Interview with Jason Glass

Excerpts from an interview with:
Jason Glass
Director of the Iowa Department of Education

Jason began his career in education by teaching at the high school and university levels in Kentucky. He worked for the Colorado Department of Education and served as vice president of Qualistar Early Learning in Denver, CO. He was the Director of Human Resources for Eagle County Schools in CO as well. Jason was with Battelle for Kids as Senior Director of Human Capital, before joining the Iowa Department of Education. He has a BA and MA from the University of Kentucky and a Doctorate from Seton Hall University.

L on T: Who are the best thinkers you know?

Jason Glass: Malcom Gladwell, Seth Godin.

L on T: What/who influences your thinking?
Jason: Writers Chip and Dan Heath, national policy thinking. I seek out people who have different points of view than my own.

L on T: How do you think long-term when long-term thinking seems so difficult to achieve?

Jason: There are so many distractions. Crises are distractions. You have to clear the distraction and get back to the plan.

 L on T: Do you spend time reflecting on your personal and professional growth in a structured manner?

Jason: Yes, I have had training as a reflective educator. I don't have a formal process but I am constantly reflecting. Everything has a consequence. Reflecting is about how to improve and get it better.

L on T: What is the biggest waste of time/energy/resources in your organization? How do you stop these things?

Jason: Meetings without purpose, travel time and prep time. To overcome these obstacles you have to build a team and trust the team members to do the necessary work.

L on T: What is your process for determining where your organization is going? How do you know when you get there?

Jason: The department is a tool, not an end to itself.  Hygiene and required items don't make world class schools, policy makes world class schools. Policy is the driver and the legislative session is the metric. We will know when we are there--when Iowa school's are world class.

L on T: Fill in the blanks. I used to think ____________, now I think ______________.

Jason: I used to think in terms of black and white, from an ideological point of view with logical decisions. Now I think in terms of Venn diagrams, blended models. Less and less ideologically and more pragmatic about how to get the goal accomplished.

L on T: Was there a time when you thought you had thought clearly about an issue, made a great decision and then found out your thinking was way off base?

Jason: Several times. It always seems to be when I think unilaterally and don't separate the emotional aspects of the decision. Also I try and avoid making the big decisions in the heat of battle, by using the time we have to get a better perspective.

L on T: What do you like best about being a leader? What do you like least?

Jason: I like policy thinking and the process of making a thorny decision. I least like minutia and logistical details.

L on T: Any books you would recommend reading?

Jason: Leadership on the Line.