1

These sample papers provided as a reference example for the Leader Interview Report.
The student and interviewee names and organizations have been removed from this Sample
paper and replaced with … or anything in italics.

Sample 1
Leader Interview Report Format (Practicum Assignment Unit 2)

Student or group name(s): student names…

Leaders name: Leaders name…

Organization/Community: Interviewee works for …?

Address: ?
Email: ?

Leader Interview Date(s): …? How long did the Leader Interview take? …?

Based on your Leader Interview notes, debriefing notes, and class presentation.

1. Why did you identify this person, in this particular organization?

This organization has had a great role in shaping many youth life and promoting a peace culture.
It is primarily focused on strengthening the alumni community and implementing community-based
service projects and managing numerous multi-million-dollar educational scholarship and youth
programs across the country.
Mr. ? is the former ? director at ?. Having known this person for about nine years and being
witness of his influential leadership role among people, has lead us to identify him as a great leader and
have an interview with him. He is admired because of his constant effort for bringing a positive change in
the life of people, constant support for youth empowerment, and blessed with a friendly personality
which has added a lot to his prestige. Since we have found him with these core characteristics that are
vital for a peace leader too, we decided to interview him.

2. Personal learning: what did you discover about yourself? (List examples of personal insights
about leadership)
a. What learning struck you most?
What struck us the most was to get to realize that there are bits and pieces of violence in every
talk, conversation, discussion and debate we have on a daily basis. However, it is important and
crucial for a peace leader to foster nonviolent communication— to develop consciousness, an
understanding of how to use language, communication skills, and means of influence. For
example…

b. What surprised you?

 2

The word counsel means to give advice. What surprised us the most was this sentence which
reads, “In coaching someone, don’t give advice, and don’t know the solution— it has to come
from your client.” We had thought that as a counselor, you had to tell your client what he or she
needed to do or didn’t need to do.

c. What touched (impressed) you?

Within our group, we believe that this person is a true servant-leader. Although sometimes he is
in the midst of problems and challenges and conflicts, nothing seems to shake that quiet inside
him.

Furthermore, he almost always cares for his co-workers and puts their needs first. For example…

d. Is there anything you need to follow-up on?

Fostering nonviolent communication, counselling in a way in which solution doesn’t come from
us as a counselor, but comes from our client, and maintaining that valuable thing called quiet
inside us in the midst of conflicts are the three most important things that we want to learn and
follow up on.

3. What were the important aspects/characteristics of leadership that the interviewee

addressed?
The most valuable leadership lessons learned are the followings:
a. Always put your employees ahead of yourself
b. Patience and determination go hand in hand with leadership
c. Productivity heavily depends on a positive, friendly working environment
d. There’s no shame in learning from your subordinates
e. Leadership, at times, is a moral obligation

4. What has this leader taught you about the Peace Leader role?

a. Trust is an integral part of any team. A leader needs nothing but the genuine trust and
support of his followers. Building trust and maintaining it is a mission on its own. This is
a mutual need, heavily demanded on both spectrums.
b. Letting go of your ego is absolutely important. Showing willingness to accept and
acknowledge criticism is a must.
c. Being able to go an extra mile and fully meeting your seniors’ expectation is another key
factor.
d. Working as a team is an essential part of leadership. All should work towards one
common goal. Negative competition, nepotism, lack of support should never be
present.
e. People should treat each other with utmost respect.
 3

f. Practicing patience, having confidence in abilities, and seeking support of a committed

group of people are a few other great coping mechanisms to be employed when dealing
with problems.

5. Provide at least two examples (if any) from the interview that support Peace Leader (Servant-
leader) values and skills, and one example that does not. (Refer to the Servant-leader
Development table below).

