Leadership Interview FBLA Page 1

Leadership Interview FBLA

Lori Staples

Drake University

Overview

“Being reflective and analytical about yourself and what you believe is essential to being

at your personal or professional best” (Gupton, 2010, p. 8).

For my research on leadership I interviewed three people. I wanted to see how leadership

overlaps in the areas of education, business, and community leaders. As I conducted my

interviews I found all three leadership roles face the same challenges regardless of their

background, experiences, or staff that they lead.

Principal

The first is a principal in a suburb of the metro area. He has served as a principal for the

past eight years; five in Des Moines and three in Ankeny. Prior to his administrative role he was

a dean for two years and a classroom teacher for five year all in Des Moines Public schools. As

principal he serves sixty- three people on his staff and three hundred and sixty- five students. He

carries a variety of roles and responsibilities as principal. As a leader he supervises the areas of

curriculum and instruction and assessment in his school, serves as the evaluator of the staff

members in his school; teachers, associates, food service, and custodians, he is responsible is

student and parent concerns; he is the main contact and point person when concerns arise with

the student population, and community involvement, as a principal he is required to serve on

various committees to support the district.

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Re-Bath Owner

The second person I interviewed was the owner of Minnesota Re-Bath. He has owned

this business for eleven years. Prior to opening Minnesota Re- Bath he was a master plumber,

plumbing contractor, and received his degree from Iowa State University in hotel and restaurant

management. He employs on average twenty people in his business. During peak times of the

year this number will increase to thirty- five or forty employees. His main roles as a leader are

handling the finances of the business, human resources, he alone hires and lets employees go

when needed, ensuring the proper marketing is occurring to keep the business in the consumers

mind, and evaluating how the employees are doing within their different roles of the business.

Corporation Board President

The third person I interviewed is the corporation board president of Sigma Kappa

Sorority. The corporation board serves approximately 1800 alumnae and one hundred seventy-

five active members, or women who are on campus living in the chapter house, in dorms, or

apartments. She has served on the board for the past eighteen years and has held all positions

available. As corporation board president her responsibilities include overseeing the decisions of

work that needs to be done to the house and those people hired to do the work, collecting

housing fees for the women living in the chapter house, and ensuring the house is meeting all the

safety requirements.

Similarities

As I interviewed all three leaders I found a lot of similarities in their ideas of leadership.

All three leaders discussed the importance of building relationships, communication,

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collaboration, systems thinking, being flexible and open minded, and understanding that as the

leader you do not know everything.

The first response that stood out to me was all three people said relationships were a

huge part of whether or not leadership would be successful. They all feel it is important to build

relationships with those they serve so a level of trust can develop. In absence of this trust, people

will not follow their leader. Each person had a different way of building relationships with their

staff. The principal had each staff member fill out a questionnaire at the beginning of his

employment. This questionnaire asked questions about their interests and families. This has

allowed him to have personal conversations with people and have background knowledge. The

business owner, makes a point to talk to everyone that works for him on a fairly regular basis.

He also plans outside of work activities to get all employees and their families together to spend

time with each other outside of the business. An example of an activity would be this summer he

took all of his employees and their families to a Saints game. While at the game everything was

provided for them; tickets, food, and beverages. This allows people who work at different

locations and only talk on the phone an opportunity to meet each other face to face and build a

relationship between employees. The corporation board president takes time to get to know each

member serving on the board and the women living in the house. She spends time at the house

to talk to the women and get to know them.

The second similarity all the leaders had was the need for collaboration and

communication. Each person talked about how important communication with people is and

working alongside of communication is being open to collaboration. “Without collaboration,

one can easily burn out trying to do everything without help” (personal communication,

September 23, 2017) The leaders all continued on with communication by explaining the people
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you are leading need to know where you are headed. You can lead, but if there is not a clear

plan laid out no one knows where you are trying to go. This led into the conversation of the

importance of a vision and mission statement. The principal I interviewed had the opportunity to

work with his staff last summer to create a vision and mission statement for their school. He

feels this has been an opportunity for everyone to understand where, as a school, they are

headed. “The vision and mission statement must match the work that is being done, these

statements control all the work” (personal communication, September 21, 2017) The business

owner shared at a national level, Re- Bath has a vision and mission statement. However, each

region has their own group of owners working together. He is currently the President of the

Mid- Western Re- Bath region. Two years ago, his region worked to develop a vision and

mission statement to lead them in the same direction.

