# 371. Lead Where Your Feet Are: Featuring David James

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/aspire-to-lead-881344/371-lead-where-your-feet-are-featuring-david-james
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/aspire-to-lead-881344/371-lead-where-your-feet-are-featuring-david-james.md
Podcast: [Aspire to Lead](https://stenobird.com/podcast/aspire-to-lead-881344)
Published: 2026-03-08T01:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://joshstamper.com/lead-where-your-feet-are-featuring-david-james
Audio file: https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/521dc79d-24dd-47d8-9294-303dfcca6f26.mp3
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/aspire-to-lead-881344/episodes/371-lead-where-your-feet-are-featuring-david-james
Duration seconds: 1988

## Resource

What happens when a former assistant principal chooses to return to the middle school classroom and discovers a deeper, wider form of leadership than the front office ever offered? In this episode of Aspire to Lead, Joshua Stamper talks with David James, seventh grade social studies teacher, lead mentor, and conference director for the North Carolina Association for Middle Level Education, about what it really means to lead where your feet are.​ David shares how his journey from substitute teacher to AP and back to the classroom reshaped his view of growth mindset, professional learning, and influence, and why he now sees every student in his 1,200 student building as “his kid.” He breaks down the BT support structures at Harold E. Winkler Middle School, including a non evaluative mentoring model and weekly Wolf Pack Workshop PD that is led by teachers for teachers, and explains why consistency, clear structures, and teaming are non negotiables in middle level education.​ The conversation closes with a preview of the upcoming NCMLE conference in Charlotte, where David is conference director, and a powerful challenge to aspiring and current leaders to connect beyond their buildings and invest deeply in the roles they already hold, rather than chasing titles. About David James David is an 18 year veteran of K-12 education. He started his teaching journey as a graduate of Ohio University in 2007. After moving to North Carolina in the fall of 2011, David became part of the inaugural teaching staff at the award winning Harold E. Winkler Middle School, a 6-8 International Baccalaureate school located in Concord, NC, 15 miles north of Charlotte. David currently serves in multiple teacher-leadership capacities at HWMS. As an English/Language Arts and Social Studies Teacher, Le…

## Actions

- request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/aspire-to-lead-881344/episodes/371-lead-where-your-feet-are-featuring-david-james/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.
- read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/aspire-to-lead-881344/371-lead-where-your-feet-are-featuring-david-james.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.

A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed.

## Transcript

Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.