School Leadership Case Study
A local Superintendent has been a Crown client and advocate for the last six years. He has successfully worked with Crown to hire principals and teachers that have consistently pushed their district to reach high levels of excellence. This Superintendent occasionally will reflect on the one exception to his hiring strategy.
This district had an opening for a principal position and contacted Crown to conduct finalist interviews for their top candidates. The purpose of this interview is listen to the candidate describe examples of their adult leadership and management skills along with focusing on what’s best for students. This district is known for their culture of learning and striving for excellence.
One value of our Finalist Interview is the objective view we bring by listening to who candidates are and how they will lead. Crown’s interview lets a candidate describe the best solution to a scenario and give examples of what they would actually do in a given situation. Our analysts listen for the behaviors of the candidate and how consistent they are with the with the very best leaders. Evaluating experience, education, references and final hiring decisions remain the responsibility of the district.
From the four candidates Crown was asked to interview, our team did not find a candidate we recommended to move forward in the process. In this rare example, the Superintendent decided to move forward with the candidate they felt best fit their immediate school needs. They felt Crown’s interview information could help this new hire grow in areas we found gaps. We hoped for the best with this client and wished them well.
Approximately six months into the school year this Superintendent called our office saying, “Paul one of my favorite things about you is that you never say I told you so.” Paul began to laugh because he knew exactly what he was calling about. This district’s new principal eventually resigned because he could not adapt to the high standards and collaborative culture set by this Superintendent. His attitudes, beliefs and behaviors documented in his interview unfortunately matched his leadership style in the district.
As you begin your hiring season contact Crown to learn how our Finalist Interview service provides an objective view of your leadership applicants. Let our team bring Clarity to your Hiring to select the top candidate to fit into your district.
Hiring the wrong person costs A LOT of time and money. Our tools help you know who people really are, in order to hire people who become your very BEST. Contact us to get your finalist interviews scheduled today!
