Superintendent Interview

Superintendent Interview from Week Two Assignment

I was able to interview my superintendent, Dr. Pauline Hargrove, during the second week of our allotted two-week time frame. I greatly admire and appreciate Dr. Hargrove, and any opportunity to sit and talk with her is a welcomed opportunity. At the beginning of this course, when we were assigned to look at each of the superintendent competencies and mark our strengths and weaknesses, I thought of Dr. Hargrove as exemplifying each competency.

Dr. Hargrove says that she defines leadership as influence, either good or bad, and that a good leader inspires, encourages, and empowers people to do something they wouldn’t have otherwise done. She also emphasized the importance of integrity in the role of superintendent. She says that you must always be honest and above reproach, and she stressed the importance of building relationships and being a servant-leader.

Two answers that really stood out to me were her answers to questions about setting a vision and relationships with board members. Dr. Hargrove does not believe that a leader should come in with her own vision and tell everyone else what that vision is. While a leader should have vision, one should get to know the people and the board. Ask questions, take the board to workshops, help cast a vision, but in the end, you are paid to make the board’s vision a reality. Also, the superintendent should always live the vision. Post it where people can see it, put it on all correspondence, use it when you communicate with others through writing or speaking. The superintendent should work to create a culture. Dr. Hargrove is a master at this, always using a yearly theme to communicate the vision and keeping that them ever before us.

The second answer that stood out to me was about building a relationship with the board. Dr. Hargrove believes in knowing each board member, including how they like to be communicated with, how they like to receive agendas, even their favorite foods. She also says that you need to know the level of detail they want in communication and share with them accordingly. Also, if one board member asks a question about something, you should let everyone know the answer. All board members should be kept equally informed.

I enjoyed my time with Dr. Hargrove, and I look forward to learning from her throughout my internship.