The Board-Superintendent Partnership: A Precious But Fragile Bond  

By Doug Eadie

High on the list of factors that influence the performance of your school district is that most precious and always-fragile professional marriage between the board and its chief executive officer, the superintendent. Have no doubt: certain leadership outcomes that are critical to your district’s ultimate success depend on these two partners working closely together as a “Strategic Leadership Team”-- for example, a clear vision for the future, major innovation strategies, operating priorities, the rational allocation of financial resources, and the management of relationships with key stakeholders such as the city government and chamber of commerce, to name but a few.

TREMENDOUS COSTS

On the flip side, when this precious bond is allowed to loosen, or to become badly frayed, your district is in for real trouble if steps aren’t taken to shore up the partnership. All too often over the years, I’ve seen what appear to be minor irritations rapidly turn into chasms that can’t be bridged and that exact a terrible price. The signs of a troubled “marriage” might seem petty at first. For example, at regular monthly meetings, the board begins to question the superintendent at length on relatively minor contracting and personnel matters, and maybe even tables what were once routine matters for consideration at the next meeting.

Experience has taught me that no matter how petty the relationship problems appear at first, if they aren’t addressed early on, the deterioration can be rapid, inevitably causing lots of pain and suffering and often ending in divorce.  A final parting of the ways inevitably means the superintendent moves on to other challenges; so far as I know, no board in human history has ever fired itself for relationship problems with its superintendent. The cost of a ruptured board-superintendent partnership can be awesome: performance shortfalls that aren’t remedied; the failure to deal effectively with strategic issues, such as the need to pass a capital construction bond issue; a tarnished public image and decline in public support; deteriorating employee morale; and, of course, the cost of recruiting a new superintendent. What can you do to keep your board-superintendent partnership healthy and avoid these costs?

THE SUPERINTENDENT’S ROLE

First and foremost, the superintendent must accept primary responsibility for building and maintaining a strong, positive working partnership with the board. Keep in mind that your board members are part-time volunteers who are modestly paid, if at all, and whose lives are lived largely outside the board. It just wouldn’t make sense to expect them to take the lead in managing the partnership. The superintendent can take some practical steps to ensure success in carrying out this responsibility. As a start, the superintendent must bring a positive attitude to the relationship-building task, seeing his or her board as a precious asset and vital partner, rather than as a damage-control challenge. Too many public school superintendents I have met over the years have started with a negative viewpoint that makes success well nigh impossible. “Boards are apt to meddle if they’re not closely watched and controlled,” they say to themselves, “and my major job is to make sure that they stay in their place and out of trouble.” If a superintendent approaches his or her board with this attitude, divorce is highly likely down the pike.

Armed with a positive attitude, the superintendent can also make governing – the work of the board – a high priority, becoming a real expert in this rapidly developing field and devoting significant time to thinking about ways to help the board strengthen its governing performance. If a superintendent doesn’t understand the work of governing in detail and doesn’t help the board become more proficient at governing, board member frustration and irritation will inevitably erode the board-superintendent partnership. For example, there is virtually universal agreement that high-performing governing boards play a leading, creative role in strategic planning, rather than merely sitting back and reading staff or consultant-prepared plans. But the likelihood of your board’s developing a strong role in strategic planning on its own is nil; the superintendent must take the lead in designing the planning structure and process that will make a creative board role possible.

In addition to viewing their boards in a positive light and helping them develop strong governing roles, “board-savvy” superintendents also never forget that boards are above all else PEOPLE, and they, therefore, pay attention to the psychological dimension of relationship-building. For example, whenever possible, these superintendents find ways to strengthen board members’ feelings of ownership – hence, strengthening their commitment – by involving them in generating directions, rather than merely reviewing finished documentation. This is why board-staff retreats have become so popular.  These board-savvy superintendents also look for every opportunity to provide their board members with ego satisfaction, making sure that they receive credit in the media for district accomplishments and that they are given opportunities to appear in public forums on behalf of the district.

AND IN RETURN

Of course, good relationships involve reciprocal obligations, and a public school board can make three key contributions to its relationship with its superintendent: (1) to focus on playing a high-level governing role, rather than meddling in administrative details; (2) to make a firm commitment to strengthening governing skills; and (3) to treat the superintendent as a colleague and partner deserving respect, rather than as an adversary.  Playing a truly productive role in governing a school district depends on the board’s taking responsibility for leading a large and complex public corporation, rather than merely representing the views of particular constituencies or grinding the proverbial axe on specific issues. Many school boards have trouble moving to this high-level view of the governing job, thereby making it far more difficult to build a positive working relationship with their superintendents.

About the Author

Doug Eadie is founder and CEO of Doug Eadie & Company, based in Palm Harbor, Florida. During the past 20 years, Doug has helped nearly 500 public and nonprofit organizations, including many school districts, to strengthen the governing capacity of their boards and to build board-CEO partnerships that are positive, productive and enduring. He is the author of 16 books, including Eight Keys to an Extraordinary Board-Superintendent Partnership, The Board-Savvy Superintendent (co-authored with Paul Houston, AASA’s former executive director), and Five Habits of High-Impact School Boards. You can learn more about Doug Eadie & Company at www.DougEadie.com, and you can contact Doug directly at DEadiePres@aol.com or toll-free at 800-209-7652.