From the Boardroom: Questions Many #Boards Never Think to Ask (Part II)
December 16, 2017 Rick Maloney
In Part I of this post, we considered some questions rarely (perhaps never) asked by Board members regarding such topics as the orientation the Board provides to its members, ongoing Board member professional development, and professional development for the Board as a body, focusing on collective behaviors that are not addressed in individual Board member professional development.
Some more “never think to ask” questions:
About Superintendent and Staff Development
- Orientation of superintendents to Board responsibilities.
Q#1: Does the Board orient the Superintendent and staff members to Board responsibilities and how the Superintendent can contribute to Board effectiveness?
A: Assuming that the Board does not depend on the Superintendent for its idea about what its responsibilities are and how they differ from superintendent responsibilities, it does its “supervisor” duty by communicating to the Superintendent (remember that the Board’s only official subordinate is the Superintendent) the Board’s expectations about its role, and its expectations for how the Superintendent can contribute to Board success in that role.
Most boards neglect this duty, usually because they are intimidated by the idea that the Board is the Superintendent’s supervisor, responsible for his/her development, so they don’t accept that responsibility. Individual board members may understandably be reluctant, but it is unacceptable for the Board as a whole to shirk this duty. In the absence of the Board setting these expectations, it leaves this chore to the Superintendent, who is then free to define for the Board (his/her immediate supervisor) what its expectations should be.
Follow-up Q: How does the board orient its superintendent? When?
A: If the Board cannot bring itself to “teach” or “coach” its only subordinate when that subordinate is already comfortably in the position, such reluctance is understandable. But an opportunity will certainly present itself when superintendent turnover occurs. The Board should therefore make a deliberate effort (and intentionally plan this even before any turnover is anticipated) to “onboard” its future incoming superintendent, first introducing the subject of Board expectations to superintendent candidates, and following up with a more comprehensive orientation to the newly selected superintendent on board responsibilities and how they can contribute to board effectiveness. For example, superintendents need to learn, from the Board’s perspective, how to support the Board as a whole, and the chair’s role as facilitator of board process, and therefore significantly responsible for the board’s governing effectiveness. It is too easy, given no guidance from the Board on this subject, for superintendents to take a narrow view of their responsibility to the Board.
The Board should consider developing a rubric, illustrating a range of example superintendent behaviors (including examples that come from the Board’s institutional memory) ranging from least constructive (most harmful) to most constructive, to illustrate the board-superintendent relationship, addressing superintendent support of the Board’s governance role and superintendent support of the individual board member’s boardsmanship role, based on values, priorities, and practices that the Board has adopted and that may be unique to the district. Once such a rubric is developed, it should be provided as information for any candidates identified in a superintendent search process, and as initial guidance for a newly hired superintendent.
A word about ‘old’ superintendents and the board-superintendent relationship.
No matter how much a superintendent is trusted by the Board, or how comfortable the Board is with the board-superintendent relationship, clearly stating the Board’s expectations when things are going well is infinitely more effective than waiting until the relationship sours.
- Staff development.
Q#2: Does the Board (or Superintendent) conduct staff development for key staff members (senior administrative staff and office support staff who provide support to the Board on their responsibilities to the Board)?
Staff too, especially the superintendent’s cabinet members, executive secretary, or other administrative staff that support the Board in its work, will benefit from orientation, onboarding, and professional development about the board-superintendent relationship. The objective is that staff members understand the difference between board business and staff business, and how staff can contribute (through the Superintendent) to board effectiveness.
As in the case of the Superintendent, develop a rubric of Board expectations for such support, then provide the rubric to new key staff members for their information. Focus on these expectations should be on the Superintendent, rather than Board expectations of the staff. It is up to the staff to figure out how they can contribute to Superintendent success in this regard.