Most of the world's richest people are successful entrepreneurs--people who had the courage and stamina to take a business from startup or early stage to remarkable profitability. Just this week, for example, the founders of mobile app Snapchat were inducted into Forbes list of billionaires. You may not have people in your school community at that level of wealth, but your likely to have some successful entrepreneurs who have substantial leadership skills and financial capacity.

The HR PRO

The second risky role a board member can play in our Boards Gone Wild webinar series is The HR Pro. Talent recruiting and development is a critical process for school success, but these human resource activities are outside of the domain of the board. A board member may be tempted to inject him or herself into this process, creating a tension between governance and management.

It's probably never happened to your board, but sometimes school board members can lose their minds and get a little crazy.

Boards Gone Wild is the School Growth Tuesday Webinar series for June 2015 and centers around board leadership impact. How can you overcome the distractions and chaos when school board members go off the reservation in violation of good governance practice, creating heartache, hardship, and chaos?

Last week I met with an experienced chief administrator who was recently unceremoniously fired by a school board. After being recruited from another school a few years earlier, this person had the misfortune of working with three different board chairs in about 18 months. The relationship with the third chair soured quickly, and the rest of the board followed. The result was a predictable pattern.

How important is governance in the design of your school growth strategies? Vital. Because the leadership capacity and structure of the school board impacts every other decision.

Some students and parents in the Jefferson County school district near Denver, Colorado, area are mad. The conservatives on the board have sparked a strong debate in their community, but it's a struggle that is occurring in many other states as well.

Recently we began coaching a school leader who has accepted the role of chief administrator. This is his first time serving in such a capacity so he's trying to start off with momentum in the right direction.

The teacher tenure law in California has been determined to be unconstitutional, based on the state constitution's guarantee of equal education opportunity. The argument is that this guarantee has some level of quality expectations, with students at least being able to receive an education that is adequate.

Washington, DC
June 1, 2014

Today I had the privilege of interviewing Terry Axelrod, Founder and CEO of Benevon. Her company offers a sustainable system for fundraising that we have used and highly recommend. With Terry's many years of experience and success as an adviser and coach, she is more than qualified for guru status when it comes to fundraising wisdom.