Quote:

Originally Posted by Becky

He raised his head and saw that some of the other candidates looked thoughtful and like they were mulling over the question. Okay, time to save them. Charles finally piped up. "Good evening ladies and gentleman, distinguished guests," he gave a nod to the Minister "And candidates. I am Charles Taylor from International Cooperation. I've noticed that many of you have stated your current occupations, of which some are extremely important jobs," he nodded to Gavin and Althea, acknowledging their department head jobs, "Therefore, the first question I put to those of you who've already answered your first question is: If a personal or professional situation arose at the same time as an equally important situation arose in the school, which would you deem more important to attend to first, and why?" He bowed his head to let them know they could start answering whenever they saw fit.

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Questions:

Erik Vinteren, Roxanne Carter, Gavin Higareda, Althea Schirmer, Cooper Cope:

If a personal or professional situation arose at the same time as an equally important situation arose in the school, which would you deem more important to attend to first, and why? - Asked by Charles Taylor

All other candidates:

Why do you feel you are more qualified for this position than the other candidates? We want to hear about what sets you apart from the crowd. - Asked by Cassandra Rae-Branxton

Well that was a better question overall. And a tricky one in a sense, since it was almost lose lose to say one over another. Althea stood up to take her turn, shooting an appreciative smile at Charles Taylor before beginning her answer. Yes, she appreciated the question.

"I think it is important to have the ability to assess situations as they arise rather than have a blanket policy about what is most important," A nod at Roxanne, "As Roxanne said, it depends on the situation, and urgency is relative." She paused. "So too is setting priorities. I would like to point out that I do not work alone in any of my professional roles, in fact in the Ministry I head up a highly capable team, and my role as Department Head is not completely autonomous as there are a team of us also, so while I am capable to step in and act alone, I rarely have to." A nod of respect to the Minister of Magic and then to her fellow Department Heads, including those on stage with her. "Serving on the Board will be much the same, as it is a team and not a vehicle for an individual playing superhero." In essence.

"As such, my job is to ensure that the right people are put to the right tasks and the right actions are taken for any given situation. It is important in my role as a Department Head to keep a cool head and to step back and assess any problems, and possible solutions. In some cases, if there is another equally as urgent --and yet entirely different-- situation at hand in some other avenue of my life, it may be more effective to take care of it first. It is case-by-case and sometimes it is more prudent to eliminate the easier situation so that more focus can be given on those which are more difficult." Surely it was much the same for anyone balancing personal and professional life? She'd be interested to hear Layla's answer since the woman had a hell of a lot more on her plate than Althea did, and that was saying something.

"I'm not a robot." Surprise! She had feelings and whatnot! "But I do endeavor to keep my personal life and professional life from intersecting in a way that will effect others or my ability to work to a high standard." It wasn't always easy when other people were involved and making trouble for you though.

"There are some things that you can't plan for, but I can confidently say that if important personal or professional situations arose simultaneously while an urgent situation was afoot in the school, I would take personal feeling out of the equation and prioritize whichever is more easily and quickly dealt with, make use of the skills and personnel I have access to, and communicate with my fellows appropriately about the situation so that any and all situations may be tended to effectively and as quickly as possible. Thank You." Another nod to Charles. Thank Circe for a different question. She returned to her seat.