We were lucky to catch up with Dr. Jen Mott recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Dr. Jen , thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?
I have always been pretty self-disciplined and determined to do whatever I set out to do. I am grateful for this innate quality and hopeful it helps encourage others who feel similarly. The work ethic ultimately comes from two places 1) my parents have always been great role models for what hard work looks like and have always been my biggest fans for all the ideas I have 2) for anyone who knows about the Enneagram… the fact that I am a 3 explains a lot about being The Achiever and always having ideas of what’s next to achieve. Being goal-oriented with a mind that does not often turn “off” help a lot.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
My full-time job in education is at an amazing middle school as a school administrator. Then, part-time I have developed lots of passions and hobbies that have continued to evolve and take shape over the years.
Since 2006 I have been a professional juggler, stilt-walker, balloon artist and fire performer with the Cincinnati Circus Company performing for events, teams and organizations across the world. While I continue to do this, it has turned more into merging my passions for entertainment and education where I now do public and motivational speaking as a keynote speaker and entertainer for businesses, school districts, non-profits and anywhere in between. I talk a lot about how we can all fulfill our own potential, beyond our wildest imagination, and share through visually appealing ways using the various circus skills I have acquired. The audiences range from students to adults of all ages and it has been fun to see this turn into what it is now where I even gave a TEDx Talk in 2023 entitled “Juggling Career & Passion.”
Additionally, I am a professor at our local university here in Cincinnati, Ohio in the graduate program for Educational Administration. I love teaching teachers and encouraging them as they consider moving into administration or school leadership in any capacity.
Finally, I am releasing two books spring 2024 in order to equip and empower current and future teachers.
One book is called “Teacherverance: Nurturing Hope While Embracing Perseverance in Education.” This is based on my dissertation research on teacher perseverance ultimately asking the question: Why do teachers stay? as a way to positively spin the story of “Teachers are leaving! There is a teacher shortage!” While we know this is true, I wanted to focus on the optimistic side and give voice to all the teachers who are staying in an effort to capture why.
The second book is called “Why Teaching?” and it is a picture book about a kid who wants to be a teacher but the adults in their life are encouraging them to pursue other professions. They end up asking the kid: “Why teaching?” The kid recounts stories and memories from the adults in their life about how teachers have positively impacted them ultimately getting to the idea that teachers influence society and all professions and people in profound ways. The kid wants to have a similar influence on generations to come. Powerful because truly the education field has lost qualified candidates over the years so this is another way to share the positive stories coming out of schools. Bonus – the stories and memories are all my own from my own teachers throughout my educational journey!
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
As mentioned earlier, I am a hard worker and incredibly self-disciplined. When I set out to do something, I do it and that has taken me farther than I ever could have imagined. Additionally, the love and passion I have for education as a profession and the deep knowledge I now have on teacher perseverance, employee retention, etc. has proven to be useful not only in my own career in education but also in the fact that the takeaways are universal for employees feeling part of the volatile job market. Finally, the mentors who have built into me and encouraged me have been most impactful on my journey. I have been fortunate to be surrounded by amazing people who have willingly shared their expertise, network and ideas with me.
My advice to those early in their journey is to see the best in the jobs you take. They don’t have to be forever jobs, but the people you are surrounded by certainly could help you now or later in life. Treat the people you work with and find yourself around with care and compassion in ways that show them you respect them and want to learn from them. Lastly, ask questions, remain humble, and try lots of things! Reinventing yourself is ok and so is admitting you do not know everything. The willingness to take risks and go for new opportunities will take you far.
Looking back over the past 12 months or so, what do you think has been your biggest area of improvement or growth?
For three years I was sitting on a book idea. After finishing my dissertation research in December 2020, I knew I wanted to turn it into a book. The voice and ideas only got stronger and louder but I didn’t know where to start. The biggest area of growth or improvement in the past 12 months for me is easy to answer — it was making a statement out loud June 2023 to the people closest to me that I was actually going to start writing a book. And I meant it because I then started investing time, energy and money into programs and people that would help get me there. Less than 12 months later I am here on the other side of this journey getting ready to release not one but two books out into the world.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.DrJenMott.com
- Instagram: @j.mott or @entertainingeducator
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jen.mott OR https://www.facebook.com/entertainingeducator/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jen-mott/
- Twitter: @jen_mott_
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@mottjen
Image Credits
Kylie B Photography
