LEADERSHIP INTERVIEW PAPER 1

Running head: LEADERSHIP INTERVIEW PAPER

Leadership Interview Paper

Wade Grinhaug

Drake University
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Leadership Interview Paper

There were three interviews conducted for this paper. The educational leader that was

interviewed was a building principal. The community leader is a school board member and the

leader in the business field is a manager of a grocery store. For the remainder of this paper, the

principal will be referred to as Scott. The school board member will be referred as Neal and the

manager will be referred to as Jesse.

Similarities

Each leader placed an emphasis on building relationships with the people they are leading

(personal communication, 9/23/17). This was a common theme as we discussed being an

effective leader to building a positive work environment. The ability to work with their

employees and gain their respect was a part of building this rapport with their employees. The

willingness of all three leaders to be present and available for their employees was a common

theme in each interview as well.

Each leader had similar answers when asked how they promote a positive work

environment. Leading by example as well as using humor was a common theme in all three

interviews. The importance of being positive and recognizing employees for their work was

another common theme in their answers. The leaders believe it is important to celebrate reaching

goals and set high expectations for themselves and their employees.

It was interesting to hear each leader describe their unique positions but turn to

communication and relationships as keys to their success multiple times throughout the

interview. Clear communication from bottom to top and top to bottom was discussed in several
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answers from all three leaders. Communication plays a vital role in any organization and they

stressed that in their answers. Communication and relationships came up in the majority of the

responses from Jesse and Scott. Neal brought it up several times as well but not as much as Jesse

and Scott.

Differences

The leader in the business field had a different struggle than the leaders in the field of

education and the community. The struggles for Neal and Scott focused on learning the systems

and building operations. Jesse struggled with moving around the state when he was transferred as

part of each promotion he received. The company that he works for requires their leaders to

transfer to several different grocery stores to learn from a variety of other managers. It also

allows them to experience a variety of different city dynamics as they work their way towards

managing their own store. This was a factor that he had no control over as he worked his way up

to being a manager.

Scott also discussed his struggles with balancing family and work as an obstacle that he

had to work to balance early in his career (personal communication, 10/2/17). Scott was able to

start his administration career in a district that he liked but it wasn’t where he lived. He struggled

to move to the district he is currently in but he is thankful that he did. He wanted to remain

committed to his district that gave him his first chance in administration but several colleagues

we pulling him to another district. The choice was eventually made with family in mind and he

pursued the opportunity in the new district because of the extra time it would allow him to spend

with his family.

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There was a difference in how leaders in the business field hold their employees

accountable versus the education field. Scott focused on building relationships and culture to

help hold his employees accountable. The focus was on helping the employees improve and

grow. He mentioned that several employees have said that they want to do the right thing so that

it doesn’t impact their relationship (personal communication, 9/29/17). Scott and Neal also

discussed the importance of understanding policies to help hold others accountable.

Jesse focused more on overall store performance instead. The store is broken down by

departments and each department has a goal that they try to meet quarterly. Each department is

held accountable based upon how they perform towards their goal. Jesse is held accountable

based upon the overall store performance. There seemed to be more of a focus on departments

instead of individuals.

Neal’s advice for a new leader was to educate yourself on all of the issues in the field of

education. It was interesting to hear that because it doesn’t fall in line with Simon Sinek’s

message about leadership which centers on putting others first. His message is concentrated on

relationships and being unselfish whereas Neal’s was focused on educating himself in his field. I

believe that says more about his position and the struggles that Neal deals with on a day to day

basis.

Jesse and Scott would advise a new leader to focus on communication and listening

skills. Their answers were more focused on relationships and making sure communication is

clear. It was a profound difference compared to Neal’s answer which focused more on educating

himself on the issues that his district is dealing with instead of focusing on relationships and

communication. Neal’s current role doesn’t involve as much day to day interactions as the other
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two positions but Neal believes that those interactions will increase the longer he holds his

position.

Takeaway

After conducting the interviews it was interesting to see how each leader started at an

entry level position and worked their way up to a leadership role. Each leader was able to work

in the same field but learn from multiple leaders as they took on more responsibility. Each leader

was able to prove themselves and then pursue advancement opportunities as they came along.

All three leaders pointed out the importance of communication. Communication is vital

for any organization and for leaders. The ability for leaders to clearly communicate with their

employees as well as their employees to clearly communicate with them was a point that all three

leaders brought up in their interviews.

Each leader expressed the importance of balance in their lives but they also all admitted

that it is a struggle to find balance. They all acknowledged how easy it is to sacrifice time with

family or the ability to work out in order to be available at work more. This has become a

struggle for me in my current role. As my responsibilities have increased, I have found that I am

pulled from my family more and more. Getting more efficient and learning how to prioritize is

an important skill to master in order to improve the balance between home and work. Learning

how to delegate and include yourself when needed but step away when you’re not needed is an

area that I need to work on. Each leader discussed wanting to do everything when they first

became leaders but learning how to delegate more as they gained experience.
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A big takeaway for me is the similarities and the differences that each leader used in their

leadership positions. There isn’t a right and wrong way to be a leader. There are several

connections between the business and education fields but there are also several differences.

Building trust, respect, and relationships with your employees is important in both fields and was

a common answer for several questions. These appeared to be the foundation of their leadership

approach but they each branched off from there and had different ways of leading in their

positions.

Each leader clearly has a passion for what they do and that came out in the interviews as

well. Their eagerness to take on more responsibility and continue to grow in their positions was

also expressed multiple times. The desire to want to improve and challenge their employees to

keep growing was evident in all three leaders.