Dealing with the Board’s Limitations
Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself. – Leo Tolstoy
Recently I described some limitations that can get in the way of board effectiveness, and offered ideas about:
- Board voice – Unless we “speak” as a board and in writing, what we say as board members has little impact. We should use the power of our “board voice” by putting it in writing;
- The board – Respect “the board” as a single entity. Since board members and superintendents come and go, the board is the only permanent partner on the leadership team;
- The staff – As a part-time body, we can only get things done through others’ work. We must therefore learn how to delegate authority, give sufficient freedom to do the work, and hold accountable those to whom we delegate;
- Policy – Policy is the board’s “written voice” and should be clearly communicated, with values/principles applicable in a broad range of possible situations;
- Strategic approach – The board should be a strategic instrument, not merely a director of operational details. We should remember to “keep it strategic”;
- Growth thru effort – Student learning can be measurably increased by the board’s genuine belief in students’ potential, and a belief that their capacity can grow based on individual effort;
- Board/staff capacity – Belief in students’ potential should be matched by a similar belief in the capacity of staff, and the board itself, to grow based on effort;
- Willingness to take charge – While respecting professionals within their areas of expertise, we must overcome our tendency to automatically defer to staff, and to be overly dependent on the superintendent; and
- Board expertise – We should recognize and develop our own area of expertise, as citizens representing other citizens, and work to accumulate board expertise while practicing our governance role.
What now? To govern effectively, the board must understand, acknowledge and deal with its limitations. Taking a hint from Tolstoy, it should think of changing itself, starting with what it can control:
(1) Locus of control.
Stephen Covey (5 Habits of Highly Effective People) warns us that if we spend time and energy on those things that we cannot influence, rather than paying attention to what we can, we diminish our overall capacity. Conversely, he suggests that if we concentrate (and make progress) on issues we find within our circles of control/influence, our capacity will grow.
Try this exercise: On a piece of paper, write down a list of the many issues with which boards typically concern themselves. On another, draw a circle for your board. Inside that circle write down those issues you directly control – your thoughts, beliefs, attitudes, knowledge, skills, and actions (A few examples: setting meeting dates/times; placing items on the consent agenda; developing board policies; setting expectations for staff evaluation; etc.) For those things you don’t directly control, but you may be able to influence, draw a circle outside the first. Inside that outer circle, but outside the first, write down those things you may be able to influence (perhaps the district’s public image, the outcome of levy/bond elections, bills under consideration at state and/or federal level, etc.) Outside that outer circle note issues over which, although you may have an interest, you have no control or influence (e.g. existing state and federal education laws, economic conditions, etc.) Consider the time and energy you have available. Matters of interest (but outside your ability to control or influence) have the potential to distract your board from its primary purpose of assuring student learning, and thus can consume precious energy and time that might be put to better use.
(2) Start at the center, and move outward. First, we should focus on doing well those things we can control – e.g., our own beliefs, attitudes, behaviors, words, board actions. If we have additional time, we can move on to what we can influence. Leave the rest (no matter how interesting) alone. They are mere distractors for a board that wants to make a difference.
Q: What do individual board members control?
Answer: Our own work. Although we often start out expecting to direct and control all others engaged in our school system (after all, the board is at the top of the district chain of command) the reality is that individual board members do not control staff, much less student learning. Even considering that the board as a whole has comprehensive authority over the whole district, the individual board member does not control the board.
Q: What is a board member’s area of influence?
Answer: The board. As just one among several (for large boards, a dozen or more) members, the individual board member finds it hard enough to influence the rest of the board, let alone others outside the board’s membership.
Because we do not exercise governing authority as individuals, we must work through and convince the board majority if we are to get anything done.
Advice for board members: A retired superintendent once told me [for a board of five members] “You have to be able to count to three!” Work through the board majority to get your agenda accomplished.
Q: What is a board’s area of control and/or influence?
Answer: The board controls itself, and influences the superintendent. The superintendent is the board’s primary conduit for carrying out its will. Through her and the staff she controls, the board influences management of schools, instruction, and student learning.
Advice for boards: Prioritize effort where it will do the most good, dealing in sequence with: (1) board work; (2) staff work; (3) everything else. First work within the board’s locus of control, e.g. meeting agendas, board policy, superintendent contract, superintendent evaluation. Second, work on what the board can influence through the superintendent, e.g., treatment of staff, instructional goals, district-level and school-level leadership. Third, identify what is beyond the board’s immediate influence – e.g., population demographics, state testing regimen, social climate, business climate, state/national political climate, court decisions, etc. and work on those only as time and energy permit.
Change Ourselves…Change the World. We should set a goal of developing our expertise as a board, and should not let our limitations get in the way. Despite those limitations, the board has the potential to become an agent of long-term constructive change, and to act as the district’s stabilizing force, which in turn empowers and enables staff to sustain that change. If we develop the board’s institutional memory, with the collective wisdom we need to become “expert” in the art and science of governance, we demonstrate control of ourselves, then (who knows?) maybe we can change the world!