The past five months have placed extraordinary demands upon school boards and school leaders. Only the strongest leaders and most effective boards will serve their communities well in such an environment. Such conditions compel us to ask a sobering question, “Have we done enough to support our school boards and our school leaders?”
In leader tales from all over the world, we have archetypical characters who come into their own in such challenging times. These leader tales often speak of a quest entered into by a young boy who has to demonstrate certain attributes in order to rescue the princess and/or slay the dragon and to ultimately become the good and just king. Invariably and importantly, these stories also include characters who support the leader-in-training through some unusual insight and coaching as the boy grows into a true leader.
In our modern world, these kinds of supportive characters are equally critical to the success of our school boards and school leaders. Good leaders and successful boards know this and take advantage of it. They find those supporters who can provide important insights to avoid failure and offer school boards and leaders essential skills and knowledge they don’t already possess. In the leader tales, the supportive characters often appear suddenly to provide coaching at critical points that sets the leader on the path to success. They are people who see things with clear objectivity and tell you what they see; who have insights into your challenges; and can provide coaching as to how to grow best from the adversity. These supporters also offer approaches, processes, templates or learning that can help boards and leaders in their strategic decision-making for the school district. Now more than ever, every school district needs that type of support if it is going to survive the challenging path ahead, and grow from it.
Recognizing the need for this support, a new Missouri non-profit has been formed for the benefit of school boards and school leaders. The Education Governance and Leadership Association (EGL) is now offering a suite of supportive services aimed at providing high quality professional development opportunities for school boards and school leaders. The EGL Team has a wealth of experience that can provide you the kind of support that you need to govern and lead your district in challenging times. Unfortunately, the EGL team will not magically appear as the wizard supporters often do in the leader lore, but you can certainly learn more about them at: EdGovLead.com.
Sign Up For Our Mailing List
Recent Posts
