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 — Answer From the Leadership Lens

08:30 — Show Your Influence

You may have never been an Assistant Principal, supervisor, or academic coach—but that doesn't mean you don't have leadership experience. The key is learning how to communicate your experience through a leadership lens and demonstrate your ability to make sound decisions, influence others, and create meaningful impact.

In this episode, you'll learn 3 practical strategies to answer school leadership interview questions with confidence:

✅ Stop thinking about titles and start thinking about decisions

✅ Answer leadership interview questions from a leadership lens

✅ Show your influence and the impact of your actions

You'll also learn how to use experiences such as coaching teachers, mentoring colleagues, resolving conflicts, collaborating with teams, and serving on school committees to demonstrate leadership—even when you haven't held a formal leadership position.

If you’re an aspiring school leader, this episode will help you communicate your experience in a way that sounds like a school leader.

🎯 PREPARING FOR YOUR SCHOOL LEADERSHIP INTERVIEW?

If you're preparing to land your first school leadership role, don't underestimate the leadership experience you already have.

Your challenge isn't always a lack of experience. Sometimes it's knowing how to frame your experience, communicate your leadership thinking, and demonstrate your impact during the interview.

🎯 1:1 Interview Preparation Coaching

If you're preparing for your first leadership role and want personalized interview coaching, learn more here: https://www.donovansmalls2.com/coaching

👋🏾 ABOUT DR. DONOVAN SMALLS II:

Assistant Principal | Best-Selling Author | Interview Coach

Dr. Donovan Smalls II helps aspiring school leaders get interview-ready & confidently land their first leadership role.

📘 Grab Beyond the Classroom: https://shorturl.at/74Bgy

🔗 LISTEN & CONNECT:

📺 YouTube 🔗 https://urlgeni.us/youtube/channel/L0Y2m

🎧 Apple Podcasts 🔗 https://tinyurl.com/mv7f683k

🎧 Spotify 🔗 https://tinyurl.com/4wydt4nr

🔔 Subscribe for weekly episodes on interview preparation for aspiring school leaders!

#SchoolLeadership #AssistantPrincipalInterview #LeadershipInterview #EducationalLeadership #AspiringSchoolLeader #InterviewPreparation #LeadershipDevelopment

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 school leadership interview, a closed door doesn't have to define you. Instead, you can learn from the experience, stay confident, and recognize when you're being redirected toward the right leadership opportunity.

⏱️ Chapters

00:00 Who Am I as a Leader?

02:29 Rejection or Redirection?

05:17 What Kind of Leader Am I Becoming?

08:24 When Success Feeds Your Ego

In this episode, Dr. Donovan Smalls II shares three powerful reflection lenses to help aspiring school leaders develop a stronger leadership identity before their next interview.

You'll learn:

✅ Turn rejection into redirection instead of allowing one interview outcome to define you

✅ Understand who you're becoming as a school leader

✅ Identify your core leadership values, principles, and motivations

✅ Recognize whether a school, district, or leadership role truly aligns with you

✅ Stop chasing every leadership opportunity and start pursuing the right opportunities

✅ Build confidence without allowing success to feed your ego

✅ Lead through influence instead of authority

✅ Become a confident, humble, and authentic leader who isn't threatened by the strengths of others

If you're preparing to land your first school leadership role, remember: the goal isn't just to give the right answers. The goal is to know who you are before you sit in that interview chair.

Your leadership will ultimately flow from your identity. The more rooted you are in your values and principles, the less a “no” can shake you.

🎯 Preparing for Your First Leadership Role?

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If you want personalized support to become interview ready, confident, and authentic, explore 1:1 Leadership Interview Coaching with Dr. Donovan Smalls II.

