The Aspiring School Leader Podcast

Are you an aspiring school leader trying to land your first Vice Principal role? Wondering what it takes to stand out in a grueling leadership interview? In this episode of The Aspiring School Leader Podcast, Dr. Donovan Smalls II talks with Chanel Rutty, a Vice Principal in Newark Public Schools, to explore her incredible journey from struggling with initial teaching exams to landing her dream ad...

How do you uncover your interview strengths? One of the best ways to identify your strengths is to understand your vulnerabilities. By evaluating the areas that may be holding you back, you can better prepare for a school leadership interview, strengthen your responses, and become more intentional about communicating the leadership strengths you already possess. You may have years of teaching expe...

A school leadership interview is not only about your experience, your qualifications or the answers you give. It’s about how well you tell your leadership story, how you demonstrate your effect, and how you convince the interview committee you’re ready to lead. In this special episode of The Aspiring School Leader Podcast, Dr. Donovan Smalls II talks with Principal Kelin Mark Sr. to explore the jo...

A school leadership interview can make even a prepared candidate question their experience, strengths, and ability to lead. But often, the problem isn’t preparation, it’s confidence in your own leadership story. In this episode, Dr. Donovan Smalls II shares 3-mindset shifts to help aspiring school leaders build confidence before their next school leadership interview and communicate who they are,...

Leadership interview questions can feel intimidating when you don't have formal leadership experience. In this episode, Dr. Donovan Smalls II shows aspiring school leaders how to turn their teaching experiences into strong leadership interview answers. ⏱️ CHAPTERS: 00:00 — Answer Leadership Questions Without Experience 02:43 — Stop Thinking About Titles, Start Thinking About Decisions 05:52 — Answ...

School leadership interview rejection can feel personal, but what if that “no” isn't rejection at all? What if it's redirection? Many aspiring school leaders spend hours preparing interview questions, researching districts, and memorizing leadership frameworks. But there’s one question that can make all the difference: Who am I as a leader? Because when you know who you are before you walk into a...

New Assistant Principal? Here’s what to expect in your first year of school leadership—from managing emotional challenges to leading adults and growing into your new role. CHAPTERS: 00:00 — What New Assistant Principals Should Expect 01:51 — The Emotional Roller Coaster of Leadership 07:35 — Leading & Managing Adults 11:23 — Give Yourself Grace While You Grow Stepping into your first Assistant...

A school leadership job is about more than getting an offer—it’s about finding the right school, district, and leadership environment for you. In this episode, Dr. Donovan Smalls II shares how aspiring school leaders can evaluate a leadership opportunity before saying yes. Chapters: 00:00 You’re Interviewing Them, Too 02:33 Know What You’re Looking For 07:12 Ask Questions That Reveal the Culture 0...

School leadership interview success takes more than experience and qualifications. In this episode, Dr. Donovan Smalls II shares 3 powerful leadership interview strategies to help aspiring school leaders answer with confidence, reduce interview anxiety, and position themselves as the leader a district wants to hire. Two candidates can have similar experience, qualifications, and resumes—but one ge...

Leadership Interview Tips for Aspiring School Leadership Interview Success. Learn what hiring committees want to hear in leadership interviews. You don't need a stronger resume. You need stronger interview answers. The candidates who consistently earn leadership roles aren't always the most experienced—they're the ones who clearly communicate how their leadership changes outcomes for teachers, stu...

Preparing to land your first leadership role? This episode reveals the #1 mistake aspiring school leaders make and how a student-centered leadership approach can help you stand out with interview committees. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ **CHAPTERS** ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 00:00 – The #1 Interview Mistake 00:24 – Why Most Leadership Interview Answers Fall Short 03:08 – Principle #1: Stop Making Yourself the Hero...

Preparing for an assistant principal interview or school leadership interview but still not getting hired? In this episode, discover why hiring committees often reject highly qualified candidates—and what they're actually looking for during an interview. How to communicate your leadership experience, demonstrate real impact, and answer interview questions in a way that builds confidence and trust....

THE 5 INTERVIEW MOVES THAT HELP YOU LAND YOUR FIRST SCHOOL LEADERSHIP ROLE You can prepare your answers. You can practice your delivery. You can walk into the interview feeling confident. But if you’re not positioning yourself as a leader… you won’t get hired. Because every hiring panel is asking one core question: Can you step into leadership—and solve problems at a systems level? In this episode...

