Leaders Perception Magazine is currently running an interview series called – Leadership in Times of Crisis
Today, we had the opportunity to interview Jay McCurry who is a National Director for State Advocacy at Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) .
Join us for an interview with Jay McCurry, National Director for State Advocacy at the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI), as he shares his expertise in crisis leadership. With his background in education and extensive research on crisis leadership, Jay brings valuable insights to the table.
Interviewee Name: Jay McCurry
Company: Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI)
Jay McCurry ‘s favourite quote: “I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts.”
— Abraham Lincoln, 16th president of the United States
The Interview
Thank you so much for joining us today! Tell us a little bit about yourself. What is your backstory?
Jay McCurry : My name is Jay McCurry, and I am an adjunct professor at Southern Nazarene University and I serve as the National Director for Advocacy at ACSI. I hold a BS in Human Relations, MA in Education and two doctorates in Education. I have taught many communication classes and completed my doctoral dissertation on crisis leadership.
Could you please share a specific crisis situation you’ve faced as a leader and walk us through the strategies you employed to navigate through it successfully? What were the key decisions and actions you took, and what were the outcomes or lessons learned from that experience?
Jay McCurry : IN 2018, I was serving as the Superintendent at a k-12 school and about 20% of our student body was sick with the flu. Our school had just become eligible by the Indiana Department of Education to use e-Learning days, which typically are used in place of snow days so schools don’t have to make up time later in the year.
Instead of using the days for snow days, we utilized them for sickness.
In order to get attendance credit, our students needed to email their teachers and complete at least 10 percent of their assignment in each class. Alternative assignments were offered by each teacher for students who do not have home internet access. Teachers were available to respond to questions via email.
From your observations, what common mistakes or pitfalls have you seen leaders fall into during a crisis?
Jay McCurry : Three common traits from my dissertation Literature Review and research that impacted
effective crisis leadership:
1. The response must be timely
2. The response must be accurate
3. The response must provide relevant communication
Leaders Perception would like to thank Jay McCurry and Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) for the time dedicated to completing this interview and sharing their valuable insights with our readers!
Subscribe to our newsletter to get a notification as soon as we launch new interview series.