He has all the values we admire in a servant leader like committed to the growth of others,
listening and empathy, but from all that he has notably practiced are some are very significant
ones including:
a. Foresight: He has the ability to predict what is likely to happen in future, based on the past and
the present which enables him to plan ahead.

b. Stewardship: As a servant leader, he acts as a steward for the organization’s resources. He has
complete responsibility for planning and managing all available resources for the betterment of
the organization, employees, and stakeholders.

c. Awareness: He is completely aware of his strengths, weaknesses, values, emotions, and feelings.
This self-awareness allows him to understand personal biases and set them aside while making
decisions.

d. Not?

6. Group Learning (how might you improve this exercise? What would you do different next time
you do an interview? (List 3 examples)

This time we interviewed the interviewee through skype. The next time we interviewed someone, we
would like it to be face to face. I think that helps create a better a communication since communicating
via telephone or internet applications have their own pitfalls like disconnection of internet, weak signal,
and voice distractions. In addition, if we could interview the person face to face, we could maintain
listening in level 3 global contextual listening i.e. considering the emotion, voice, pace and other types of
non-verbal cues to understand how that person really feels. The other issue with long distance interview
is that, we might not be able to ask questions that we would rather ask them in person. So these might
be the changes we might apply in the next interviews.

7. Reflective Summary: what are the most significant points of learning you gained from
Interviewing a Leader and about the community or organizational system he/she works in?

Interviewing this young leader had us gain a lot of lifelong lessons. For one thing, his commitment
towards his country and his countrymen’s growth was true leadership. For instance, for the past fifteen
years, he has conducted many development and educational programs for his countrymen especially for
the new generation of students. His consistency to his purpose and objective was also of emblematic
quality. He told us about how consistent he was towards failure in life and how he turned his failures to
experiences. Last but not least, we have gotten to learn another important quality he owned was his
 4

positive attitude towards his life, careers, and employees. In his interview, he has mentioned that being
positive towards others and having a friendly environment can increase the productivity of the
community considerably.

8. Appendices: Attach your research notes to Report.

Interview Notes

a. It all started when I was selected as a finalist for the Youth Exchange & Study (YES)
Program. YES is an exchange initiative led by the US Department of State. It focuses on
bridging gaps between the US and the Muslim world. I was placed in Florida where I
lived with an American host family and complete sophomore year of high school. Upon
successfully completing the program in 2007, I returned back home and started working
with … as …. In this capacity, my work primarily focused on strengthening the YES alumni
community and implementing community-based service projects across the country.
Within a year, I was promoted to the post of Senior … and eventually made my way up
to becoming the Deputy … Director. I run the … office and managed numerous …
educational scholarship and … programs. The most valuable leadership lessons that I
have learned are the followings:
i. Always put your employees ahead of yourself
ii. Patience and determination go hand in hand with leadership
iii. Productivity heavily depends on a positive, friendly working
environment.
iv. There’s no shame in learning from your subordinates
v. Leadership, at times, is a moral obligation

b. Serving the … youth brings me an immense level of joy. This joy coupled with my passion
and vision for a better … have greatly helped me cope with challenges in the past.
Furthermore, practicing patience, having confidence in my abilities, and seeking support of a
committed group of people are a few other great coping mechanisms I had employed when
dealing with problems.

c. I spent roughly 12 years at … and worked in some other organizations as well in

between. Working with folks at … was an incredible experience. Their presence and support
made me feel at home. We all worked towards one common goal. Negative competition,
nepotism, lack of support was never present. People treated each other with utmost
respect. Everyone strived to become more productive and find innovative ways to improve
the quality of our service.

e. I am currently unemployed as I just moved to …. I believe getting … work experience and

eventually finding a suitable job are some of the major challenges I anticipate to face here.

f. Our most important stakeholders were the Public Affairs Section of the US Embassy (…),
the five governmental ministries, provincial education departments, as well as Access
program implementing partners and … Learning Centers.
 5

g. Letting go of your ego is absolutely important. Showing willingness to accept and

acknowledge criticism is a must. Being able to go an extra mile and fully meeting your
seniors’ expectation is another key factor.

h. My mentor was my direct supervisor, … ... I have known him since 2006. He is an
inspirational person. He’s articulate, confident, and highly intelligent. I have always been
impressed by his personality and qualities. He has had a major role in shaping my
personality and improving my qualities as a leader. It was his constant support, genuine
feedback, and his personal and academic achievements that made me want to be like him.

