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Types of Boards: Patterns in a Client Base of 650 International Schools

Types of Boards: Patterns in a Client Base of 650 International Schools. 50% Parent elected 25% Self perpetuating 25% Hybrids of above A few “shadow” boards. Ji Huey: Crisis and Opportunity. 70% of all heads have been fired Most were fired in their first five years

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Types of Boards: Patterns in a Client Base of 650 International Schools

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  1. Types of Boards: Patterns in a Client Base of 650 International Schools 50% Parent elected 25% Self perpetuating 25% Hybrids of above A few “shadow” boards

  2. Ji Huey: Crisis and Opportunity • 70% of all heads have been fired • Most were fired in their first five years • Most heads do not survive their 3rd board chair in international schools, 4th in US schools • Most chairs serve 2 years or less • A number of chairs fall into conflict of interest issues

  3. Types of Boards • Factional Boards: Locals, and several sub groups of ex pats • Reactive Boards: Reactions to constituent pressures undermine the board, head and school • Public School Boards: US model of small, elected, narrow interests • Boards Lacking Institutional Memory: Rapid turnover of trustees • Transition Boards: Almost never manage well a new head transition • Boards Managing Change and Pace of Change: Failure due to board pressure for too many head initiatives • Incident based Boards/governance: An “incident” undoes everything • Relational Boards/Governance: The chair and/or head fails to manage the partnership well

  4. Factional Boards • Those with specific factions such as significant minority or small majority of “nationals” • Substantial subsets of national ex pat groups that each think differently • Nationals want long term view • Ex pats wants short term fixes

  5. Reactive Boards • Boards which lack memory, have conflicts of interest, react rather than plan • Lack of WISDOM in decisions, town meetings • Not analytical • Missing key mix of strategic thinkers • Missing non parents

  6. Public School Boards • US model of small elected boards with specific personal agendas • Little sense of unity • Constantly playing to parents • Taking personal parent issues to new levels of conflict of interest

  7. Institutional Memory Lacking • Lacking due to non-functioning Committee on Trustees • Lacking cultivation, screening, invitation, orientation, governance training, evaluation, warning and removal • Rapid turnover of trustees leads to head termination

  8. Transition Boards • Lack of attention to transition, focusing only on search, then planning and initiatives • Need to have an “entry plan” • Fast head turnover

  9. Managing Change • Boards where expectations of the head are too high • Too much change too fast • Head or board taking on the wrong kind of changes • Poor management of sensitive topics like compensation and evaluation/accountability

  10. Incident Based • Boards which respond to incidents • Drug episode, constituent miscommunication • Firing or departure of favored teacher or administrator • Boards that do not know, like or trust each other, also a function of loss of memory

  11. Relational Boards • Boards where the head/chair partnership is always key and it will always be the head who leaves • Poor management of the partnership by one or both parties • Forgetting the “no surprises” rule • Consulting with the board but not ceding to the board

  12. What to Do? • Hold regular board governance training to recognize and avert unhealthy behaviors • Know when outside help is necessary • WISDOM, WISDOM, WISDOM

  13. Global Issues - Local Solutions John C. Littleford 1-800-69-TEACH John@JLittleford.com www.JLittleford.com

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