About Today’s Show

Today’s podcast features Jon Eckert, the Copple Professor for Christians in School Leadership at Baylor University and a Cardus Senior Fellow. Jon talks with Lynn Swaner about the Flourishing Schools construct of Leadership Interdependence, where “leaders, including board members, have diverse backgrounds and are transparent about and rely on others to offset their weaknesses.” Jon shares his work around collective leadership and shares insights for Christian schools on creating dynamic leadership teams that do transformative work together.

To go further in learning about this construct, check out the blog post Collective Leadership: A Catalyst for Flourishing Schools by Jon Eckert. To learn more about Flourishing Schools Research, check out the Flourishing Together book by Lynn Swaner and Andy Wolfe (Eerdmans 2021) and this video overview of the research. You can also find out about the related institute for leaders and instrument for schools here. 

About the Guest

Jon Eckert, Ed.D., is the Copple Professor for Christians in School Leadership at Baylor University and a Cardus Senior Fellow. He taught intermediate and middle school students outside Chicago and Nashville for 12 years. He completed his doctorate at Vanderbilt University and served at U.S. Department of Education during the Bush and Obama administrations. For ten years, he prepared teachers at Wheaton College. He is the author of The Novice Advantage: Fearless Practice for Every Teacher and Leading Together: Teachers and Administrators Improving Student Outcomes, book chapters, and numerous articles. He researches collective leadership, teaching quality, and school improvement through Baylor’s Center for School Leadership.

About the Host

Dr. Lynn E. Swaner is the Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer at ACSI, where she leads initiatives and develops strategies to address compelling questions and challenges facing Christian education. Dr. Swaner serves as a Cardus Senior Fellow and is the co-author or editor of multiple books on Christian education, including Flourishing Together: A Christian Vision for Students, Educators, and Schools and MindShift: Catalyzing Change in Christian Education. Prior to joining ACSI, she served as a professor of education and a Christian school administrator in New York.