Learn More About 1:1 Leadership Interview Coaching

📘 Grab my book, Beyond the Classroom: https://shorturl.at/74Bgy

Get more leadership insights from Dr. Donovan Smalls II: https://www.donovansmalls2.com/coaching

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About Dr. Donovan Smalls II

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Assistant Principal | Best Selling Author | Interview Coach

Dr. Donovan Smalls II helps aspiring school leaders become interview ready, strengthen their leadership confidence, and confidently land their first school leadership role. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Listen & Connect

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📺 YouTube 🔗 https://urlgeni.us/youtube/channel/L0Y2m

🎧 Apple Podcasts 🔗 https://tinyurl.com/mv7f683k

🎧 Spotify 🔗 https://tinyurl.com/4wydt4nr

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 Principal role is exciting, but leadership can be very different from what you imagined. Your days may be unpredictable, difficult conversations may arise, and leading adults requires a different set of skills than leading students.

In this episode, Dr. Donovan Smalls II shares 3 essential lessons every new Assistant Principal should understand:

✅ Be ready for the emotional roller coaster of leadership

✅ Learn how to lead and manage adults through trust and influence

✅ Give yourself grace while you learn, reflect, and grow

You'll also learn why being a great classroom teacher doesn't automatically mean you'll be a great school leader—and why experience, relationships, emotional intelligence, and reflection are essential to becoming an effective assistant principal.

Whether you're a new assistant principal or an aspiring school leader, this episode will help you better understand what your first year in school leadership may look like.

🎯 PREPARING FOR YOUR SCHOOL LEADERSHIP INTERVIEW?

Learn how to strengthen your interview responses, communicate your leadership experience, and confidently land your first leadership role.

🎯 1:1 Interview Coaching

If you're preparing for your first leadership role and want personalized interview coaching, learn more here: https://www.donovansmalls2.com/coaching

👋🏾 ABOUT DR. DONOVAN SMALLS II:

Assistant Principal | Best-Selling Author | Interview Coach

Dr. Donovan Smalls II helps aspiring school leaders get interview-ready & confidently land their first leadership role.

📘 Grab my book, Beyond the Classroom: https://shorturl.at/74Bgy  

Streaming on:

📺 YouTube 🔗 https://urlgeni.us/youtube/channel/L0Y2m

🎧 Apple Podcasts 🔗 https://tinyurl.com/mv7f683k

🎧 Spotify 🔗 https://tinyurl.com/4wydt4nr

👉🏾 Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and hit the notification bell for more school leadership interview prep and leadership readiness strategies.

🔔 Subscribe for weekly episodes on school leadership interview preparation specifically geared toward aspiring school leaders.

#AssistantPrincipal #SchoolLeadership #EducationalLeadership #AssistantPrincipalInterview #LeadershipDevelopment #AspiringSchoolLeader #interview

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

09:33 Remember the Value You Bring

When preparing for a school leadership interview, it’s easy to focus entirely on proving yourself to the interview panel. But remember…you’re interviewing them, too.

This episode will help you approach your next leadership interview with confidence, clarity, and discernment, by learning how to:

✅ Evaluate whether a school leadership job is right for you

✅ Ask questions that reveal the school’s culture

✅ Understand whether the district supports leadership growth

✅ Recognize the value and experience you bring to the table

You’ll learn how to determine whether a school leadership position aligns with your long-term goals, leadership growth, values, and ability to make a meaningful impact on students, staff, and families.

If you need personalized support with your leadership interview preparation, let’s explore 1:1 coaching below.

👉🏾 1:1 Leadership Interview Coaching: https://donovansmalls2.com/coaching

📘 Beyond the Classroom https://shorturl.at/74Bgy

About Dr. Donovan Smalls II:

Assistant Principal | Best-Selling Author | Interview Coach

Dr. Donovan Smalls II helps aspiring school leaders become interview-ready, strengthen their leadership confidence, and confidently land their first school leadership role.

Streaming on:

📺 YouTube 🔗 https://urlgeni.us/youtube/channel/L0Y2m

🎧 Apple Podcasts 🔗 https://tinyurl.com/mv7f683k

🎧 Spotify 🔗 https://tinyurl.com/4wydt4nr

🔔 Subscribe for weekly videos on Leadership Interviews, Assistant Principal Interviews, School Leadership, Educational Leadership, Interview Preparation, Leadership Development, and Career Growth for aspiring school leaders.

