When the Tactical Becomes Strategic

A challenging e-mail message arrived the day after I finished a governance orientation session for a group of independent schools. The message began, "I understand that the work of the board is to be about long-term, strategic matters and not short-term operational tactics. But, what should we do when the tactical becomes strategic? Do we do nothing when how and how well the school executes threatens its future viability?" The trustee went on to describe two quality-related concerns and one public relations issue that she said were seriously hurting the school's ability to attract and retain students.Some version of this same question comes up again and again. We consultants tell boards that their work is to hold the school in trust as fiduciaries; to exercise duties of care, obedience and loyalty, while eschewing engagement in operations. Yet, we also know that many schools have chronically broken parts of their operations: inter-division or inter-grade inconsistency, an entrenched cadre of weaker teachers, or antiquated technology, to name a few of the usual suspects. These quality issues can become deadly in highly competitive markets, and are especially likely to be obvious to trustees who are also parents in the school.I would like to hear heads of school acknowledge quality problems before they become blindingly apparent to trustees. Doing so requires an uncommon level of non-defensiveness and willingness to share data on the part of heads--uncommon to the point of being rare in that population. So it was a delight to see my friend and colleague Irene McHenry of the Friends Council on Education build into her biennial leadership institute an entire afternoon on not taking things personally, surely an essential skill for people aspiring to headship.Heads are correct when they assert that the tactical (day-to-day operations) is their province, but trustees are also right to say that at some point the tactical becomes strategic, even though they are probably quicker to do so than I would like. But, like many a marriage, the relationship between boards and heads could benefit by either party changing its behaviors vis a vis the other.