Head of School C-Suite Leadership: A 21st Century Imperative

About a year ago, I presented a two-day seminar to a group of Jewish day school and yeshiva philanthropic thought-leaders and forward-thinking senior educational executives.The topic for the two day session was “Can our Senior Jewish Day School and Yeshiva Professionals Become C-Suite Leaders?
The audience was comprised of professional and lay leaders who sought to make a real difference in Jewish education via philanthropic engagement, investment and partnerships; as well as through a deeper understanding about the leadership roles and responsibilities of outstanding day school and yeshiva heads and principals.
My thoughts, ideas and proposals were respectively presented against a backdrop of best and model leadership practice. I was extremely careful and diligent to present a down-to-earth bottom- line and unfiltered professional analysis regarding the evolving role of leadership in effectuating high quality day school and yeshiva impact and effectiveness.
My presentations transcended all of the complex theories of organizational change and focused exclusively on the basic, fundamental and pivotal leadership roles and responsibilities of the Head of School as the ultimate change agent and as the single most important figure in our community to ensure high impact, quality and educational excellence, in both Judaic and general studies.
Finally, during the course of my presentations and two days of intense interactive dialogue, debate and exchange, I was extremely diligent to paint a portrait of the head of school by portraying this prestigious leadership position as one which deserves and at times demands our utmost attention and respect.
Unfortunately, to date, as a community, we have not accorded the level of kavod, honor and respect that these day school leaders deserve; nor have we recognized our day school and yeshiva heads and principals as the single most essential driver of high quality chinuch and school effectiveness. We often talk a good game about the importance of leadership in our Jewish day schools and yeshivot, but, do we always deliver?
Are there heads of school and principals of our day schools and yeshivot who fall short of their mandate and leadership expectations? Absolutely. But, they are far and few in between. In fact, a strong case can be made that they are not totally to blame or at fault for their lack of effectiveness or expertise. We can only hold those that hire and engage them accountable or responsible for their performance or lack thereof.
Since that presentation, many communal leaders and educators have encouraged me to commit my thoughts to writing about this topic But, as it happens often, I relegated the assignment to the bottom of my priority punch list.
Several weeks ago, however, a close colleague and friend convinced me (in preparation for a a new and exciting day school executive training initiative we are about to launch), to consider publishing, podcasting or blogging about this topic. He felt that the information to be imparted is an essential area of profound significance, interest and importance which we in the field education always reference or talk about…….but, these conversations never really translate or materialize into true long term model practice or application, or even debate. Ergo, this blog.
The C-Suite Leadership Challenge
As we know, a C-Suite executive by definition is typically described as a senior professional who possesses very strong leadership qualities; one who is a strategic thinker; has excellent communications skills and possesses a deep and profound understanding regarding their industry or field. They also demonstrate a level of proficiency, model practice and a comfort zone in the areas of financial resource development and allocation, strategic planning and budgeting.
In addition, the C-Suite Executive has the ability and capacity to achieve consensus; has a very clear, concise and focused perspective for the future of his/her institution; possesses a positive demeanor and attitude while managing, directing and navigating very difficult and complex challenges; responds effectively to all shareholder and stakeholder needs and are able to make impactful decisions which are relevant, strategic and data-driven.
As such, the term C-Suite refers to the professional who is at the very helm or pinnacle of the institution or one who is at the highest professional level or pyramid of the organizational structure. As such, the C-Suite leader is the highest ranking executive of the organization or institution. C stand for Chief (like Chief Executive Officer) .of an organization.
C-Suite Relevance and Application to the Day School/Yeshiva Head of School
It is obvious that not all Jewish day school or yeshiva heads of school or principals possess all of the c-suite skills or areas of expertise as just presented. We also know that many of our current school leaders are not even remotely exposed or trained in these specific skill -sets or critical c-suite areas.
In full recognition of this reality, and in an effort to help build, create and even rebuild and re envision our day school and yeshiva leadership requirements and landscape, we must ask ourselves – what are the basic or fundamental skill sets we expect our school heads to possess and what are the current various training and development venues and pathways in place that continue to help provide our current day school leaders and emerging leaders with these skills?
