Form a Head of School Search Committee

Are you forming a board search committee? We recognize this moment in an organization’s lifecycle. Hiring the Executive Director or Head of School is a responsibility that can’t be delegated. It requires a defined commitment of time like few other board tasks. And it’s relatively rare for a board member to have industry-specific expertise in recruiting. That’s why our clients value having a partner in the process.

Here is an excerpt of our response to one such request:

“We are going to form a search committee and I wanted to ask what your recommendations are on the composition of the search committee (# of board members, # teachers, # of parents or other members).”

It's reassuring to hear that you have a window of opportunity now to bring people together in anticipation of recruiting a new Head of School. Having between 3 and 7 committee members would be standard.

We recommend finding ways to engage a wide range of educators, staff, and parents even when each constituency is represented on the committee. In our recruiting work we do this through focus group discussions, one-on-one interviews, surveys, and by communicating updates on the process.

The value of inviting committee members to the search who can hold their own confidence, even well after a search is concluded, cannot be overstated. Any new Head will encounter difficult decisions as they begin their tenure. But it can be doubly challenging in those moments for the community to be hearing anything from former committee members about timing, other candidates, references, or deliberations. During a search, a committee member who feels it's their job to conduct back-door character references on the sports field sideline can sabotage a candidate's willingness to continue.

We see organizations having the most success when they invite people to participate on the committee based not on their role or connection to the school alone. Committee members might best be judged based on their ability to take an objective stance and advocate for the overall mission and priorities of the school. People who will likely bring a single-issue advocacy mindset might best be solicited for input by your recruiter, but not involved as part of the committee.

Having people on the committee who know the school well, including teachers and administrators, is quite valuable. They will help sell the opportunity to candidates and in the process generate buy-in on the process. That said, because negotiating a final offer is often the purview of the committee, where it's not appropriate to include employees in that discussion, we can help.