Curiosity #60 - Lead from Your Core. Not Your Title.

🎤 Quotable quotes: “If you don’t know what you stand for, you’ll fall for anything."

— Dr. John Barile, Quoted by Dr. John Barile during the podcast (originally attributed to Alexander Hamilton and others)

🧠 This week on Leadership Rules, we sat down with Dr. John Barile, dean, educator, author of Leading from the Core, and longtime believer that leadership starts with who you are, not just what you do.

If you've ever wondered whether authenticity, purpose, and compassion still have a place in leadership, this is your reminder that not only do they belong… they lead.

🔍 This Week’s Deep Dive: How John Barile Leads from the Core

💡 Leadership is influence, and everyone has it
Dr. Barile reminds us that leadership isn’t about your title. It’s about your ability to move people, and that starts with showing up, listening well, and staying grounded in what you believe.

💡 Authenticity is earned through action
Leadership means navigating the tension between being honest and being responsible. Even when you don’t love the rules, you show up, serve with integrity, and lead within the frame, not outside it.

💡 Respect, trust, and teamwork aren’t buzzwords. They’re strategy
His mantra: Lead with respect. Extend trust before demanding it. And prioritize the team, because leadership doesn’t work in isolation, and neither do people.

💡 Want to solve the teacher shortage? Start with storytelling
John says if we want more people to pursue education, we need to show them the joy, not just the job. Teachers should tap students on the shoulder, tell better stories, and model what it means to make a meaningful impact.

One of the most powerful moments?

When John shared that veteran teachers and new grads alike leave the profession because of inconsistent expectations, but stay when schools lead with clarity, community, and purpose.

He’s not sugarcoating anything. He’s just showing what’s possible when you lead from your core, not your compliance checklist.

And forward this to someone who needs to hear:
“You can’t demand trust. You have to give it first.”

📺 Learn More

📍 Connect with Dr. John Barile
🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-john-w-barile-sr-33bab5169/

More leadership musings

🍪 Biscuits with the Boss: 

“What’s one leadership lesson you learned way too young?”

John went to his first concert at age six: Kiss. Fire, makeup, explosions — the works.

But his earliest leadership lesson came from home, not the stage:
“You need to be a leader. You need to be a leader.”

That’s what his dad drilled into him and his brothers, and that echo became the throughline of his career.

So what about you?

What lesson did your family, coach, or chaos teach you before you even had a job title?

📚Beard’s collection:

📖 Barile, John. Leading from the Core: Immediately Inspire Teacher Belief and Enhance School Culture
Not just a memoir. Not just a playbook. John’s book blends real-world leadership with research-backed strategy, complete with guiding questions and reflection tools. A must-read for anyone leading a school, a team, or a life of meaning.

🌎 This week in Here - There - Every F’ing where 

We had an amazing opportunity to be guests on the Under the Hat podcast. It is all about what educators are thinking about (under the many hats they wear ;) ). If you are passionate about education or the education of your own children, this is a really great listen.

Congratulations to the first graduates from the LEAD program at Choptank Electric. They have spent a year learning to Lead it Like Lasso! (And lessons from Jocko Wilnik, Brene Brown, John Maxwell and other thought leaders)

Believe! 

Nick & Marnie