Leaders, how healthy is your relationship with your international Christian school board?

/ mkessenburg
I want leaders to flourish in terms of healthy relationships. My deep hope is that leaders are consistently experiencing…
(1) A leadership team that exhibits transparency, vulnerability, healthy conflict, commitment, accountability, and a focus on team results.
(2) A trustworthy, supportive, respectful, empowering Christ-centered board.
(3) Respectful appreciation of others’ cultural backgrounds.

This blog post addresses #2 above.

ErikaWittliebによるPixabayからの画像 

Not healthy. Ever feel like your relationship with the board isn’t fully healthy? Like instead of being vibrant, it’s just OK? Or like it might be even showing signs of being unhealthy? Indicators of a relationship that is not healthy include:

  • Inconsistent or rare thank yous for specific things.
  • Unclear job expectations.
  • Communication that doesn’t feel fully transparent.
  • Feedback that’s vague instead of kind and clear.
  • Inadequate funding for your own professional development.

A relationship with the board that isn’t healthy isn’t good and won’t help you flourish. A healthy relationship (one characterized as trusting, supportive, respectful, empowering, and Christ-centered) will. Indicators of a relationship that is healthy include:

  • Having autonomy to make decisions. 
  • Being deeply listened to.
  • Having a clear job evaluation process.
  • Being encouraged to develop and communicate a vision.
  • Having your personal and professional needs prayed for.

Bottom line: When your relationship with a board is characterized as trusting, supportive, respectful, empowering, and Christ-centered, good things happen, including you experiencing healthy relationships. 

You might be wondering, “What are possible causes for board members not trusting, supporting, respecting, or empowering me or being Christ-centered?” Here are 9, formatted as things a board member might say:

(1) “I don’t know the leader all that well. I don’t know about family, formative experiences, hobbies—you know, the kinds of things I know about my friends.”

(2) “I don’t feel we have much of a relationship. We only interact during meetings.”

(3) “I’m not clear on how the board relates to the leader. Are we the supervisor? The caregiver? A group of advisors? And I’m not sure how to support the leader.”

(4) “I’m not clear on what a board member does and doesn’t do. For example, just the other day, a parent talked with me about a concern he had about a teacher his student had. Because he was concerned, I thought I best listen carefully. But after that I didn’t really know what to say, so I said I’d look into it. Was that OK?”

(5) “I don’t really understand what’s happening at school, how things are going, what the leader is doing and the challenges he’s facing.”

(6) “I don’t really have a good feel for the way the leader has moved the school forward or is moving the school forward. I don’t really know what the school was like in the past or where the leader wants to take the school.”

(7) “In terms of decision-making, what does the leader decide, what does the board decide, and what do the leader and board decide together?”

(8) “As board members, we don’t really relate to each other all that much as Christians. While we do pray at the beginning of meetings, I was hoping we could pray in small groups for the school, the leader, and each other for 15-20 minutes at each meeting.”

(9) “We’re all Christians on the board. We all agree with the school’s purpose statements. But I don’t really understand them very well. I’m not sure others do either. And I’m not sure how to connect the purpose statements to what I do as a board member.”

Which of the 9 possible causes resonate with you? For my early career, I resonate with #1, #2, and #4. Based on things I’ve read and those I’ve coached in the past 10 years, I resonate with #3, #4, #6, and #9.

AlexaによるPixabayからの画像 

So, what can you do to further cultivate a relationship with the board that is trusting, supportive, respectful, empowering and Christ-centered? Things that come to mind for me include:

  • Showing interest in each board member.
  • Asking the board for input on decisions and on your job performance.
  • Demonstrating vulnerability by regularly sharing challenges and concerns. 
  • Openly sharing with the board the type of relationship you want to have.
  • Sharing specific examples of how students are flourishing in Jesus.

What about you? What happens when your relationship with a board isn’t characterized as trusting, supportive, respectful, empowering, and Christ-centered? What happens when it is? What are possible causes for board members not trusting, supporting, respecting, and empowering your or being Christ-centered? What can you do to further cultivate a better relationship with the board?

Here are some related blog posts:

Get flourishing!

Michael