By Susan Lair, PhD
Consultant and Executive Coach, The Education Group
By David Dougherty
Director, Executive Coaching Program, The Education Group
The COVID-19 pandemic has created a unique set of challenges to head of school searches. As the pandemic continues, even as some of its operational effects begin to wane, the independent school leadership landscape has seen a significant amount of movement recently with headships. And these transitions are happening later in the employment cycle than usual.
Timing is everything for head of school and interim head searches.
Given a dearth of head candidates across the country and the fear of losing good candidates to schools that have advanced the search timeframe, many schools are now launching searches in the spring, interviewing in the summer, and conducting finalist interviews shortly after school opens. As a result, schools are offering head appointments as early as September – nine months prior to the new Head’s succession.
On the other hand, if a head’s departure isn’t announced until twelve months or less before his/her tenure concludes, the school is already behind in the cycle. Search firms can scramble to help in such a situation, but some strong candidates may already be well along in other searches and decline to enter additional ones. That creates a lot of pressure, with budget, search committee time and effort, etc. squeezed into a short (and often unreasonable) time frame for such an important decision.
We suggest a different approach: A one-year interim head – an experienced, former head of school, talented and tested in the opportunities and challenges of an independent school – often is the best and most strategic option.
Finding an interim head is not nearly as time-consuming as a permanent head of school search. True, the prospect of conducting two searches in two years may seem daunting. However, those two searches can ensure a school’s long-term success. If a school rushes into a permanent head search and hires the wrong person or installs the right head into the wrong situation, it can take a school years to undo the negative impact. In the latter case, the school will end up doing two searches anyway, albeit under less than desirable circumstances.
The Benefits of an Interim Head
For schools starting a head of school search very late in the search cycle, appointing an interim head offers numerous benefits to the school in the short, medium, and long term. An interim head year allows the school breathing room to do the search right and give its leadership, communities, and search consultants time to prepare and to attract the best candidates.
Of the ten or so searches currently underway or recently completed by The Education Group, three are at schools with interim heads. Several other searches we’ve accepted or proposed involved discussions about the wisdom of hiring an interim head.
There are several benefits to the school in appointing an interim head:
An interim headship avoids a rush to find an appropriate permanent candidate: If a school is late starting its search or, in haste discovers a shortage of strong suitable candidates, trustees can mistakenly forget that hiring the wrong person as head of school can cause catastrophic results. By hiring an interim head, the search firm, board, and school community have the time they need to make one of the most important decisions the school will make during the next ten to fifteen years.
An interim head provides a necessary interval of time following a long-tenured school headship: When a head of school has been at a school for a long period of time, schools may choose to provide their community with a year to adjust to new leadership by appointing an interim head. An interim can also help a school community look more candidly at where the school has been, what the school is now, and where it wants to go. Especially now, after an unexpected, tumultuous two years in education, this gift of time is essential for a school to examine the ways the pandemic has changed operations, programs, enrollment, and strategic goals moving forward.
Read more on how to manage a leadership transition when an interim or new head succeeds a legendary head.
An interim head helps to quiet fears brought on by change: Regardless of why the outgoing head departed, change often creates anxiety and fear at a school: anxiety by faculty and staff; fear by parents that their child will lose ground; fear by alumni that the school they love and support might change. For a faith-based school, there may even be fear that the school may drift away from its identity. An interim head can provide a much-needed counterbalance during the head’s transition and allay the school community’s fears.
An interim head can relieve concerns about outside candidates: Some schools have experienced very few changes in headship over the years or historically promoted from within the school. As an outsider with years of experience, the interim head can allay fears about an “outsider.” She/he can quickly integrate into the school community, embody its mission, execute its strategic plan, instill trust, and engage students, families, and donors. Right from the start, this seasoned school leader can help the school understand that those outside the community can bring new perspectives and ideas.
An interim head can help a school heal if the previous headship did not end well: A current trend in headships is a higher rate of turnover, or what the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) dubbed “unexpected turnover” in its March 2021 research into the issue. The NAIS states that “Brief tenures are concerning. . . . A leader gone too quickly doesn’t have the time to build connections, take ownership, and create lasting change. And an unexpected change can weaken trust in the school’s leadership, threaten stability at the board level, and ultimately compromise the school’s educational program.”
An interim head calms the waters, addresses some of the school’s issues and problems, and provides needed distance from the previous administration’s practices, styles, and approaches. This gives the new, permanent head of school space to establish his/her own leadership and a greater chance for success. This space is especially critical given the challenges the pandemic has created and the head’s need to navigate what a post-pandemic model looks like for a school.
An interim head can make necessary difficult decisions: During any leadership transition, a school and board of trustees face challenging decisions. Charging the interim head with the important task of making these decisions means a school can forge ahead without worrying about damaging relationships that are necessary for the new, full-time head’s success. An interim can address programmatic, financial, or personnel problems at the school without the time-consuming process of developing the trust normally necessary to make difficult decisions. Absent the need to develop long-term working relationships, she/he moves more swiftly to prepare the ground for the permanent head’s tenure.
The search for a head of school is one of the most important endeavors of trustees and school leaders. Carefully weighing the benefits of appointing an interim head – whether a school is replacing a longtime head or a short-term one – can make all the difference for the head of school search and for the future success of the school.
Read TEG’s white paper on making the decision regarding an interim head.
Connect with Susan Lair to discover the best practices for appointing an interim head. slair@educationgroup.com
Talk with David Dougherty about the critical difference Executive Coaching can make with your new head’s first year. david@educationgroup.com
At The Education Group, we are experts in leading and guiding schools through searches for interim heads and permanent heads. Our consultants have held positions both as heads of schools and as interim heads – and understand the nature and needs of both positions. We tailor our searches, executive coaching for new heads and board chairs, and consulting services to your school’s needs to promote a smooth and effective leadership transition.
Learn more how we can help your school.