Leadership in Times of Loss with Dr. Uyi Osunde

An Imperfect Leader

Book Update!

Imperfect Leaders! My book, An Imperfect Leader: Leadership in (After) Action is available on Amazon.com. If there is no hyperlink to follow, please go to Amazon.com or peterstiepleman.com. You can order it there.

Intro: Hello Imperfect Leaders. I am publishing this episode on October 9. I feel an incredible amount of grief and rage and loss for the people of Israel. I feel an incredible amount of grief, too, for the innocent Palestinians in Gaza who are powerless to stop Hamas from bringing about the destruction of their homes and their lives, not to mention the devastation to so many of our hopes for peace and the dream of two states.

The last time I felt this sense of loss was nearly 28 years ago, on November 4, 1995. On that tragic day, we learned that Yitzhak Rabin had been assassinated. We feared the progress made during the Oslo Accord would be lost. So much loss. Loss is a profound and sometimes paralyzing feeling. It can push us into despair. School leaders must regularly deal with loss.

This week, my guest, Dr. Uyi Osunde uses his After Action Review segment to discuss loss and the promise he made to never allow someone to feel alone, to grieve alone. There’s a good deal of advice for leaders at every level.

Thanks for tuning in.

Bio: Dr. Uyi Osunde has been the superintendent of schools in Stratford, Connecticut since 2021. Dr. Osunde possesses a wealth of school leadership experience, serving as a high school principal, an assistant principal and counselor in Connecticut high schools.

Further Info: In 2014, a former colleague of Uyi's, Scott Goldsmith, wrote an incredibly moving piece. He chronicled Uyi's college and professional football career in such a human-centered way. I urge listeners to follow the link to learn more about Dr. Osunde's life and tremendous display of resilience.

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This episode is brought to you, in part, by the Waters Center for Systems Thinking. The Waters Center helps people understand what systems thinking is and how to incorporate the Habits, tools and concepts of systems thinking into their work and life to achieve desired results. To learn more, go to waterscenterst.org.

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An Imperfect Leader: The Superintendents and Leadership Podcast is supported by ILAA, LLC, a firm dedicated to supporting aspiring, new, and established leaders. For more information, please find them at www.human-centeredleaders.com.

Music for An Imperfect Leader was written and arranged by Ian Varley.

Sam Falbo created our artwork, a wood-print inspired daruma doll butterfly.

www.peterstiepleman.com