Doug Eadie & Company Doug Eadie & Company Building High-Impact Board-Superintendent Leadership .

Doug Eadie & CompanyDoug Eadie & Company

Building High-Impact Board-Superintendent

Leadership

www.DougEadie.com

A Presentation For The American Association Of School

Administrators

Governing At The Top:

Building a High-Impact Board-Superintendent Strategic

Governing Team

November 5, 2014

©Doug Eadie & Company, Inc.

All Rights Reserved

Governing Is A Team Sport Involving A

STRATEGIC GOVERNING TEAM

• School Board

• Superintendent

• Senior executives

Doug Eadie & Company

4 Facts Of Life In All School Districts

1. Making truly high-impact governing decisions and judgments depends on a rock-solid board-superintendent working relationship.

2. Board-superintendent partnerships are difficult to build and always fragile.

3. School board members make better governing partners when they are actively engaged in shaping high-impact governing decisions and judgments and, therefore, feel like satisfied owners of their governing work – NOT like an audience for finished staff work.

4. Board-savvy superintendents are the most effective partnership builders.


2 Of The Major Keys To Building A High-Impact Strategic

Governing Team

A board-savvy superintendent at the helm

Meticulous management of the board- superintendent working relationship to keep it healthy


KEY # 1

A Board-Savvy Superintendent At The

Helm


Board-Savvy Superintendents

• See the school board as one of their district’s most precious assets and take accountability for capitalizing on the asset.

• Treat governance and the board-superintendent partnership as a top-tier chief executive priority.

• Are world-class experts in the rapidly evolving field of K-12 governance.


Making Governing A Top Superintendent Priority

Means: • Spending at least 25 percent of his/her

time on governing matters

• Serving as “executive director” of the district’s board “program:”

Closely monitoring board functioning, identifying issues needing attention and taking the lead in addressing them

Helping the board become a more effective governing body


Governing At The Highest Level

The school board plays the leading role – in close partnership with the superintendent and executive team – in continuously answering 4 critical questions:

1. Where should our district be headed/what should we become over the long run?

2. What should we be now and in the near-term?

3. How well are we performing: in terms of educational performance, finances, external relations, administration?

4. How do we need/want to be perceived by the general public and key stakeholders?


The Board’s Detailed Governing Work Consists Of Much More Than

Mere “Policy-Making”

Decisions about concrete governing “products” and judgments based on

governing information – flowing along 3 broad governing streams:

Strategic and operational planning/budget developmentStrategic and operational planning/budget development

Performance oversight/monitoringPerformance oversight/monitoring

External/stakeholder RelationsExternal/stakeholder Relations


Your Board’s Detailed Governing Work Can Be

Organized/Managed By Actual Or Virtual Standing Committees

That• Correspond to the major streams of

decisions and judgments that make up the board’s governing work (form following function)

• Cut across all district operations and functions (not tied to narrow silos such as curriculum and instruction, contracts, buildings and grounds, personnel, finance, etc.)

• Are standing, not ad hoc, committees


Form Follows FunctionBoard Governing StreamsBoard Governing Streams

Educational/Administrative Functions

Planning StreamPlanning Stream

Performance Oversight StreamPerformance Oversight Stream

External/Stakeholder Relations StreamExternal/Stakeholder Relations Stream


Model Committee Structure


External/Stakeholder

Relations

Board

Performance Oversight/Monitorin

g

Planning and Development

Governance(Board

Operations)

QUESTIONS


KEY # 2

Meticulous Management Of The Board-

Superintendent Working Relationship


5 Keys To Maintaining A Healthy Board-Superintendent Working

Relationship

1. An actual or virtual (committee of the whole) committee accountable for management of the relationship – often called “governance” or “board operations”

2. Ongoing, detailed division of labor in major governing areas (e.g., planning)

3. Clear, detailed board-superintendent (and board-executive team) communication and interaction guidelines

4. A solid board chair-superintendent working relationship

5. A well-designed process for board evaluation of superintendent performance


The Actual Or Virtual Accountable Committee

Pays explicit, close attention Pays explicit, close attention to the board-superintendent to the board-superintendent

relationshiprelationship

Fashions explicit guidelines Fashions explicit guidelines for board-superintendent for board-superintendent

