The Successful President What is success and who gets to decide when it’s been achieved?

Job Description Strategic Plan Expectations Personal Goals MISSION

JOB DESCRIPTION ► Spiritual Leadership ► External relationships ► Finances ► Advancement ► Communication ► Facilities Needs to be clear, communicated, reasonable XBSS Rubric

PERSONAL GOALS ► Areas of Strength—use for mission ► Areas for Growth—ask for help ► Context is Strategic Plan Good to Great by Jim Collins Level Five Leadership: Personal Humility Zeal for Mission

Develop 2 or 3 personal goals President ► Spiritual leadership ► Advancement ► Finances ► Administrative relationships ► Alumni/ae ► Plant ► Board relationships Principal ► Faculty formation ► Curriculum ► Catholic identity ► Administrative relationships ► Parent involvement ► Recruitment ► Extra-curriculars

How would you define success in meeting those goals? ► What would you be satisfied with? ► What would you be delighted with? ► How do you think your board would respond to those measures?

Types of Boards ► Governing ► Limited Jurisdiction ► Advisory Each may have a different relationship with a President and may play a different role in the assessment process.

Assessment of the president is one of the Board’s most important governance functions and a primary vehicle for carrying out the oversight and stewardship functions. It is important to the president as it is hard to get honest feedback for improving, insights into one own strengths, limitations, overall performance. (CEO Disease)

Benefits to the President Benefits to the President ► Process requires clear job description which can set boundaries for your responsibilities ► Annual expectations are spelled out which help you focus on important issues ► Opportunity to bring major concerns, budding disagreements or future issues to board’s attention ► Models culture of high expectations and on-going assessment

Benefits to the Board ► Structured opportunity to communicate with its one and only agent—a time to discuss big issues. ► If the board is satisfied with the President’s performance, it is a tangible opportunity to express satisfaction by approving a salary increase or bonus. ► If the board is concerned about your performance, it can address those concerns and help set goals for improvement.

On-going Informal Assessment and Support ► President reports to board progress on goals ► Executive session at end of meeting  With President and no other staff  Without President: concerns, offer support ► Meeting/management letter from Chair to President

Formal Assessment Process ► Self-assessment from President ► Board committee appointed ► Gather input from all board members ► May interview other administrators ► Focus groups of faculty, students, parents based on job description ► Summary report to Board for discussion ► Report to President and other appropriate group—religious congregation, diocesan authority.

PRESIDENT/BOARD CHAIR RELATIONSHIPS Needs to be a partnership  Mutual respect  Mission focused  Clear sense of roles and responsibilities of governance

IMPORTANT ELEMENTS ► No surprises—good communication ► Constructive dialogue—agree to disagree ► Honesty—don’t circumvent ► Public support and loyalty ► Handle crises together; celebrate successes ► Provide each other with counsel, critique and encouragement ► Decide issues for the Board and set agenda

Board Assessments ► Do we have the right people with the needed expertise to move the school forward? ► How are we doing operationally? ► How are we fulfilling our responsibilities as a board and as committees? ► What are our goals and what progress are we making? ► How well do individual board members fulfill their responsibilities?

Issues/Questions/Problems ► Board has authority only when acting as a whole. ► Membership: parents of current students, faculty representation ► Involvement in management issues; confusion of policy and procedures ► Head of school communication with board members between meetings

► Board minutes ► Who else in the administration should attend board meetings ► Preparation for meetings; reports sent ahead of time ► What to do about ineffective board members ► Communicating with faculty about Board meetings ► “Kitchen cabinet” issues ► How to show appreciation to board

Implications of Sarbanes Oxley ► Separate Audit committee ► Conflict of interest policy ► Whistleblower protection policy ► Review by-laws and Directors and Officers liability insurance ► Educate board in duty of care and duty of loyalty

Identify what might be an appropriate Board level policy ► Academics ► Compensation ► Capital campaign ► Financial Aid ► Athletics ► Catholic identity ► Investments ► Facilities ► Board operations ► Student recruitment

Educational Programs Committee Guides the school administration at the broadest level as it evaluates existing programs while assisting with the development of new ones at the policy level. Tasks include: ► Ensuring that the goals of the religious studies and campus ministry program clearly reflect the mission of XBSS and the goals of Catholic education in terms of mission, community, liturgy and service ► Monitoring the internal processed for the on-going development and review of curriculum and staffing like light of the mission of the school, its accrediting agency and school wide standards of skill development for all students.

Educational Programs Committee ► Ensuring that the values of the Xaverian charism and the school philosophy are clearly articulated in the school’s academic and co-curricular programs. ► Assisting the administration in evaluating the effectiveness of academic and personal counseling services for students ► Monitoring the effectiveness of communication channels between students, faculty and the administration ► Overseeing the effectiveness of formational and professional development programs for faculty/staff assisting the administration in the development of fair and adequate policies for teacher supervision and evaluation.

Educational Programs Committee ► Developing with the administration student recruitment and admissions policies that are reflective of the school community and the goals of XBSS ► Ensuring that academic and disciplinary policies are reflective of the school’s mission, are effectively implemented and have clear written provisions for appeal. ► Conducting the XBSS Mission effectiveness process and overseeing that its recommendations are implemented. Project: Determine appropriate academic “dashboard indicators” for Board reports

INDIVIDUAL FORMATION ONGOING BOARD FORMATION

Resources and Links Sister Pat Garrahan, SND Xaverian Brothers Sponsored Schools Baltimore, MD