Activity

Seven (Not So) Simple Rules for Board Success – Part II Seven (Not So) Simple Rules for Board Success – Part II One way to portray leadership is via a three-legged stool – each leg must be present for the three to Read More …

Board success depends on many elements, including the organization’s leadership and culture, the board’s actions, knowledge, and character, and the situation, but the purpose of board leadership can be simply def […]

It was time for our annual board
retreat, when we set aside time to review the past year, assess, plan for
improvement, and refresh itself to begin anew in the coming year. We considered
the following questions […]

What types of boards are there? And how does board governance compare with teaching as a profession? Understanding the Danielson Framework for Teaching may offer a starting point for answering these […]

The Board Takes
Responsibility for Accountability

 “Whenever
the board gets a new member, a new board is formed.”

Part 1 of this post introduced the idea of
making the new members’ first day on the job on […]

The Board Takes
Responsibility for Strategic Voice and Operational Guidance

 “Whenever
the board gets a new member, a new board is formed.”

Part 1 of this post introduced the above (a traditional sayi […]

Gaining New Members? Renew Your Whole Board (Part 1 of 3) The Board Takes Responsibility for Board Readiness Most boards are underperformers when it comes to helping their newest members rapidly become knowledgeable, Read More …

Are Principals Perfect?When I read this article from EdWeek, I was reminded of a study I had done a long time ago, comparing leaders’ self-assessments with assessments that can be Read More …

Comedian Henny Youngman had a joke (often repeated) that went like this:
The patient says, “Doctor, it hurts when I do this.” [The doctor’s response:] “Then don’t do that!”
Sometimes the first advice a board s […]

The best boards keep their noses in the business and their fingers out.

                                          Jim Brown (The Imperfect Board Member)

The Board Role in Supervision

As Jim Brown impli […]

Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Lord Acton
The Problem

Early in my first career (24 years in the US Army) I occasionally heard of a senior officer being removed from command due to […]

Boards Matter – Part IV (4th of 4 parts)

Only boards, because of the democratic power they derive from the people, because of their close links with the people, and because of their stability, can provide the l […]

Boards Matter – Part IIIBoards Matter – Part III In the high-achieving districts, the board/superintendent team and school personnel consistently expressed an “elevating” view of st Read More …

Boards Matter – Part II

…we found five district-level leadership “responsibilities” or “initiatives” with a statistically significant (p < .05) correlation with average student achievement.

Ensuring c […]

Boards Matter – Part I
Board members sometimes wonder: “Am I prepared for this job?” “Can the board contribute anything of importance to the mission?” “Does the work of a board matter?”

In the film Mr. Holl […]

From the Boardroom: Questions Many Boards Never Think to Ask (Part IV) From the Boardroom: Questions Many Boards Never Think to Ask (Part IV) February 18, 2018 Rick Maloney This is the last of a four-part series. In Parts I, II Read More …

In Parts I and II of this post, we considered questions rarely (maybe never) asked by Board members regarding orientation and professional development of board members, the full Board, and its […]

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 […]