English Curriculum Lead

Would they say he or she is enthusiastic and really committed to a students' success? This helps to get a sense of their own self awareness and how important they are to their pupils.

I'm looking for a sense that applicants are restless in their professional quest for excellence and that they care about the people they teach and value their success and happiness.

This question would be asked in a management role interview and I'd be looking for an understanding of school policy, an ability to handle difficult situations sensitively and someone who can formulate a plan - bringing a resolution to the problem.

I get a sense of an interviewee's personal style and their ability to deal with the unexpected by asking them this. With classroom teachers, I have used the following animals: swan; tiger; owl; sheepdog. For leadership positions I use beaver, hawk, lion and bear. You also see whether the candidate can get off the fence and decide what their dominant style is. You can do this with favourite drinks, biscuits, holiday destinations etc. It's surprisingly effective.

The purpose of this question is to find out if the style is congruent with the organizational culture. The perceptive leader is able to adapt his or her style to fit the follower's, employee's and organizational needs.

Candidates who can't think of a mistake or learning experience don't impress. This question establishes whether the interviewee is self critical and has the willingness - and humility - to keep learning. Don't say nothing because this makes you look arrogant and lacking in imagination. Don't say that your biggest mistake is being a perfectionist - this appears contrived or insincere. It's good to give examples that show you can accept failure and admit your mistakes. Name a situation that didn't work out well or a task in which your team fell short.

A number of factors can fall outside a leader's control such as the available skill pool in the organization, time constraints, the economic climate. If employees are lethargic and negatively orientated it can create a situation ripe for failure. In answering leadership interview questions that explore how you deal with difficult challenges focus on how you were able to analyze the setback and seek honest feedback to learn from failure. How you used the difficult situation to encourage constructive questioning of policies and practices.

Show your ability to be resilient in the face of failure and to constantly work towards improvement.

I ask this to get a sense of their character and find out how their own education developed. It also shows their interests, passions and how they were inspired. I like to see how much they appreciated their own teachers when they were in school.

Innovation and creativity are key competencies explored in leadership interview questions. Effective leaders promote change and innovation. Finding solutions to unique problems are facilitated by encouraging a constant information flow in all directions and emphasizing responsiveness to changing demands.

I ask this question because it's important to know that a candidate has continued developing their subject knowledge after their degree. I recently interviewed an economics teacher. We started talking about the French economist Thomas Piketty, and I said I was finding it difficult to read him in big chunks. He recommended a text which he said was less well known but more revealing, and he explained why. I bought the book, and he was right.

Leaders gain commitment by influencing and persuading the team to set objectives and buy into the process.

This helps gauge whether the candidate has looked at the school website. A candidate told me he would like to set up a debating club. When I said we had debating already and regularly win competitions, he looked crushed, rather than turning the conversation round and saying 'that's great I'd love to be involved'. It also focuses on their contribution to extra-curricular activities, something that is vital to the school.

Leaders build a sense of common purpose by promoting the organizational vision both internally and externally. They develop and implement effective communication strategies within the organization. They remove barriers to collaboration and provide clear direction on priorities. They give clear and honest feedback to inspire trust.

The candidate needs to have an understanding of pastoral and academic reasons why a child might find a subject difficult. They also need an understanding of a range of interventions that might be used - and how they can be monitored.

► What will your priorities be in your new post?

► How will you develop the scope of history in the school? (think x-curricular)

► How can you build on dept strengths?

► How will you monitor the progress of pupils? (very big at the minute on target setting and monitoring of info)

► Uptake of GCSE and A level

► What else do you bring to the school ie extra curricular?

► How do you see the dept under your management?

► Development of teaching styles, thinking skills, use of ICT, 3 part lessons etc

► How will you measure your success?

► How would you move existing staff forward?

► How would you deal with an incompetent member of your department (think very carefully about that one!)

► What are the current strengths and weaknesses of the department?

► What new ideas do you bring to the job?

► What is your vision? What would be your targets to move towards this vision in your first year?

► Where will the department be in 3 years of your leadership?

► What are your views on the Foundation National Strategy?

► How flexible are you regarding integrated humanities?

► What are your ambitions after this job? Do you have a career plan?

Integrity- being truthful and trustworthy and having conviction - is an essential leadership competency. The effective leader demonstrates values and ethics in personal behavior and integrates these values and ethics into organizational practices and activities.

A good leader acts with the courage of his/her convictions. While leaders are open with their employees and model honesty, transparency and fairness, they do not violate confidences or divulge potentially harmful information.