Cohesion is the degree to which a group or community works well together to achieve a common goal. To distribute such trust is to teach and show others how to methodically and collectively focus on shared purpose, principles, and performance in return for a significant and sustainable impact.

 

DO YOU HAVE A HUMBLE AND AMBITIOUS MINDSET?

 

What authorities are saying

“We fully endorse Rich as a specialist in building culture based on our collaboration on multiple projects.”
— Organizational development authority Ann Rhoades is the author of the best-selling leadership book, Built on Values (with the foreword by Stephen Covey) and founder of the consulting firm, People Ink. For over 25 years, the team has helped like-minded leaders to collaboratively build sustainable environments through shared purpose, behavioral-based values, and corresponding trust. Clients include leading cultures across numerous service-oriented sectors. Ann has also been a pioneering chief people officer across multiple organizations, served on numerous boards, been quoted in countless publications, and is a long-time member of the Washington Speakers Bureau.
“Follow your next strategic planning process with the work of aligning your community accordingly. Speak to Rich!”
— Education authority Christopher T. Cross is a past senior fellow with the Education Commission of the States and the Center for Education Policy, president of the Council for Basic Education, assistant US secretary of education, president of the Maryland Board of Education, director of the Business Roundtable Education, and co-founder of FourPoint Education Partners, formerly Cross & Joftus. He has been a highly trusted resource to local, state, and federal educational officials for decades.
 

measuring educator enthusiasm

“Based on your experience working at this school, how highly would you recommend to your children or others that they go into teaching, K-12 education?”
— In addition to family involvement and transformational leadership, educator enthusiasm is one of the most significant determinants of student academic growth (resilience) and related hope and well-being. (Note: This metric is intended for schools that are built to serve vs. comply.)
 

About Us

Rich started LeadingSchools Forward with support from UNC-Chapel Hill, Duke University, K-12 authorities, and mentor People Ink to make access to great, enduring education cultures contingent only on the commitment of each community. In the words of longtime and international education authority Michael Fullan, “Culture is the hallmark of effective leadership.”

As a leader and partner to others, Rich has helped elementary, middle, and high school communities to create culture, and a medical center. He has also assisted district authorities in increasing their associated capacity, conducted parallel Ph.D. studies on cohesion, and done the same work at the classroom level with students to develop their authority and related performance. Before this, he led the turnaround of four schools, P-12 (student behavior, achievement, enrollment, and overall operations), and the refinement of a top international college preparatory program. Rich joined education due in particular to an elementary teacher’s transformative impact on his life. Shy and intuitive by nature, he is brought alive by work with similar youth and like-minded communities. When not working, he enjoys spending time exploring with Amy, who works in rural philanthropy, and their son Cole, a student at CU Boulder.

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As a co-founder of People Ink, Rich’s mentor, Gayle, has helped create cultures across many professions, including patient-centered medicine and higher education. She has over 30 years of experience working in and partnering with numerous U.S. and global organizations. Before that, she was an experienced chief learning officer for a large organization where she was responsible for culture transformation, organizational and leadership development, and talent management. She is also a national leader for women entrepreneurs, having served as Board Chair for the National Association of Women Business Owners and as a board member for the Center for Women’s Business Research. Gayle lives in Bella Vista, Arkansas. She is an avid golfer along with her husband Grant. To learn more about Gayle, Ann, and the rest of their team, go to www.peopleink.com.

What clients and supporters are saying

testimonials

Faculty and Staff

“How much everyone wanted not only to create a great environment for the kids but a great environment for the adults as well. | The opportunity to be involved in a wonderful school environment. | I appreciated the philosophy and values of the school and the PBL focus. | The school’s values.”

WHAT IS IT ABOUT THE SCHOOL THAT ATTRACTED YOU? - Survey responses from staff members who were brought on together following the Built on Values process.

Principal

“Rich helped us dig deep as a new school to understand and fully flesh out our shared values and then to integrate and live those values throughout the school. The shift takes time, but for us, it has paid dividends over the years in creating a cohesive group of adults who are moving forward toward a common educational vision.”

- Tammy Finch, K-8 Director of The Expedition School, one of the highest-rated in North Carolina.

Teacher Preparation Authority

“Teacher turnover is much more than a pipeline, preparation, and pay issue. It is an organizational alignment problem. Great schools reflect their community or their culture. Principals, including great ones, come and go. I know this, having spent my life in education. Rich knows this too, and he is not just talking about it.”