#SchoolLeadership #LeadershipInterview #InterviewPreparation #AssistantPrincipal #AspiringSchoolLeaders

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 gets the job while the other doesn't. Often, the difference isn't experience. It's strategy.

⏱️ Chapters:

00:00 — Why Qualified Candidates Fail Leadership Interviews

01:56 — Strategy #1: Know the District Before You Sell Yourself

06:38 — Strategy #2: Think Beyond the Question

09:27 — Strategy #3: Control the Narrative

If you're preparing to land your first school leadership role, this video will help you:

✅ Research the district before you sell yourself

✅ Connect your experience to the district's goals and needs

✅ Understand what interview questions are really designed to reveal

✅ Answer unexpected leadership interview questions with confidence

✅ Use frameworks instead of memorizing answers

✅ Reduce interview anxiety and communicate your leadership more effectively

✅ Control the narrative and leave the interview with a clear leadership message

🎯 Ready to Prepare for Your Leadership Interview?

If you have a strong resume and the experience to lead, but need additional support preparing for your next school leadership interview, Dr. Donovan Smalls II's 4-week interview preparation coaching program, Elevate Your Impact, can help you:

• Clarify and confidently communicate your leadership story

• Practice scenario-based leadership interview questions

• Receive real-time coaching and targeted feedback

• Complete a full one-on-one mock leadership interview

👉🏾 1:1 Leadership Interview Coaching: https://donovansmalls2.com/coaching

📘 Beyond the Classroom https://shorturl.at/74Bgy

About Dr. Donovan Smalls II:

Assistant Principal | Best-Selling Author | Interview Coach Dr. Donovan Smalls II helps aspiring school leaders become interview-ready, strengthen their leadership confidence, and confidently land their first school leadership role.

Streaming on:

📺 YouTube 🔗 https://urlgeni.us/youtube/channel/L0Y2m

🎧 Apple Podcasts 🔗 https://tinyurl.com/mv7f683k

🎧 Spotify 🔗 https://tinyurl.com/4wydt4nr

🔔 Subscribe for weekly videos on Leadership Interviews, Assistant Principal Interviews, School Leadership, Educational Leadership, Interview Preparation, Leadership Development, and Career Growth for aspiring school leaders.

#SchoolLeadership #LeadershipInterview #AssistantPrincipal #InterviewPreparation #EducationalLeadership

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, students, and the entire school community.

If you're preparing for your first leadership interview, these three principles will completely change how you approach your next interview.

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**INSIDE THIS EPISODE**

00:00 | The mistake that weakens great interview answers

00:24 | Why hiring committees think differently than candidates

03:08 | Principle #1 — You shouldn't always be the hero

06:18 | Principle #2 — Think beyond your classroom

12:16 | Principle #3 — Put students at the center of every answer

14:24 | The interview framework every aspiring school leader should remember ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

**WHY THIS MATTERS**

Hiring committees aren't simply looking for someone who can manage a school.

They're looking for someone who can develop teachers, inspire people, and improve student outcomes.

That's the difference between sounding qualified...and sounding like the leader they're ready to hire.

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**IN THIS VIDEO, YOU'LL DISCOVER**

• The three things hiring committees actually want to hear

• Why talking about yourself too much weakens your interview answers

• How to communicate leadership impact instead of accomplishments

• How to connect classroom success to school-wide leadership

• The mindset shift that separates teachers from future school leaders

• Why student-centered leadership creates unforgettable interview answers

• How to position yourself as someone who develops people—not just manages them ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

**ONE IDEA TO REMEMBER**

Great leadership interviews aren't about proving how impressive you are. They're about proving how many lives your leadership will improve.

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**ABOUT DR. DONOVAN SMALLS II**

Assistant Principal | Best-Selling Author | Interview Coach

Dr. Donovan Smalls II helps aspiring school leaders strengthen their interview skills, communicate their leadership story with confidence, and successfully transition into their first leadership role.

