Reflective Essay on Leadership Interview

Introduction

When a person is driven to effectively lead a group of people, as the manager of an organisation or any other capacity, it is inevitable for them to develop exceptional leadership skills. This essay is about an interview with Emma* (name has been changed because the respondent preferred to keep her identity private for personal reasons), founder of Head of Chesapeake Montessori School (CMS). This essay will analyse her leadership style about her type of leadership, challenges in her role and overall view of responsibilities.

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From the interview, I established that Emma was a visionary leader. This is because, during the initial years of opening the school, she had already had her eyes fixed on expanding the school. She lives by the vision "Education is the seed of life", and she is thus passionate about offering quality education to as many children as she can. Emma's passion is contagious; it inspires those whom she leads. Furthermore, her commitment to work and dedication to success makes her a leader who leads by example. She has set exceptionally high standards for herself and her faculty. As the leader of the school, she is supportive of the teachers who in turn trust her, and this has inspired excellent performance by these teachers. This is evident by the significantly low rate of turnover experienced by the school over the last decade. She encourages personal growth and creativity of teachers by allowing them to make independent decisions on their mode of teaching as long as they achieve results. Also, Emma teaches some of the classes which makes her have a direct contact with the children and parents whom she has a close relationship with.

Despite her record of admirable strengths and great leadership, Emma does not shy away from admitting that she is not always right. She is prompt in acknowledging her mistakes and apologising whenever she had done wrong. She also goes an extra mile and seeks dialogues and welcomes suggestions that will help find a solution. Emma does not expect perfection from her staff, but she expects progression. In case of any conflict among her staff, he encourages them to settle it among themselves. If that fails, she acts as a mediator to resolve the conflict. If that doesn't work, then she seeks the help of professional mediators.

By interviewing Emma, I have enjoyed a warm and nurturing atmosphere which is experienced by the staff and children as well. However, I regret to say that the rapid growth of the school has led to the dilution of the original intention of the school which was to provide quality education to all. This does not mean that the school is not performing well currently. Nonetheless, the new employees who are teaching to earn a living as opposed to teaching because it is their calling might tarnish the quality of education offered. To prevent this from happening, I recommend that Emma makes a more concentrated effort to offer a yearly retreat for team building and development of teachers. This will inspire the teachers to have a sense of belonging to the school and maintain the zeal of offering quality education to children. In my opinion, Emma is a natural leader; she brings out the best in the people she leads with minimum effort.