(and board-executive team) (and board-executive team) communication/interactioncommunication/interaction

Ensures that an effective Ensures that an effective process for board evaluation process for board evaluation

of superintendent of superintendent performance is performance is

implementedimplemented

Identifies relationship issues Identifies relationship issues and works out solutions with and works out solutions with

the superintendentthe superintendent


Regarding The Board-Superintendent Division Of

Labor• The magic is in the continuous, detailed division

of labor in key governing areas like strategic planning and budget preparation – NOT in drawing and preaching about general boundaries like “the board focuses on ends, the superintendent and executive team on means.”

• Actual or virtual committees are the perfect place for board members and the superintendent to work out a mutually satisfactory division of labor.

• A key objective is to ensure meaningful board engagement in shaping decisions and judgments.


Determine With Your “Planning Committee” How Board Members

Should Be Involved In:

Updating district values and Updating district values and vision statementsvision statements

Preparing thePreparing theannual operating plan annual operating plan

and budgetand budget

Identifying strategic issues Identifying strategic issues facing your district and facing your district and

fashioning change initiativesfashioning change initiatives


Determine With Your “Performance Monitoring

Committee” How Board Members Should Be Involved In:

Updating major policies Updating major policies (e.g., contracting)(e.g., contracting)

Determining the content Determining the content and format ofand format of

performance reports performance reports

Assessing educational, Assessing educational, financial, and financial, and

administrative performanceadministrative performance


Determine With Your “External Relations Committee” How Board Members Should Be Involved In:

Representing your district in Representing your district in appropriate external forumsappropriate external forums

Updating your district’s Updating your district’s desired imagedesired image

Fashioning marketing, Fashioning marketing, communication, and communication, and stakeholder relations stakeholder relations

strategiesstrategies


Board-Superintendent Interaction/Communication

Guidelines• Are one of the most important ways to prevent

relationship issues from developing.

• Should reflect desired internal cultural values (for example, fostering understanding, transparency and openness in your district).

• Should be developed by the accountable board committee and formally adopted by the full board.

• Should extend to members of the superintendent’s executive team.

• Should be monitored by the accountable board committee.


A Solid Board Chair-Superintendent Working

Relationship Depends On:

• Reaching agreement on the basic division of labor

• Non-monetary compensation:

A board-savvy superintendent’s providing strong support to the board chair in carrying out his/her role

A board-savvy superintendent’s paying close attention to the board chair’s professional objectives and ego needs


Regarding The Board Chair-Superintendent Division of

Labor• The board chair is responsible for leading

deliberations of the board and the governance committee

• The superintendent is responsible for all internal operations, including directing staff

• The board chair and superintendent share external/stakeholder relations

• Only the full board collectively provides direction to the superintendent, never the board chair alone


Board Evaluation of Superintendent Performance

Is Intended To Result In Practical Steps To:

Strengthen Strengthen superintendent superintendent

performanceperformance

Address Address relationship issuesrelationship issues


A Sound Process For Board Evaluation of Superintendent

Performance Should

• Be spearheaded by the actual or virtual governance (or board operations) committee

• Be carried out at least annually – with the superintendent present

• Be outcomes-focused – NOT using some kind of questionnaire measuring functional excellence

• Focus on 2 performance tiers: (1) overall district education and operational performance; (2) the superintendent’s CEO-centric leadership targets


CEO-Centric Performance Areas

Board development and Board development and supportsupport

Internal Internal operational/managerial operational/managerial

capacity buildingcapacity building

External/stakeholder External/stakeholder relationsrelations

Strategic Educational Strategic Educational LeadershipLeadership


QUESTIONS


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www.DougEadie.com

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Doug Eadie & Company Doug Eadie & Company Building High-Impact Board-Superintendent Leadership .

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