Beyond the Classroom https://shorturl.at/74Bgy

Interview Coaching https://donovansmalls2.com/coaching  ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

LISTEN & CONNECT

YouTube https://urlgeni.us/youtube/channel/L0Y2m

Apple Podcasts https://tinyurl.com/mv7f683k

Spotify https://tinyurl.com/4wydt4nr

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Subscribe for weekly content on leadership interviews, assistant principal interviews, school leadership, educational leadership, leadership development, interview preparation, and career growth for aspiring school leaders.

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.

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**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

06:18 – Principle #2: Connect Classroom Impact to School-wide Impact

12:16 – Principle #3: Make Students the Center of Your Leadership Philosophy

14:24 – Three Principles That Transform Interview Answers

14:51 – Leadership Interview Coaching

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Many aspiring school leaders miss out on leadership opportunities—not because they lack experience, but because they communicate leadership the wrong way.

In this episode, you'll learn three practical leadership interview principles that will help you answer interview questions with confidence, demonstrate student-centered leadership, and leave hiring committees with a lasting impression.

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**WHAT YOU'LL LEARN**

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

✔ The #1 leadership interview mistake aspiring school leaders make

✔ Why hiring committees look beyond leadership skills and experience

✔ How to stop making yourself the hero in your interview answers

✔ How to connect your classroom experience to schoolwide leadership

✔ Why student-centered leadership creates stronger interview answers

✔ How to develop a leadership philosophy that hiring committees remember

✔ How to communicate leadership impact instead of listing accomplishments

✔ What separates great teachers from great school leaders during interviews

Great interview answers don't just explain **how you lead.** They explain **who benefits from your leadership.**

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**About Dr. Donovan Smalls II** ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Assistant Principal | Best-Selling Author | Interview Coach Dr. Donovan Smalls II helps aspiring school leaders become interview-ready, strengthen their leadership confidence, and confidently land their first school leadership role.

📘 **Grab Beyond the Classroom** https://shorturl.at/74Bgy

🎯 **1:1 Leadership Interview Coaching** If you're preparing for your first leadership role and want personalized interview coaching, learn more here: https://donovansmalls2.com/coaching

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**Listen & Connect**

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📺 YouTube https://urlgeni.us/youtube/channel/L0Y2m

🎧 Apple Podcasts https://tinyurl.com/mv7f683k

🎧 Spotify https://tinyurl.com/4wydt4nr

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

🔔 Subscribe for weekly videos on **Leadership Interviews, Assistant Principal Interviews, School Leadership, Educational Leadership, Interview Preparation, Leadership Development,** and **Career Growth** for aspiring school leaders. 

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.

0:00 - The Harsh Truth About Great Resumes

1:01 - Your Resume Isn't the Problem (The Savior Misconception)

2:53 - Principle 1: Don't Tell Them What You Did, Tell Them Why It Mattered

6:20 - Principle 2: Translate Your Experiences Into Leadership (Influence vs. Authority)

9:36 - Principle 3: Every Answer Should Reinforce Your Leadership Identity

11:00 - The Closing Challenge: 3 Questions You Must Ask Yourself Learn:

✔ Why a great resume isn't enough to get hired

✔ The biggest interview mistakes aspiring school leaders make

✔ How to turn your experience into leadership evidence

✔ What hiring committees really want to hear

✔ 3 powerful interview principles to help you stand out

✔ How to build a strong leadership identity during an interview

👤 About Dr. Donovan Smalls II

Assistant Principal | Best-Selling Author | Interview Coach

Dr. Smalls helps aspiring school leaders get interview-ready & confidently land their first leadership role.

📕 Grab Beyond the Classroom → https://shorturl.at/74Bgy

🎯 1:1 Leadership Coaching is available for aspiring school leaders who want to strengthen their interview skills and confidently transition into administrative roles:

👉🏾 https://donovansmalls2.com/coaching

🎧 Listen & Connect

📺 YouTube: https://urlgeni.us/youtube/channel/L0Y2m

🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/mv7f683k

🎧 Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/4wydt4nr

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🔔 Subscribe for weekly content on school leadership interviews, leadership development, and career growth strategies.

