Principals' Leadership Lounge

About Principals' Leadership Lounge

Welcome to the Principals' Leadership Lounge Podcast! We’re Illinois Middle School Principal of the Year Al Davenport & Old Quarry Middle School Principal Joe Sweeney, real principals sharing real-life leadership strategies, mentoring, and authentic insights. Tune in weekly for practical advice and down-to-earth discussions. Let’s lead and grow together!

Publisher

Principals' Leadership Lounge-Al Davenport and Joe Sweeney

Category

education

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

14 Aug 2024

Latest episode

14 Apr 2026

Latest episodes

38 of 48 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   14 Apr 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Season 4, Episode 7: 'Staff Wellness"

   Season 4, Episode 7 brings an important conversation to the forefront—staff wellness. Al sits down with Carly Quick to talk about what it really means to support educators in today’s demanding environment. From burnout to balance, this episode explores real strategies to help leaders create spaces where staff feel valued, supported, and energized. Because when we take care of our people, everything else follows.

2. 

   23 Mar 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Season 4, Episode 6: "WE OVER ME"

   Season 4, Episode 5: WE over ME In this episode of the Principal Leadership Lounge, Joe and Al dive into one of the most important mindsets in school leadership: WE over ME. In a profession where decisions impact entire communities, the conversation centers on how effective leaders prioritize the collective over the individual—building cultures rooted in trust, collaboration, and shared responsibility. Joe and Al reflect on what it looks like to move from “my school” to “our school,” and how that shift influences decision-making, staff relationships, and student outcomes. They explore real scenarios where leaders must balance personal perspective with the greater good, and how empowering others ultimately strengthens the entire organization. Whether it’s navigating tough decisions, supporting staff, or creating a unified vision, this episode challenges leaders to think beyond themselves and commit to something bigger. Because in leadership, the strongest schools aren’t built on “me”—they’re built on WE.

3. 

   14 Mar 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Season 4, Episode 5, "What the heck is a needo?"

   Dr. Sweeney interviews students about "Needos," exploring their impact on the school community and lessons learned about communication and self-advocacy.

Inside a recent episode

Season 4, Episode 7: 'Staff Wellness"

Published 14 Apr 2026 · Transcript excerpt

[…] And that is how we navigate the storm. And that, unfortunately, sometimes also can those still feel frustrating because you're not totally fixing everything. But there is, that's the other thing you kind of have to accept is there's really no 100 % fix. You're just having the conversations, you're trying to move the needle, you're trying to be supportive. And for a lot of people, that's enough, you know, just to know that we, you know, I was out there last week with you guys and had people coming in and saying, it's just great that you're having this conversation. It's on the burner. Maybe this side burner, because we got a lot of other things cooking, obviously, but the fact that it's even on the burner is a win and can sometimes be a protective supportive factor for people. […]

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

10 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 43 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

66

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

51

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Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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