A New Look at Succession Planning: Ensuring the Success of Your New Head of School
By: Mike Connor, President, Connor Associates Strategic Services, LLC
Contributors: Thom Greenlaw, Senior Strategic Partner for Finance, Operations, and Leadership Search, Connor Associates
Michael Robinson, Interim Head of School, St. Martin's Episcopal School, Atlanta
When a Head of School leaves or is let go, the board often decides to search for a new leader as soon as possible so that the school doesn’t appear weak or its reputation damaged by the departure. While it may be well-intentioned, this approach may perpetuate the problem. Search consultants are expensive, new Heads are expensive, relocating them and their families is expensive, and if the new hire is not fully aware of the issues he or she may face coming in, the tenure may be short. Then the search for another Head begins. One crisis begets the next.
Example One: Six Heads in Eight Years
Early in my career as a consultant to independent schools, I faced a board of trustees that had presided over a succession of six heads in eight years. What had been one of the largest and most racially diverse schools in California was now bleeding families and faculty who had been whipsawed by the continuing change in direction and inconsistent leadership that such a quick succession of Heads left in their wake. As the old saying goes, the inmates were running the asylum.
After eight years, the board concluded that they needed to look to outside guidance to help their school get a new lease on life. One trustee, speaking on behalf of the board, had the temerity to ask me, “How long is it going to take you to turn this around?” My response: “Probably as long as it took you to realize you had this problem in the first place.” Cheeky? Probably. Truth? Definitely.
Example Two: Not What I Signed Up For
In another instance a few years later, a relatively new head at an Oklahoma school called, lamenting that the board's search committee had never alerted him to the fact that the school he agreed to lead was in significant debt. “I spent my first two years tirelessly fundraising to get the school back on solid ground. It’s not what I thought I was signing on for. I had to delay my educational priorities in order to keep the doors open.”
What Can We Do to Ensure a Successful Leadership Transition?
While both examples may seem like extreme cases, surprises are not all that unusual for new Heads. The good news is they point to an opportunity for boards to take a fresh look at how they plan for leadership transitions.
What we advocate is a Strategic Pause, possibly with an energetic Interim Head (not just a “placeholder”) before jumping into the search for a new, longer-term Head. It’s a reasonable time to let your constituents know that the pause the board is taking is meant to ensure that the school is doing everything possible to make the new Head successful.
This can involve an analysis of legal issues or business operations, tuition adjustments, conducting a five-year enrollment forecast, considering scenario planning for a ten-year financial model that considers deferred maintenance, capital management, the viability of the donor base, establishing additional revenue streams, or conducting a compensation and benefits study.
Other important areas to investigate:
· Are the right people in the right seats?
· Is the internal leadership team aligned with a strong school identity and brand?
· Is there a solid future market for the school’s mission and core values, according to those the school serves and seeks to serve, including the wider community?
· What are the school’s perceived assets and challenges as seen by the admission funnel, those who left the school, the opinions of community influencers, matriculating and sending schools, educational consultants, or others in a position to refer families to the school?
Pause Now, Profit Later.
It's common for an outgoing Head to spend his or her final year not making long-term decisions that may hamper the new Head. It’s also common for board members to advise a new Head to not make any major decisions or changes during his or her first year. With the educational environment changing swiftly, we think waiting a year or two may not be in the best interest of the school or its investment in the success of its new Head.
Why not clarify the personality and skill sets needed for the ideal next leader for the school? It positions the board as thoughtful, self-assessing stewards of the school’s sustainability. Were I a candidate for the position, I’d want to know exactly what I might be facing coming into my new school. Most new Heads would love to have that intelligence going in. We believe that by taking this pause, the school will attract a higher caliber candidate who is likely to be a keeper.
“Straight with No Chaser”
If a school wants to increase the credibility and effectiveness of this pause, consider having it conducted by an objective and neutral third party known for serving its findings “straight with no chaser,” and who can also coordinate the work so it does not become a burden on the board or school leadership.
Regardless of how it’s done, the Strategic Pause ensures that the school will maximize its reputation and confidently set its new Head up for a soft landing – ready to set strategic priorities for the school’s path to sustainable success.
Connor Associates stakes its value on its experience with providing comprehensive services, including ensuring proof of ROI through Image Audits (reputational asset and risk management), Alumni and Alumni Parent Surveys, Enrollment Feasibility Studies which identify qualified appropriate prospects at rooftop level, Five-Year Enrollment Forecasts, Location Studies, Business Office Evaluations and Plans (pricing sensitivity, tuition elasticity and analysis, benchmarking, reliable revenue streams, and capital management), Strategic Marketing Plans based on research, and onsite training and coaching to get everyone in your school and your trustees supporting enrollment, retention, and philanthropy.
Our recent offering, Administrative Leadership Search, is a very creative, fast, and effective approach to finding, training, and keeping the best people on your leadership team — and it’s a surprisingly different approach and a better value than you may get from job boards or other search firms. Find out more about Leadership Search and other new services such as Compensation and Benefits Studies, Strategic Financial Planning, and Ten-Year Financial Modeling here.
Is Your Team Pulling In The Same Direction?