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Interview Reflection

The document summarizes an interview with Mrs. Joni Byus, the Dean of Stambaugh Charter Academy. It discusses why she was selected for the interview, what was learned from the interview, and how what was learned validates or reinforces course concepts. Key points include: - Mrs. Byus was selected because she is a successful Dean at a difficult school and is well-liked and effective. - The interviewee learned that Mrs. Byus started as a teacher and took on additional roles, like mentorship, before becoming Dean to strengthen her leadership skills. - Mrs. Byus discussed the importance of relationship building, self-awareness, collaboration, and planning - reinforcing course

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271 views

Interview Reflection

The document summarizes an interview with Mrs. Joni Byus, the Dean of Stambaugh Charter Academy. It discusses why she was selected for the interview, what was learned from the interview, and how what was learned validates or reinforces course concepts. Key points include: - Mrs. Byus was selected because she is a successful Dean at a difficult school and is well-liked and effective. - The interviewee learned that Mrs. Byus started as a teacher and took on additional roles, like mentorship, before becoming Dean to strengthen her leadership skills. - Mrs. Byus discussed the importance of relationship building, self-awareness, collaboration, and planning - reinforcing course

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© © All Rights Reserved
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Why did you select the person you chose to interview?

I selected Mrs. Joni Byus for this interview because she is a successful Dean at Stambaugh Charter Academy in
Youngstown, Ohio, which is a notoriously difficult school for administrators and teachers to succeed in. She is
well liked by the students and their families and is seen as an effective professional among her colleagues. She
is empathetic in her approach to communicating with parents and restorative and rehabilitative in her approach
to students and discipline. Mrs. Byus is timely and thorough with her administrative duties and is a respectful,
clear, concise communicator.

What did you learn from this interview that made the most impact on you and why?
Although I see Mrs. Byus as a successful and effective administrator, and very much out of my league, I
learned that she began as a teacher. She started her career by taking on the additional role of liaison between
administration and teachers. She then added the role of new teacher mentor. Still as a teacher, she took the
initiative to build a Title I program for the school. From there, she was promoted to Dean. In the charter school
system, administrators are not required to obtain an administrative license and Mrs. Byus currently does not
have one. However, by taking on additional roles for the betterment of the school and by strengthening her
soft skills, which were discussed in Module I, she has become an effective leader.

I also learned that although she has reached an elevated level in her career, she is not perfect. She willingly
admits that she does not balance family and work life well. It is eye opening and refreshing to hear an
administrator own their weaknesses.

How does what you learned in the interview validate, refute, or reinforce what you have
learned in the literature?
A lot of what Mrs. Byus discussed in her interview reinforced and validated the relationship building skills that
are necessary for effective leadership. For example, she discusses communicating with families in respectful
ways that convey the message of teamwork. She also discusses that a leader must be self- aware in order to be
effective. Self- awareness means to be cognizant of ones traits, behaviors, and feelings. She goes on to discuss
encouraging people to use their own gifts, which is synonymous with what Tom Rath discusses in Strengths
Based Leadership.

How does what you learned in this interview reflect on the notion of Professional Capital/Grit
and other course material?
Mrs. Byus talked about bringing people together for collaboration in a way that doesnt seem forced or
negative. This concept was discussed in depth in chapter 7 of Professional Capital. In Professional Capital,
Hargreaves and Fullan discusses pulling people to collaborate rather than pushing them. The authors also
discuss having an ultimate goal in mind and using a backwards design to organize collaboration. Mrs. Byus also
talked about a strength in leadership being able to see the end game or the bigger goal. Furthermore, Mrs.
Byus talks about being prepared and having a plan as to increase efficacy. The authors of Professional Capital
also explains that in order for collaboration to be successful, a leader needs to strategically plan their meetings.

What action guidelines does this person utilize, if any, towards enacting change for
professional capital in his/her organization?
Mrs. Byus adheres to the action guideline of seeking power with, and possible integration with, both sides of a
polarity. Mrs. Byus is both a mediator and an empathizer. She attempts to bridge both sides of opposing views
and capitalize on dissonance. One of her strengths lies in her relationship building skills. She is able to
empathize and make genuine connections with people, including teachers, other administrators, corporate
leaders, students, and families.

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