Educational leadership interview and review

Alex Johnson, is an education consultant and executive coach for leaders within the private-school system. He has worked with administrators, principles and even legislatures around the country to help improve student outcomes. His focus is primarily K- schools along with grades 5 through 9. From the interview, he focuses primary on transactional leadership theory. As a leader, he focuses on supervision, organization and performance as it relates student outcomes (Bennis, 1994).

To begin, from the interview, Johnson indicated that the education industry is undergoing fundamental change. For one, the industry is shifting to a more hybrid approach. COVID-19 has changed the manner in which education services are rendered throughout the country. These services, in large part, incorporate a large technological component. This in turn, has required a shift in leadership to one that looks to be more accountable for performance both within the in-person and online experience. From the interview, Johnson uses a transactional leadership style to accomplish this. According to Johnson, he holds individuals accountable for very clear and specific performance objectives. In education, these performance objectives often vary. As a result, Johnson often challenges his administrators to continue exceed performance goals and objectives mandated by the state. He accomplished this through a combination of servant leadership and expertise. As an executive coach, Johnson has work with both successful and non-successful business leaders. Through his experience, he has learned many of the proper leadership skills required to ensure success and those required to mitigate failure. Through servant leadership, he attempts to depict many of the actions that he wants his administrative leaders to follow. This includes many soft skills such as time management and public speaking. Here, Johnson encourages continual education for all teacher and administrators to help foster a culture of lifelong learning. This is a vital component of his strategy as the education field is rapidly changing, requiring a new and diverse skill set. From our interview, Johnson also describes the manner in which he communicates with his team. Here, he talks less to ensure that all of his team members have an opportunity to speak and be heard. He often listens for their feedback on how to improve processes as oppose to being overbearing with his speaking. This allows his team to better coordinate initiatives and activities that accomplished a shared mission. From Johnson’s perspective, he provides the vision, and allows his team to execute on the details of accomplishing it. His leadership style relies heavily on collaboration and leveraging a diverse array of talent to accomplish his goals and ambitions (Bass, 1996).

Interestingly through the interview, Johnson divulged his conflict resolution strategies as it relates to leadership. As a leader, conflicts will undoubtedly occur. Johnson uses a constant communication and professionalism to handle conflicts between his team. He encourages disagreement as to help ensure that plans are reviewed from various perspectives and viewpoints. From the interview, he even encourages his team to “call him out” when he is doing anything that does not align with the strategic objectives of the team. This is an interesting form of leadership as he encourages people to challenge each other, including the leader. This ultimately helps to establish trust and innovation within the group. Here, many members can freely voice their opinions in a manner that allows everyone in the group to flourish. As a leader, Johnson encourages disagreement within this team as a means to bring his team closer together. By understanding each other’s strength and weaknesses, each member can perform to the best of their ability. This ultimately helps to improve team outcomes because all members are aligned and willing to work towards a specific goal, even if it is uncomfortable during the process (Bass, 1990).