The interview season is upon us once again. Advertisements and job descriptions are starting to be posted online, and school websites are no doubt getting serious traffic. For those looking to step into leadership, it can be an exciting and daunting experience. After years of teaching and relevant experience, it can feel like it is time to make the move into leadership. Easier said than done.
Talented competition, internal candidates, and gaps in your CV serve as genuine obstacles to gaining a position for which you are well-suited. We teach our students skills, and character education is as important as academics and grades. However, interview panels can still bias themselves towards candidates with years of experience in the role. It is both frustrating and understandable. The obstacles are real, although they serve as an opportunity for learning and reflection.
Self-Awareness
Self-awareness is a key principle of leadership, and understanding how your experience and identity impact your ability to lead is essential. The questions below force you to consider the ‘why’ of your application and candidacy, as well as your own identity and leadership philosophy. I have been asked these questions myself. Despite your level of preparation, they are challenging to answer in an interview setting.
Consider the following questions as you start preparing yourself for any leadership positions:
- What is it about the job description and the school that led you to apply for this position?
- How have you developed as a leader over the last few years?
- Tell us about your identity and how it influences who you are as an educator and leader?
The Nolan Principles
School leaders demonstrate the Seven Principles of Public Life in their daily interactions and practice. These are also known as the Nolan principles. These principles form the basis for ethical leadership in our schools:
- Selflessness
- Integrity
- Objectivity
- Accountability
- Openness
- Honesty
- Leadership
Reflect on the above principles and consider those that resonate with you. How do you demonstrate these in your daily practice, and how can you evidence them? Link these to your personal values and consider how these prepare you for a life in school leadership.
Your Leadership Philosophy Statement
When applying for leadership positions, you may be asked for an educational or leadership philosophy statement. If you have not written one before, a quick Google Search will provide you with examples that may inspire you. This statement is personal to you, and whilst resources like ChatGPT may provide some assistance, any resources will detract from your individual skills and value if you overuse them.
Having re-drafted my own recently, I can recommend the following resources to help you get started:
- What’s Your Leadership Story? By Gretchen Oltman and Vicki Bautista (see Amazon)
- Personal Statement Guidelines
- 4 Things To Avoid In Your Personal Statement
- Personal Statement Ideas
A Philosophy statement is never truly finished, and the process can feel contrived. It is a worthwhile process, so stick with it. It will help you form new ideas, clarify your values and priorities and be more articulate in your interview responses. Follow the advice, avoid buzzwords, and re-visit and update it regularly.
Recent Trends in Education
Preparation is the key to ensuring that you are aware of the recent trends in education and how these are reflected in the leadership interview setting. It used to be enough to know a school website and why you wanted the position. Not any more. Recent interview questions are designed to avoid canned responses and get to know the “real you”.
The following list of questions has appeared in recent interviews as either a candidate or hiring principal. Review them and draft your responses. You will be well prepared.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Belonging and Identity
- Share a specific example of how you have ensured every student feels valued, cared for, and included in your current school?
- Tell us how you experience and qualifications have prepared you to successfully lead a school supporting students, teachers and parents..[Insert context and job specification elements here].
- How do you foster trust and repair trust if it is broken?
- What strategies or activities have you employed to create a sense of belonging in your school/classroom? [Be specific- name and describe what you did].
- How do you/have you gone about building a strong culture and community?
- How do you help your team become cognitively engaged in their work?
Your Values, Priorities and Leadership Style:
- How do you inspire your team and teachers?
- How do you ensure that your team maintains high levels of motivation to do good work?
- What would you do if you heard via a colleague that a teacher who had attended a recent professional learning experience used this as a platform to discuss the school in a negative light?
- What innovations have you successfully introduced in the last few years?
- What would you introduce if you were successful?
- What is the most exciting change you have made to your classroom practice in the past 12 months? Why?
- What is your driving aim as a teacher?
- Who is the most inspirational teacher that you have ever had? Why?
- Teachers require a range of skills to be successful in the classroom? Which ONE skill do you think is most important? Why?
- Values and character education are at the heart of what we do. What does this mean to you? How would you promote the values and mission of the school in your daily interactions with students?
- Is there anything else you want to add that may help distinguish you as an ideal candidate for this position?
Wellbeing
- Are there steps to help ensure that your team members do not get burned out?
- Talk about how you have built relationships with parents and the wider school community.
- How have you helped promote student agency among students?
- What would you do if a student was engaged in inappropriate behaviour outside school e.g. drinking alcohol with older people and entering bars.
Managing Teachers and Conflict
- Describe an instance when you had to lead through change. How did you manage resistance among staff or stakeholders?
- Tell us about a successful professional development initiative that you have led. What was your approach? How did you measure the impact of this PD?
- How do you create buy-in or help promote the necessary change when not everyone is on board?
Role Specific Tasks
- How do you manage a budget effectively?
- How have you effectively used data to improve student outcomes?
- What are the specific challenges faced by Grade # and # students, and what has been your experience supporting them?
No amount of preparation will secure a job against a better candidate. But you will feel that you gave the best version of yourself in the interview, and any rejection will feel that little bit better. If you are true to yourself and your values, you will secure a job that is the “right fit” for you and enter a school that will value your contributions and leadership.
A Note On The Future Of Learning
Knowledgeworks has identified “Emerging Technologies/Automating Choices, Civic Superpowers, Accelerating Brains, Toxic Narratives and Remaking Geographies” as the 5 Drivers of Change in the Future of Learning.
As we prepare students for an uncertain and rapidly changing future, it is worth researching the above and how you might best educate students to succeed in today’s world. I will explore this area in future posts.
The Assistant Principal 