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FBLA Interview Paper

Kelly Kretschmer
October 7th , 2014

Interviewing three leaders proved similarities, differences, surprises, and big ideas
between multiple leadership positions. Hearing the true, unscripted thoughts of a community
leader, business owner, and school administrator gave me insight into how similar leadership is
in all forms. In their own ways they accommodate their employees, fellow leaders, and the
community learning or otherwise.
Jared Baxter, a part owner of Full Court Press Inc. and manages Buzzard Billys in
downtown Des Moines. He attributes most of his success to sticking with his passions. He enjoys
communicating with people, making people happy, and the intricacies of working in a
community. His passion of the social fabric of a community: being the thing that kept him
interested and motivated in daily life and his career. Heidi Marxen is currently an International
Baccalaurate Coordinator at a Middle School in Des Moines, wife, and mother of two. She has
taught in several positions in several states in the last 15 years, but I spoke with me about her
community leadership and involvement. She is very involved in her childrens activities and
holds leadership positions in their school organizations as a parent, and on their athletic teams.
Michelle Dean started her leadership career later in life. She was a Physical Education teacher
for over 20 years when she decided to pursue her Administrative Degree. Michelle is a Vice
Principal at a Middle School in Des Moines Public Schools. She lives in Des Moines with her
husband.
The leaders had similar view on the hiring and firing process. Each leader cringed when I
questioned them about the process of hiring and firing employees. The phrase each repeated was

a version of You have to set the tone. There has to be an ongoing communication of people
involving training and support as time progresses. Each leader explained a process of checks and
balances regarding their different leadership positions. Michelle said, Be strong enough to hold
people accountable, especially in regards to aligning with values of the
community/institution/school you serve. Ongoing training with staff has served Jared and
Michelle well. They spoke about the work never being finished; constant education and
professional development of employees was important to each leader. Jared said it in the most
succinct way saying, each leader and staff member must have the well being of the whole at the
front of their mind. If that is not the case, they are in the wrong profession. Heidi agreed that
when were all of the same mindset, we can set the same expectations. I was surprised me how
open they were about mistakes and not having all of the answers.
Each of my three interviewees spoke of children as their daily motivation. Two pointed to
their own children, the other to the child population she serves. Seeing these children in the
world and wanting to create a better world for them is a driving force. Michelle spoke about the
environment that children are growing up in today, and that it is the outside world that drives her.
She simply is motivated by our students and what they will have to overcome to be successful,
productive citizens in the future. They are growing up in an age completely different than she
did, which has given them many opportunities and stunted others. Michelle is truly dedicated to
supporting the future of our students and her passion is evident.
Michelle values thinking about actions and being open-minded. She said, changing your
thinking changes your behavior which changes your results. She is a true life-long learner.
Michelle has given me numerous book resources on the adolescent mind and is a firm believer in
knowing as much as possible about the facts. She spends a lot of time educating her staff on

brain research. A phrase she often uses is you cant plan for a plan and you learn by doing.
She is a hands on thinker who admits to constantly work on thinking one of her weaknesses is
to get caught up and simply react. That is something she talks about our students doing.
Jared has two young children and, like Michelle, is very concerned about them becoming
productive, successful citizens in the world. He wants them to be passionate about what they do
and wants the people surrounding them to feel the same way. Because of this passion, he creates
community in his daily business the restaurant world. He is aware of what drives him and
wants them same passion for the members of his staff and community. Heidi is on the same page
as a parent with high hopes for her children in the community. She spends her time supporting
students and families at church and in youth sports. Encouraging fairness, group
activity/involvement, and passion are a shared idea among the three leaders I spent time talking
with.
A huge take away for me was the way each leader spoke about transparency: with
honesty and transparency you can move mountains! Each leader had moments of doubt and
wrong-doings, but they all spoke of strong leaders above them that helped them through. Owning
up to honesty and mistakes go a long way with bosses and employees.
The biggest surprise for me during this process was the honesty and openness of the
leaders. Heidi spent time talking about setting limits for herself and people working for her, as
did Jared. Heidi stated, . When working with other employees, its important to follow
through and have open and honest conversations Each of the leaders mentioned listening as the
biggest component in dealing with people and holding them accountable. Jared has a policy that
he asks enough questions to know if they employee knew their mistake was an honest one or a
compliance issue. He said, When people know their limits, the can better communicate when

their needs arent being met or what they dont understand. His persistence lies in getting to
know his employees. The longer they are under his management, the better he hopes to know
them. He promotes the idea of if you ask enough questions you can give support,
encouragement, or guidance in the right way. Working with other adults lends itself to a lot of
unseen challenges that each leader pointed out.
Humanizing themselves to their employees is a defining feature of each of the
interviewees each leader spoke about the transparency of their actions. Each spoke of the
humanity they display in the workplace and for specific reasons. Heidi and Michelle know their
employees on a personal level. They work side by side every day with student learning, in the
teachers classroom, and perhaps teaching their own children. Both Heidi and Michelle
commented on showing that everyone makes mistakes and owning up to those mistakes..
The honesty and listening skills they are able to show their employees allows them integrate trust
and respect for each person.
On top of respect for each other and their staff was this phrase, Its ok to not be
awesome! Heidi said, I have no special powers or insights and its ok for people to know
that. With the idea of transparency returning, Heidi spoke a lot about showing people exactly
what your strong suits are and how to use them. Jared also joined this idea with, If Im great at 9
out of 10 management strategies, Im going to find another person who is great at that 10th
strategy, and put them in charge of it. He does not need to take the glory or fame or drive
himself crazy figuring out that 10th strategy. That is a very important quality in a leader and
organizer delegation of things is key.
Michelle alluded to this idea of delegation as well when she spoke about the domino
effect. There will be a mistake that is made and ten other things will go wrong because of it.

Once you realize your weaknesses, you must find other to pick up what you lack, otherwise you
being the domino effect. Michelle said, Once the first piece has fallen you must work double,
triple overtime to catch up to the falling pieces to limit the damage. As leaders and managers of
people, Michelle, Jared, and Heidi give credit to the people around them as a huge reason for
their success. These leaders are humble people, who are happy to give praise to their employees
and peers. Each leader attributed their triumphs to the great, supportive teams around them.
Heidi said, You have to be willing and able to see the whole picture. She talked about
getting wrapped up in the details of everyday management. After talking with each leader about
the many, intricate pieces of leadership, Heidi summed it up with thoughts on the whole process
with the words you have to own it. Whether it was a success, a mistake, or questions she had,
Heidi talked about ownership. It is something we request of our students on a daily bases, but it
was something that had never occurred to me to flip back to myself. It all circles back to
transparency and work ethic with the individual and employees. When a leader is honest and
open with the people around them, great gains can be made. Each leader clarified what to keep to
yourself and what to share (following school ethics and guidelines), but when it comes to your
staff, be transparent.
It was a very humbling conversation with each of these leaders. They each have learned
many lessons along the way in their leadership journeys, and I feel very fortunate that they were
so open and honest about their experiences. Michelle summed it up nicely with, Be in the room
follow through have open and honest conversations. Do that and youll be just fine. All of
these leaders embody skills that I hope to have. The biggest of these skills is passion. I believe
that passion is what drives you to do your absolute best in any situation. It can humble you,

excite you, and drive you forward. I am fortunate to have these brilliant, insightful leaders,
Michelle, Jared, and Heidi as mentors.