Sample 2

Leader Interview Report Format (Practicum Assignment Unit 2)

Student or group name(s):

Leader’s name: 2 leaders were interviewed…

Organization/Community:
Address:
Phone #s: Email etc.
Leader Interview Date(s):
 1stNov, … for 34 minutes.
 21st October … for 45 minutes
 14th October … for 30 minutes

How long did the Leader Interview take?

Based on your Leader Interview notes, debriefing notes, and class presentation.
1. Why did you identify this person, in this particular organization?
…: We identify her, as a peace leader, because she is working in … at Organization as the Chair
person and she is actively participating in Peace process between … state arms group … and …
Government. She is a member of technical Team for … for peace process. Moreover, she is the
one who is involving in peace mission team at … and her organization is included in peace
network in …. So, we assume that she is a worthy person to be interviewed as a peace leader.
… from the … is particularly responsible for promoting … and human formation in that widely
includes enhancing ethical and moral values, performing charitable services based on human
spirit of solidarity, programming children and youth empowerment, encamping educational
development, etc., throughout the whole of … in collaboration with different national and
international organizations, that in turn directly or indirectly contributing to the building of
peace effectively within the country. And …, having … years of experience in a leadership role in
different social … mission, is at present actively engaged in this society. For these reasons we
have chosen him as a second leader to be interviewed.
 6

2. Personal learning: what did you discover about yourself? (List examples of personal insights
about leadership from your group?
 Inspired by the spirit of dedication and commitment to their leadership roles.
 Convinced of the importance of attentive listening, showing respect and giving
appreciation to have a constructive dialogue.
 What learning struck you most?
 Systematic Guidelines giving in the leadership interview
 Collecting information on the interview notes
 Collaborative learning (Group discussion, sharing and presentation)
a. What surprised you?
 Although there are underlying similar values and skills in all the 3 leaders, the roles that
they play are very much different from one another, depending on the professional
fields they are involved in.
 They are deeply passionate about their committed service for the common good
b. What touched(impressed) you?
 Each of them holds a great vision for their organization, the society and the country at
large
 Their Service-orientation is a foremost important value for them.  Their great
compassion on the suffering human societies
c. Is there anything you need to follow-up on?
 We have learnt that we need to follow-up on the servant-leader qualities of Persistent
learning, broader vision and consistent efforts.

3. What were the important aspects/characteristics of leadership that the interviewee

addressed?
 Some of the important aspects of the leadership that the interviewees addressed were
the following:
 The importance of Leadership values and skills
 Mutual respect and trust, collaboration, team spirit, sense of responsibility, humility,
non-preferential treatment, passion and commitment, interdependence, delegation and
empowerment, and decentralization of the authority are foremost important aspect in
the collective efforts and community-based activities.
 Handling conflicts: Conflicting situations are challenging but they are also beautiful
opportunities for growth, integration and pathfinding. Ability to listen to different
voices, paying attention to the matters that can create division within the
community/organization, doing discussion with the members, being open for suggestion
and negotiation, taking most possible concrete decision for the common good, and
sometimes, taking initiative step even to the point of going beyond the cultural
limitation (e.g. request for right of participation in Gender Base Violence (GBV) in favor
of women) for the sake of the actual need at the given situation, was the 2nd important
aspect of the leadership mentioned by the interviewees.
 7