Most aspiring school leaders don’t struggle in interviews because they lack degrees or experience. They struggle because they are preparing for the WRONG interview. They spend hours memorizing and scripting the "perfect" textbook answers. And that exact approach is why so many great candidates sound robotic and miss out on the job offer. In this episode, Dr. Donovan Smalls II breaks down the 3 cri...

GREAT INTERVIEW BUT NO JOB OFFER? WHAT YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND You walked out of your interview feeling confident. You did your homework, rehearsed your responses, and spoke with care. Yet, the position slipped away. Now, you're left with a nagging question… what happened? The reality is, it isn't always about a misstep on your part. In this episode, Dr. Donovan Smalls II offers insight into a frus...

STOP RAMBLING IN INTERVIEWS: USE THIS 4-PART FRAMEWORK TO ANSWER QUESTIONS Most aspiring school leaders don’t struggle in interviews because they don’t know what to say. They struggle because they don’t know how to structure their answers. And that difference is exactly what separates candidates who get hired from those who get passed over. This episode, Dr. Donovan Smalls II breaks down a simple...

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL VS PRINCIPAL: WHO REALLY LEADS THE SCHOOL? Many aspiring school leaders assume the difference between an assistant principal and a principal is simply more responsibility. It is not. The real difference between assistant principal vs principal leadership is a shift in thinking, decision-making, and system design. In this episode, Dr. Donovan Smalls II breaks down the difference...

What if your entire school leadership interview came down to one powerful question: “Why should we hire you?” Many aspiring school leaders struggle with this moment because they focus too much on their resume instead of clearly communicating their leadership value and impact. CONFIDENCE IS NOT ENOUGH. POSITIONING IS EVERYTHING. This episode, Dr. Donovan Smalls II breaks down a powerful 3-part lead...

Preparing for a school leadership interview can feel overwhelming — even for experienced educators. You can lead a classroom. You can lead a team. But when you sit down for a SCHOOL LEADERSHIP INTERVIEW, your heart races, your thoughts scatter, and interview anxiousness takes over. The truth: interview nervousness is not a capability issue. It is a preparation and clarity issue. In this episode, D...

Beyond the Interview: What TEACHERS Actually Expect FROM School Leaders Is it authority? Systems? Communication? Or something DEEPER? In this powerful episode of the Aspiring School Leader Podcast, Dr. Donovan Smalls II sits down with educator, coach, and motivational speaker, Chip Baker to uncover what teachers REALLY expect from school leaders. If you are an ASPIRING SCHOOL LEADER preparing for...

Most aspiring school administrators prepare for interviews the wrong way. They study possible questions. They rehearse answers. They hope it sounds strong. But a school administrator interview is not a Q&A session — it’s a leadership presentation. 一═⌊✪⌋Episode—69⌊✪⌋═一 I break down a powerful interview preparation strategy that shifts your mindset from responder to presenter. When you approac...

Most candidates believe the interview is over when the panel stops asking questions. That assumption costs people leadership roles. The reality is that the last interview question is often what exposes true leaders—and separates them from candidates who are simply hoping to get hired. In this week's episode we explore three powerful questions every aspiring school leader can ask at the end of a sc...

Many aspiring school leaders believe they are not ready yet. They think they need more experience, another certification, or one more year. But in the reality: most capable educators are already ready to lead. The real problem is not readiness. It is how you explain it in the interview. I will explains why so many qualified educators get blocked at the interview stage and what interview panels are...

Coaching and feedback alone don’t transform schools. It’s the way leaders coach that makes the difference. In this episode, you’ll learn: - Why feedback alone doesn’t change culture - How coaching before correcting builds trust and teacher capacity - Why alignment matters more than opinion in leadership conversations - How consistent coaching behaviors shape school culture over time This episode i...

Why Most New School Leaders Fail After the Interview Most school leaders prepare to answer interview questions... but leadership isn’t about answers. It’s about making decisions under pressure.    CHAPTERS 01:38 – The 3 Skills Interviews Don’t Test 01:42 – Key #1: From Answering Questions to Making Decisions 07:49 – Key #2: Leading Adults (Not Just Managing Tasks) 13:42 – Key #3: Build Your Leader...