Tag: #boardleadership

Question #6 – Does Your Board Have the Work Ethic Needed for Growth?

Rick Maloney

(49 Questions to Ask Your Board) “On the most basic level, members have to keep up with continually changing state and federal mandates and laws, something that district staffers generally help with. They also need to keep up with promising initiatives to raise student achievement in and outside their district as well as continually evolving systems for monitoring data and engaging the community in school improvement. New board members especially need training in their roles and responsibilities and in laws Read More …

“Foundation of Knowledge” Article in the American School Board Journal

Rick Maloney

An article that offers advice on orientation/onboarding of a new school board member, focusing on a foundation of essential knowledge about the job, was printed in the August 2024 issue of ASBJ. Providing newcomers to your school board team with helpful knowledge informs them about serving in their role with knowledge that is critical to their success. It encourages that was take advantage of opportunities for learning and reflection about that foundation of knowledge over time. This article is the Read More …

Question #5 – Does Your Board Believe in Growth?

Rick Maloney

(49 Questions to Ask Your Board) “I remember often being praised for my intelligence rather than my efforts, and slowly but surely, I developed an aversion to difficult challenges. Most surprisingly, this extended beyond academic and even athletic challenges to emotional challenges. This was my greatest learning disability – this tendency to see performance as a reflection of character and, if I could not accomplish something right away, to avoid that task or treat it with contempt.”1 In relating the Read More …

Question #4 – (In Order to Serve) Is Your Board Willing to Lead?

Rick Maloney

(49 Questions to Ask Your Board) The most fundamental discipline of a board of directors is to direct the organization for high performance. Directing is a proactive discipline, focused on the future. But an alarming problem exists with many boards: they refuse to direct! – Jim Brown1 The above observation is a clear consequence of the fact that, while it is hard enough for individuals to prepare for a leadership role, it is even more difficult for a board of Read More …

Seven (Not So) Simple Rules for Board Success – Part II

Rick Maloney
RuleBook

Boards must assign responsibility for doing the work. They must delegate sufficient authority over the work to get the job done. And they must assure accountability for the work.

Seven (Not So) Simple Rules for Board Success – Part I

Rick Maloney
RuleBook

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 defined as assuring, on behalf of the community, that the organization succeeds. One way to portray leadership is a three-legged stool – each leg must be present for the three to stand together – consisting of responsibility, authority, and accountability. Leaders at every level, including the board in its leadership role, must accept full responsibility for their level in the organization. They must know those whom they serve. They must assign responsibility for doing the work. They must delegate sufficient authority over the work to get the job done. And they must assure accountability for the work. Before all else, they must take responsibility and be accountable for the board’s own performance.

6 Focus Areas for the School Board

Rick Maloney

School boards should review 6 areas to help focus their efforts: the state, the community, the students, the district, the superintendent, and (most important) the board itself.

4 Types of Boards

Rick Maloney

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 questions. Boards might be categorized into one of four different types, the first three of which are readily distinguished by their current levels of performance in the practice of governance. These board types are: 1. Dysfunctional – those that do actual harm to the board and the organization governed Read More …

Gaining New Members? Renew Your Whole Board (Part 3 of 3)

Rick Maloney

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 one of intentional induction, not only for the new member but for the “new board” that is being formed. What if the board, seriously accepting responsibility for its own performance, took the opportunity to induct its newest members, while at the same time guiding Read More …

Gaining New Members? Renew Your Whole Board (Part 2 of 3)

Rick Maloney

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 saying about boards) as rationale for making the new members’ first day on the job one of intentional induction, not only for the new member but for the “new board” that is being formed. What if the board, seriously accepting responsibility for its own performance, took the opportunity Read More …