“Leaders are not islands in time.” This quote from Sustainable Leadership (Hargreaves, Fink: 2007) underscores the greatest challenge facing our schools today. Looking across the country, it is easy to get excited about the fantastic things that are going on in so many of our schools. At the same time, we all know how the fortunes of a school can ebb and flow over time. What accounts for this rise and fall of schools? The answer, for the most part, is leadership. To a considerable extent, the current “great” schools in CAIS are the product of transformational leaders. They bring an energy and vision that help to drive the change process and raise the level of expectation and performance for students, staff and the larger community. All too often however, these outstanding change agents can also be the unwitting architects of future decline.

How does this happen? Why are some amazing accomplishments not sustainable over time? The answer lies in making certain that our transformational leaders are actually committed to a culture of transformational leadership that is sustainable beyond their tenures as Heads of School. The key questions that need to be asked therefore are not: “What changes have you made to transform your school?” but rather: “What legacy will you leave when you depart?” What capacities have you created among students, community and faculty/staff that will live beyond your tenure?” and, “How can and should your successors build upon what has been achieved to take the school strongly into the future?”

There are two aspects to ensuring that the answers to all of those questions reflect positive and productive thought and planning. The first is to create a strong, second and third tier group of school “leaders”. These do not necessarily have to be the people who are in traditional administrative leadership roles, but rather should be those people with the drive and commitment to keep the vision alive and the momentum going through a period of change and adjustment. There is nothing that can stall change like the announcement of a Head’s impending retirement or decision to change schools or roles. From the moment that the news becomes public, institutional inertia begins to set in. People start to become entrenched and territorial – positioning themselves to be ready for the “new guy” (in a non-gender-specific way!). Those faculty and staff members who have already been reluctant to change, hunker down even more believing that if they can just survive your final months, they won’t have to change at all! Members of the Board or the parent community may start to see themselves as “keepers of the flame” and, as in any perceived power vacuum, succumb to the temptation to start mucking around where they shouldn’t. A solid and committed leadership team is an excellent way to forestall problems of this sort. Hopefully, anyone new coming in will know enough to keep quiet and listen for the first six months at least, and a truly transformational outgoing Head will ensure that she or he has well-prepared the leadership team to effectively orient her/his successor as to the culture, ethos, and priorities of the school.

The second aspect reflects a mistake that out-going Heads often make. There is a tendency among incumbents to distance themselves from the recruitment and selection process. They, rightly, see this as the Board’s purview and, as a result, wrongly, decide to be a “neutral” observer of the process. There is no greater barrier to the sustainability of a school’s continued improvement and growth than the absence of the outgoing Head from the process of selecting her or his successor. This is not a question of identifying an “heir apparent” or skewing the process. Rather, it is avoiding the mistake of asking a volunteer Board to select the “right” person for the job without the benefit of the one person in the world who understands both what the “job” is, and what attributes are needed to perform it.

Unlike our schools, in the corporate world, succession planning is taken far more seriously. CEOs in those enterprises actively recruit and encourage potential leaders; they take the long view and help to manage the succession process; and, they hire and promote people who can not only meet today’s needs but demonstrate those leadership skills and aptitudes that will be essential in the future. In the corporate world, succession planning is viewed as asset to the organization, an asset which involves the investment of thought, time and money.

By contrast in our schools, we tend to passively let candidates emerge rather than actively seeking them out and developing them;  often our focus is on the short term – who can do the job that we need done today? – rather than thinking for the future; and, therefore we seek replacements for existing roles and choose people in relation to current needs and existing skill sets. Succession is handled informally (wouldn’t want to be seen to be playing favourites!) and, as noted above, when the process does get underway, many incumbent Heads see their role as being to “get out of the way”. Finally, often both Boards and Heads see the investment in succession planning, training and nurturing of potential leaders, as a cost item, rather than a shrewd investment. In some cases there is almost a resentment that we might be training someone who will end up being promoted elsewhere. As a result we try to hide their strengths under a bushel or lock them into long-term contracts to ensure their continued presence at the school. The focus of sustainable leadership should not be on “succession” but “success”. If you establish a successfully sustainable model, succession will take care of itself.

This past weekend I had the opportunity to spend some time with seventy of our best and brightest as they worked through two of our leadership modules at Royal St. Georges College in Toronto. Professor Robert Solomon from UWO, who taught the law module, told us that this was one of the brightest and most keenly interested groups of adults he had ever taught. Hal Hannaford took the time, as did former ECS Head Susyn Borer, to speak with the participants about the challenges of the Headship and the importance of both networking and mentorship to help them to grow and develop in their positions. The mission for all of us then should be to take this talented and committed group and provide them with the opportunities to understand the nature of leadership – its challenges and rewards – and to prepare them not just to succeed us, but to exceed us.

Leaders are not islands in time. All of us stand on the shoulders of predecessors and mentors. If we truly want to sustain the high quality of our schools, and to keep them on that path of continuous improvement, then it is our role to boost that next generation of leaders and encourage them to leave us in their dust!

Jim
Dr. James Christopher
Executive Director, CAIS