E42-Dr. Joe Hill, Higher Performance Group


NewTech High Podcast
June 24, 2026


This morning, I hosted Dr. Joe Hill, speaker, author, educational leadership consultant, and founder of the Higher Performance Group, whose career spans nearly three decades as a campus and district leader in K–12 and higher education, including HS Principal at Alexandria, Assistant Superintendent in Duluth, and Superintendent at Sartell. 

Podcast Link

A first-generation college graduate and two-sport collegiate athlete, Dr. Hill rose through the ranks as both a principal and superintendent before turning his focus to a challenge he observed repeatedly throughout his career: brilliant individuals forming average teams. At age 45, a pivotal personal life event prompted him to redirect his lifework toward solving what he calls the "Individual Brilliance Ceiling" — the phenomenon where a team's smartest members inadvertently become the ceiling on its collective performance. Drawing on research across nearly 1,000 leadership teams, he developed the Team Intelligence (TQ) framework, which has shown that teams building TQ outperform comparable talent at a 2-to-1 ratio on key performance indicators. Through Higher Performance Group, Dr. Hill offers keynotes, workshops, and an eight-month Team Institute series, all grounded in his core conviction: great leaders don't scale — but great leadership teams do.

For additional information, please feel free to review Dr. Hill's full bio on our website:
https://www.higherperformancegroup.com/dr-joe-hill#bio-story. 

Learning Omnivores Conference on July 14

I want to invite all associated with the NewTech High network to consider attending the Learning Omnivores Conference at Hutchinson HS at 9am on July 14th. All associated with NewTech High should use the code HUTCH to get 50% off. We have a great cast of speakers including:

  • Luke Greiner, Regional Analyst, MN Dept. of Economic Development
  • Dr. Ric Dressen, former MN Superintendent, Current CEO-Quantum Bridge Solutions (QBS), along with Jake Trippel (QBS)
  • Richard Sheridan, author of Joy Inc.
  • Jerrid Sebesta, Growth and Motivational Speaker
  • Several other leaders connected with NewTech High 
Conference Link

Get ready to dive into a day full of fun, fresh ideas, and hands-on experiences. This in-person event brings together curious minds who love to explore and soak up knowledge from all directions. Whether you’re a lifelong learner or just starting your journey, there’s something here for everyone. This may be the best conference you have never attended! If you are an educator, business person or thinking mind, this conference was created for you!

Learning Omnivores (LO) is an organization started by Minnesota educator and author Bill Sommers in the 1990’s to support the idea of lifelong learning built through divergent thinking of building student connections/capacity/voice in traditionally adult-oriented high schools. Learning Omnivores was chosen as a title to reflect the person who consumes continual learning from birth through death. NewTech High is affiliated with Learning Omnivores.

We are looking for individuals that are interested in divergent thinking around topics such as education, artificial intelligence, agentics, entrepreneurship, workforce, public policy and future trends. There is a particular focus on education, but not exclusive to that subject. We see it a bit as an edu-preneurship conference, with ideas of business, leadership, future trends, education and artificial intelligence intersecting. Presenters are following this path.


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