Decision Making Process: While making decisions in favor of the benefits of the people
intended, the leaders are not to see the issue from view of “right or wrong” but take
into serious consideration all the consequences and possibilities, both the positive as
well as negative impacts, and then taking the agreement after the negotiation and
dialogue with the members. Decision making needs to be processed and careful
considerations.
 Non-overpowering and Service-mindedness:
 To pay due and equal respect to the higher authority as well as members under one’s
leadership. Autonomy and uniformity are importantly not to be practiced. Treating the
members with nonjudgmental attitude but with love, care and appreciation are
encouraged and greatly beneficial. Not only with the partners and stakeholders, but also
when working with government and civil society organizations, this approach is also
necessary for greater collaboration and maximum effects.
4. What has this leader taught you about the Peace Leader role?
 Wisdom from the heart and intelligence from the mind are equally important to a peace
leader, and compassion for humanity and service orientation are the natural power
generated from within the noble spirit of a peace leader.

5. Provide at least two examples (if any) from the interview that support Peace Leader (Servant-
leader) capacities, values and skills, and one example that does not. (Refer to the Servant-
leader Consciousness, Dispositions. Capacities and Values and skills form below).
 Servant-leader’s value: Promote appreciation, belonging, harmony and trust We have
observed that these values are significantly mentioned by the 2nd leader, … who has
expressed that he always keeps importantly a space for building a healthy relationship
with his team members, finding opportunities to care for their needs, and remains
grateful for their generous contributions to the societies through words of trust and
appreciation.
 Servant leader’s capacity: listen-first, seeking clarity before influence We have learned
that these capacities are specifically pointed out by the 1st leader, … as she said that in
any conflicting situation, it is firstly important to listen to all the different voices before
taking any further steps/ procedures for decision making. There were values that do not
support the Servant Leader’s values. “Fear of what is to come in old age” mentioned
during the interview as one of the top challenges, though be it natural to any human
being, we think, when it comes to the point of contributing more worry and anxiety to
the inner state of a person, it could create hindrance to profoundly living the inner
peace and that could also in turn cause reduced focus on the present and creative
functioning of the task. Hence, we consider any fear can be unsupported to the values
of a servant-leader.

6. Group Learning (how might you improve this exercise? What would you do different next time
you do an interview? (List 2-3 examples)
 To better improve our interview exercise, we would further take the following things for
the next:
 8

 Preparing some more interview questions on Servant Consciousness

 Getting more time for group discussion on interview notes and class presentation
 Making more clarity on questions asked (what the question actually means) to receive
concrete information

7. Reflective Summary: what are the most significant points of learning you gained from
Interviewing a Leader and about the community or organizational system he/she works in?
 The most significant points of learning we gained from interviewing a leader are-
 Leaders are profoundly grounded on the principle foundation of values and meaning
 They dearly hold greater passion, broader vision, service –orientation, persistent
learning, constant integration and consistent efforts. They are the ones who could move
both inward and outward direction in a balance mode, that immensely help to sense the
needs of the external environment from within and to consciously make a better choice
to respond to the challenges faced at a given situation.
 Servant-leaders mindfully place service and common good before one’s own benefits.
 Team spirit, equal respect, collaborative efforts, non-preferential treatment sharing of
authority and responsibility, etc. are harmoniously practiced in their community and
organization
 Attentive listening to different voices, open discussion, negotiation, dialogue and
conflict resolution are highly valued in decision making process.

8. Appendices: Attach your research notes to Report.

Notes:
 Setting well preparation for the interview in advance though takes time and efforts, can
significantly offer big learning opportunity to us as a peace leader in training.

 Taking the leaders from different fields to be interviewed opens a new window for us to
observe, understand and learn the underlying similar values and skills as well as other
differences in leadership roles they are engaged with.

 Making adjustment with the interview dates helped us to be more flexible, patient and
prepared.

 Collaborative participation to prepare a group report also creates a big privilege for us to
exchange of ideas, opinions, learned experience, and insights received.

 Writing a “thanking letter” to our interviewees is also a great opportunity for us to genuinely
express our gratitude and appreciation for their big contribution to preparing a ‘Leader
Interview Report’.
9