All three interviewees talked about the importance of systems thinking. In a leadership

role you look at structures from a different viewpoint. You have the 30,000 foot view. Your

staff as a much different viewpoint of what is happening. All three people said you need to

communicate your view with staff and put systems into place to support the work that needs to

be completed.

All three leaders discussed time as being a barrier in their work. Their jobs keep them

busy while at work and carries over into their personal lives. Each person had a different way of

separating their work and personal life. The principal has stopped checking e-mails after 7:00

PM and does not check it again until 7:00 AM. The justification for this decision is there is

nothing he can do to solve problems during these twelve hours. If he can disconnect during this

time he can focus on his family, exercise, and relax so he is ready for the next day. The business

person has been an owner for eleven years. He told me during the last three years the company
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has started to run more smoothly and he is able to get away and put others in charge evenings

and weekends to give him personal and family time. The corporation board president is in a

slightly different situation. She is not married and does not have children. She is able to drop

what she is doing to deal with emergencies that arise. Although, she did mention taking time for

herself and disconnecting from the sorority during breaks and summer.

Differences

The biggest difference I found between the three leaders are awards. In the business and

community involvement world there are numerous awards you can win. The Re- Bath owner has

won the National Re- Bath Presidents Award, National Installer of the Year, and has been

featured in Remodeler Magazine Top 500 Companies. The corporation board president has won

the Sigma Kappa Five Star Award for outstanding chapters and Sigma Kappa Corporation Board

of the year. The principal was the only person who did not have any awards to list. All of these

leaders are working equally hard and have difficult jobs, but in two areas this work is awarded by

honors.

The way these three leaders receive their staff are quite different. A principal is hired and

the staff comes with the building. At the beginning of their employment they have no say in who

is on their staff. They come in to their position with an immediate need to build relationships

and figure out the systems currently in place. The business owner is able to build their own staff

from the ground up. He is in charge of hiring the people he would like to have work for him.

When they are not doing their job the process of letting them go is much easier than that of the

principal. The corporation board president is elected into their position. The people they lead

are also elected into their positions so as the president they have no voice in their team. All three
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of these positions are charged with leading a team of people, however, the choice of people they

are leading varies greatly.

Surprising

I feel one of the most surprising answers I received was when I asked for advice for new

leaders. All three people said to learn from others in leadership roles similar to yours and use

them as a mentor. “Understand you don’t know everything” (Personal communication,

September 21, 2017). He went on to talk about the importance of using your strengths, but being

aware of areas of improvement. The business owner stated “listen to people around you that

have experience and learn from them” (Personal Communication, September 28, 2017). All

three leaders saw the value in those who have done the work before them. They believe you

need to listen and understand the work that has been done and to learn from other people’s

mistakes along the way. By doing this, you are able to move your staff farther without hitting

barriers that can be avoided.

New Learning

My biggest learning about leadership during this experience is no matter what position you

are in, the role of leadership does not change. All three of these positions are very different, but

they overlap in the work that needs to be done as they grow their building, business, or committee.

As a leader it is your responsibility to ensure systems are in place so that everyone in your

organization knows the mission and vision you are working towards. You must build personal

relationships with the people you are working with. They need to have a solid level of trust with

you and believe in the work you are doing.

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Conclusion

All three leaders agree that although the role of leadership is hard and takes a lot of energy

and time, it is important work. The leaders recognize their leadership roles take a lot of time and

energy. However, they feel their work is important and the benefits outweigh the negative aspects.