When Heads Shoot Themselves in the Foot

Bringing one's boss bad news is a circumstance always fraught with peril, and heads of school frequently seemed to be challenged when it comes to telling their governing board about things that are going wrong in the school. Oh, heads usually do a very good job of letting their boards know when there is a true crisis, something that is likely to land the school's name in the morning newspaper. Rather, it is the non-emergent bad news about attrition, faculty turnover, undershot enrollment forecasts or a lackluster university admissions season that trips them up.

Especially problematic are the instances where a head finds herself torn between the need to keep the board informed and a desire to support subordinates who may themselves be under or mis-performing. Anyone who has watched a few American baseball games has seen a player, clearly out by several feet at first, turn and begin arguing with the first base umpire about the call. Unwritten baseball protocol then calls for the player's manager to race from the dugout, push the player aside, and argue even more forcefully in his place. It has to be an act, a show of solidarity with the player even though everyone watching, including the manager, knows he really was out.

Time and again I watch as heads steadfastly defend a failing lower school principal, lackluster athletic director, or inept admission counselor even as the data point with ever more clarity to there being a very real problem. Worse, I see heads try to shield their boards from the brutal facts by putting a best face on some very bad news. Even worse are those instances where board, parents and even students know there is a problem, but the head has still neither alerted the board nor taken corrective steps. At best the head appears out of touch with her own school, and at worst the board begins to suspect defensiveness or a cover-up.

I understand that managers--in schools as in baseball--feel compelled to support a subordinate, but there are too many times where doing so not only damages the head, but sets the school back as well. A colleague once told me that a small business owner should keep his or her banker "more informed that he wants to be," meaning that there should be no surprises in that relationship. The same can be said for how heads relate to their boards.