Reflection from Interview

My interview with Mrs. Linda Parker was very informative and eye opening to some of the things that I may face as a superintendent. She is a certified superintendent and is currently an acting principal. I found that we have many of the same views on leadership, which is one of the reasons that I chose her as my site supervisor. We seem to react very similar to situations that come up. Beginning with the first questions, Mrs. Parker began to impress me with her ideas and thoughts on superintendence and leadership. I asked what her definition of leadership is and she answered it, but also answered question 5 without evening realizing it. Leadership to her is “leading by example and acting ethically and morally in doing so.” Mrs. Parker went on to say that she feels the need to be the hardest working person on campus but knows when to let go and let others shine. As we talked, I realized that there were many positives and negatives to the job. We discussed the fact that it is the same with any job. One may view a negative aspect as “dealing with the public” on a regular basis, but at times that would be a positive. Just as in any leadership role, you have to take the good with the bad and hopefully the knowledge you have gained through life’s experiences will transfer in the difficult situations. One of the most important things that I gained from the talk was the need to build a relationship with, not only the board, but all “stakeholders” in the district. The difficult part of this is always feeling the need to be “on” and ready to discuss a variety of topics at anytime. However, the personality trait of being a “people person” helps her in these situations with her job. Learning to work with all types of people is a skill that I am fortunately learning now and will certainly come in handy in the future on a much larger scale. She went on to discuss the leadership skills necessary to be successful. One must possess a variety of skills and be able to “be a situational leader.” This type of leadership will allow the superintendent to put competent people in the right places and feel no need to micro-manage. Improving all staff member’s performance was another interesting topic. She feels that having a variety of professional development is vital. Not only that, but allowing the teachers in the district to have a say so in their development through surveys and needs assessments is a good way to build ownership in their professional development. We ended the discussion with Mrs. Parker saying that, even as a principal, she had to get used to the number of decisions she makes on a day to day basis. We discussed the fact that this must be multiplied as a superintendent. Thus, the need for surrounding yourself with competent people is even more important. This assignment was very insightful and allowed me to see what working as a superintendent may look like. I learned that it is important to be flexible but to stand firm in your ethical beliefs and what is best for the kids of the district. Always have a situational style of leadership and be willing to treat people differently according to their needs.