Co-Pilots: The Head of School-Board Chair Partnership

Co-Pilots: The Head of School-Board Chair Partnership

The Head of School/Board Chair partnership is the single most critical relationship to build, strengthen and sustain in independent schools. Any veteran Head of School or Board Chair will tell you, the health and vigor of the school rests on this health and vigor of the partnership between head and chair, who serve as co-pilots, deciding direction, altitude, speed and safe landing with all manner of challenges.

What does a healthy Head of School/Board Chair relationship look like? It will be a customized well-defined and thoughtfully constructed partnership, including:

• Regular meetings either in person, phone or Zoom. Heads of School have worked effectively with leaders who are “on the road” often or have especially consuming jobs. As long as they preserve their regular meetings the partnership can thrive.
  
  
• Focused attention on the school’s strategic priorities. This involves an understanding of boundaries, and a well-articulated set of shared goals for the school year. When Trustees are pulled off course, the Head of School should feel comfortable speaking to the Board Chair about the wayward Trustee. And if the Head is pulled off course by an unforeseen challenge, the Board Chair should be ready to communicate with the Board, helping the Head return to strategic priorities as quickly as possible. 
   
• Clarity around pacing. Are we in a sprint or a marathon? If the Head’s foot is on the brake and the Board Chair is punching the accelerator, the two need to talk and decide how to pace change. If the decision is shared, the speed of change, or the slow pace of change can be deliberate and well-communicated to the affected constituencies.
  
  
• A “heads up” habit wherein the Board and Head decide—together— whether a given topic needs to be raised with the full Board (or full faculty). When there is going to be higher-than-average faculty turnover, for example, it might help if the Head gives the Board perspective on the reasons (one teacher’s partner is being transferred, one teacher is being terminated, one teacher is pregnant, one has a parent who requires her care) so that the Board can help with the difficult communication that inevitably arises from high turnover. 
  
  
• A clear plan for the Head’s reports to the Board (how long, how much detail) and the Board’s appetite for learning what is happening around school. The timing of certain topics in the Head’s Report can be critical too—if the top of the admissions funnel is narrower this year than last, the Head may want to tell the Board what the plans are to try and compensate for this change in the inquiry pool, or what the causes of the shrinking pool might be.
  
  
• Clarity around the evaluation tool the Board will use to periodically assess the Head’s effectiveness. How and when will the Board assess its own function, create goals for the upcoming year and coordinate with the Head of School? If the Board uses Executive sessions, how does the Chair of the Board communicate the content or import of these sessions?  
  
  
• A crisis-management plan, ideally including the Executive Committee of the Board (in the Chair’s absence) and key members of the administrative team (in the Head’s absence.) Both the Head of School and Board Chair need to be in lockstep when there is a crisis—internal or external—that may affect the people, property or reputation of the school. 
  
  
• Confidentiality. The Head needs to be able to share a confidential matter with the Board Chair and rely upon her discretion. And vice versa. 
  
  
• Lastly, in an ideal world the Board Chair and Head of School develop a genuine bond and friendship. The Head helps the admin team and teachers understand Board function and the Board Chair helps the Board understand the Head’s job and how to best interact with staff. 

In my own tenure as a school head, I was blessed with an unbroken chain of exceptional Board leaders. And while we were far from a flawless duo performing all the above bulleted items, we did manage to close ranks when things were off kilter, or when one piece of the puzzle was missing, or when one of us needed wise counsel and a shoulder to lean on. I would even venture to say that we learned from one another, and stretched our abilities to manage the complex school we both loved so dearly. 

In my work as a school consultant the impact of a successful Board Chair/Head of School partnership is palpable throughout the school. There is a “hum” of effective, efficient and forward-thinking work, clarity around roles and responsibilities, and warmth and empathy for the delights and demands of the partnership.