience. Together, we explore the history of public education and why times of societal unrest so often result in schools being placed under the spotlight.

Dr. Schwanke shares insights from her doctoral research, her leadership journey, and her brand-new book, Trusted: Trust Pillars, Trust Killers, and the Secret to Successful Schools. We dig into:

  • Why schools feel under attack during turbulent times—and why this isn’t new.
  • How leaders can avoid the traps of denial, defensiveness, or despair when criticism comes.
  • The importance of being trust willing as well as trustworthy.
  • Why strong systems are essential for good people to thrive.
  • Practical advice for new principals handed the master keys for the first time.
  • Strategies for instructional leadership when you don’t feel like an expert in every content area.
  • How to build authentic trust with staff, parents, and students—and why curiosity beats judgment every time.

Whether you’re stepping into school leadership for the first time or looking to sharpen your ability to lead with trust and positivity, Dr. Schwanke’s wisdom will help you show up with courage, clarity, and relentless optimism.

📚 Learn more about Dr. Schwanke’s work and books: JenSchwanke.com

✉️ Sign up for her newsletter: Principal Problems with Dr. Jen

🎧 Listen to her on the Principal Matters podcast

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About the Podcast

Leaning into Leadership
A Road to Awesome Podcast
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.

About your host

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Darrin Peppard

Darrin Peppard is an author, publisher, speaker, and consultant focused on what matters most in leadership and education. Darrin is an expert in school culture and climate, as well as coaching and growing emerging leaders, and is the author of the best selling book Road to Awesome: Empower, Lead, Change the Game.

Darrin was named the 2016 Wyoming Secondary School Principal of the Year by WASSP/NASSP and was the 2015 Jostens Renaissance Educator of the Year. In 2017, Darrin earned his Doctorate Degree in Educational Leadership from the University of Wyoming. Darrin was inducted into the Jostens Renaissance Hall of Fame in 2019.

Darrin now shares his experiences from over 25 years in education, specifically those learned as an education leader during the past 13 years. As a ‘recovering’ high school principal, Darrin shares lessons learned and effective strategies from over 25 years in public education to help leaders (both adults and students) to become more effective and positively impact the world around them. Connect with Darrin at roadtoawesome.net