Heads (Not Hands) in the Tent

A terrific encapsulation of the role of independent and international school board members vis a vis school administrators:

"a good [member] can put their head in the tent and look around and ask questions but, as a non-executive [member], you cannot put your hands inside the tent and tinker with things."

This quote of INSEAD Visiting Professor Tim Rowley in an article about being a new non-executive board member--those not actively employed as managers of the business--captures perfectly the spirit of leaving operations up to the head of school and staff. We can put our heads, but not our hands, into the tent. My experience is that way too many board members seek to serve precisely because they want to have their hands inside as well.