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#InterviewTips #LeadershipInterview #SchoolLeadership #CareerGrowth #InterviewPreparation #LeadershipSkills #AssistantPrincipal #AspiringLeaders

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, Dr. Donovan Smalls II breaks down 5 powerful interview readiness moves to help aspiring school leaders stand out, communicate their leadership identity, and confidently land their first leadership role.

If you’re preparing for your first school leadership interview, this video will help you shift your mindset, strengthen your responses, and show up as the leader they’re looking for. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

TIMESTAMPS:

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00:00 Intro – Why Most Candidates Don’t Get Hired

01:45 #1: Study the School & District Like a Leader

04:32 #2: Tighten Your Leadership Story

07:22 #3: Translate Experience into Leadership Impact

10:56 #4: Prepare for Scenario-Based Questions

14:57 #5: Ask Questions Like a Leader

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WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

➤ How to prepare for your first school leadership interview

➤ What hiring panels are really evaluating (beyond your answers)

➤ How to position yourself as a systems-level thinker

➤ How to turn classroom experience into leadership impact

➤ How to answer scenario-based interview questions with confidence

➤ What questions to ask that make you stand out as a leader

➤ The mindset shift required to land your first leadership role

Strong candidates don’t just answer questions.

They demonstrate leadership, judgment, and impact. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

About Dr. Donovan Smalls II

Assistant Principal | Best-Selling Author | Interview Coach

Dr. Smalls helps aspiring school leaders get interview-ready & confidently land their first leadership role.

📕 Grab Beyond the Classroom → https://shorturl.at/74Bgy

1:1 leadership coaching available for aspiring school leaders: https://donovansmalls2.com/coaching

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Listen & Connect

📺 YouTube https://urlgeni.us/youtube/channel/L0Y2m

🎧 Apple Podcasts https://tinyurl.com/mv7f683k

🎧 Spotify https://tinyurl.com/4wydt4nr

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Subscribe for weekly content on school leadership interviews, assistant principal interview tips, and career growth for aspiring school leaders.

#SchoolLeadershipInterview #AssistantPrincipalInterview #AspiringSchoolLeaders #InterviewPreparation #EducationalLeadership

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 critical mindset shifts you must make before your next interview to stand out, sound authentic, and claim your seat as a leader.

If you are preparing for your first assistant principal, supervisor, or administrative role, this breakdown will completely change the way you prepare.

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TIMESTAMPS:

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

0:00 Intro – The Biggest Mistake Aspiring School Leaders Make

5:43 Shift #1: From Memorizing Answers to Collecting Evidence

10:03 Shift #2: From Preparing Answers to Preparing Stories

13:00 Shift #3: From Impressing the Committee to Building Trust

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WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

➤ Why memorizing interview answers makes you sound like a robot

➤ How to shift from perfect scripting to collecting real leadership evidence

➤ The power of quantitative vs. qualitative data in your responses

➤ How to build a "Story Bank" that fits multiple interview scenarios

➤ Why building deep trust with the committee beats a performative interview

➤ How to show vulnerability, reflection, and authentic leadership

➤ The number one thing a principal needs to see before giving you the keys to the building

Strong candidates don’t just memorize answers.

They demonstrate leadership readiness through trust and evidence.

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About Dr. Donovan Smalls II:

Assistant Principal | Best-Selling Author | Interview Coach

Dr. Smalls helps aspiring school leaders get interview-ready & confidently land their first leadership role.

📕 Grab Beyond the Classroom → https://shorturl.at/74Bgy

1:1 leadership coaching available for aspiring school leaders who want to strengthen their interview skills and confidently transition into administrative roles: https://donovansmalls2.com/coaching

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Listen & Connect

📺 YouTube https://urlgeni.us/youtube/channel/L0Y2m

🎧 Apple Podcasts https://tinyurl.com/mv7f683k

🎧 Spotify https://tinyurl.com/4wydt4nr

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Subscribe for weekly content on school leadership interviews, leadership development, and career growth strategies.