Dr. Charles Coble, a long-time authority on teacher preparation and development and past Vice President of the Education Commission of the States

Principal

“I put my heart and soul into the school, and I was concerned that, like so many other schools that lose a long-term leader, the turnover rate would soar and damage the program we had built together over so many years. … Rich’s guidance was completely successful. After I left, the turnover rate did not spike, and the framework continues to be in place years later.”

- Mitch Stensland, retired principal of Chatham Central High School (NC)

Superintendent

“Having a people-centric culture, that is, one that nurtures your employees, students, and families, can help your school system stand out from the competition. If you are new to the superintendency or your board and team are ready to go to the next level, consider speaking with Rich. Our experience impressed us, and we hope to work with him and Gayle again.”

- Dr. Markley, former superintendent of New Hanover County Schools (NC)

Practician

“For years, I, like Rich, have been partnering with Ann Rhoades and People Ink. Today, the framework is reflected in the cultures of the five universities that make up the Texas Tech system. The shift has allowed students, faculty, staff, future health practitioners, and other graduates to thrive and grow in ways not previously realized.”

- Steve Sosland, Leader and Culture Development Vice Chancellor of the Texas Tech University System

P-12 Education Authority

“Too many times we have gone into a school, and the work failed to take root as a result of the culture not being ready from the start or the conditions changing when the principal left. Rich’s initiative can help change this common paradigm and the related long-term growth of our kids.”

- Dr. Terry Roberts, long-time director of the National Paideia Center, one of the oldest school reform models in the United States

Compassion Health Care

(The partnership followed a referral from a pilot school.)

“We incorporate our values into everything we do, starting with hiring & onboarding. Our staff embodies our core values because these principles are not just words on paper—they guide every aspect of how we care for our patients and interact with our community. Through quarterly staff meetings focused on our built-on-values model, regular recognition of value-based behavior, and open discussions about the importance of these values, our team is deeply committed to living them out daily. From leadership setting the example to ongoing training and support, we ensure that every staff member understands and incorporates our core values into their work, creating a culture of compassionate, patient-centered care.”

CHC, including The Caswell County Family Medical Center, serves multiple rural communities on or near the Virginia-North Carolina border.

Differentiated Services

Facilitation & Assessment: What is your community’s ideal future, and how well are you collectively aligned to this purpose?

Coaching: Assuming well built already, we can be a highly-engaged resource to you in maintaining your culture through any significant shift in leadership, growth, or other major milestones.

 

PURPOSE

To make access to great, enduring education cultures contingent only on the commitment of each community.

 

BEHAVIOR-BASED VALUES (DEFINED)

Goal INTERDEPENDENCE (succeed through transparency)

  • Maintains a disciplined focus on student, family, employee, and/or community-centered progress.

  • Demonstrates a significant desire to discover what others can offer.

  • Goes the extra mile to help others succeed and fill any void.

  • Recognizes the contributions of others and affirms and celebrates their successes.

PURPOSE (always do what is right)

  • Greets others with eye contact and a genuine smile.

  • Takes the time to develop, support, and maintain positive relationships.

  • Contributes to the best of their ability for the good of the collective.

  • Never compromises the values.

GROWTH (focus on COLLECTIVE & individual goals)

  • Thinks big, thinks differently, asks why, why not, or what could be; explores all challenges with an attitude of curiosity.

  • Promotes diversity of thinking in return for the best results, particularly long-term continuous improvement.

  • Thrives by developing [her or himself] and others, learning from past successes and failures.

 

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS (KPIs)

  • Short-term: Student academic resilience and related rates of well-being, family involvement, faculty/staff enthusiasm, transformational leadership, and community support.

  • Long-term: Student academic growth, family enrollment, employee cohesion, shared leadership, and community investment.

Notes: *Schools and systems can gauge cohesion through questions specific to inclusivity, trust, pride, and camaraderie in addition to KPIs such as those referenced above. **Student academic resilience represents the degree to which they can maintain or achieve success despite significant challenges or setbacks as related to levels of family involvement, educator enthusiasm, transformational leadership, and community support. ***Transformational leadership refers to the extent to which someone motivates and inspires community members to achieve a goal or vision of shared significance.

Connect with Us

 
 

IS YOUR SCHOOL OR SYSTEM BUILT TO COMPLY OR SERVE?

One is associated with continuous improvement. To learn more, click on either of Rich’s recent journal articles below.