In an effort not to get stuck in the who should be doing what weeds, it must be understood (from the get go) that our communities are blessed with a wide array of outstanding venues and institutions that provide stellar pre-service and in-service leadership training. for current and aspiring heads of school and principals. These venues are sponsored by colleges and universities, organizations, communal agencies as well as other nonprofit leadership training programs which are sensitive to the denominational, ideological and communal needs of our schools.
The challenge as presented is how many of our professional leaders have access to these venues and how many of our leaders are actually willing or required to enroll or participate in these programs? Finally, should these trainings be required or mandatory ? and how many of our day school yeshiva board search committees are willing to make these training programs mandatory?
Finally, we know that participation in C-Suite leadership workshops, courses, seminars and conferences will not necessarily guarantee success or sticking power (applications). To be effective, all of these trainings must be complemented by extensive coaching, mentoring and hands-on in-school administrative experience – a topic for another post or paper, requiring its own space and attention.
Potential C-Suite Leadership Categories and Areas of Proficiency
The following skill-sets represent the top 6 areas of proficiency which are selected directly from the normative C-Suite leadership toolbox.
Tangentially, these are the attributes and skills which I presented and addressed in greater detail at the two day leadership exchange.
They include, but are not limited to:
- Strategic Planning – the head of school or principal must know how to create and develop a strategic plan in order to help achieve school objectives, including resource allocations and performance improvement initiatives;
- Visioning – setting a clear and focused vision for the school’s academic goals, culture and development and guiding decision-making across all departments;
- Team Building and Collaboration – building and managing a strong team of Judaic and general studies faculty and fostering collaboration as well as ensuring that all personnel are aligned with the academic, social, cultural and religious goals of the school;
- Constituent (Stakeholder) Management – effective communication with parents, teachers, donors, board members and community leaders in order to build strong viable relationships and support for school initiatives;
- Change Management – when implementing new programs and initiatives, the head of school leads and facilitates change processes by addressing concerns and ensuring smooth transitions;
- Strategic Data-Driven Decision Making – analyzing student data, identifying areas for improvement and making informed decisions about curricula, instruction and assessment.
In addition to these six leadership characteristics and qualities, the following leadership traits and attributes are expected of c-suite leaders;
- open,clear and concise communications skills (oral and written)
- empathy
- creativity
- positivity
- flexibility
- ability to manage time effectively (time management)
- reliability and responsibility
- ability to delegate effectively and strategically
- inviting critical feedback re professional performance
- a willingness and desire to mentor others.
Finally, it is also essential that the C-Suite head of a Jewish day school or yeshiva possess a high EQ and serve as a Jewish role model…….including the transmission of torah scholarship and values and one who exhibits exemplary derech eretz, yirat shamayim and middot.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, every school, whether it be a Jewish day school or yeshiva will recruit, hire and engage the best senior professional fit for their school.
As such, there are those schools which can afford the time and resources necessary to identify and engage the best and brightest fit for their schools. Then of course, there are those institutions that must “settle” for a candidate based upon available resources.
This is not a compromise, but rather a recalibration of expectations based upon available resources.
If the latter is the case, the school must be urged to create the most supportive environment in order for the head of school and principal to succeed. This may include an initial attempt to delegate specific executive leadership roles and responsibilities to members of the school’s management team. By doing so, we begin to decentralize the leadership pressure and ensure ways to compensate for leadership skills deficits.
As a side, the delegation of senior leadership responsibilities across the school’s management team is always a wise strategic management approach under any circumstance. But all the more so when there is a leadership skill vacuum at the top.
Finally, each school – whether it be a Jewish day school or a yeshiva – will need to develop its own leadership “report card”.
Each school is unique and independent and flourishes in a volunteer communal environment. As such. these schools do have superimposed or mandated standards and requirements for specific funding requirements. Nor are our schools being supervised by a superintendency or a communal governance structure requiring specific standards. At best, our Jewish educational system and the schools which comprise this community are all voluntary in nature. This does not include accreditation review processes which take place every several years.
Whether this is a positive or negative reality, is subject or topic of great debate; and one which is just waiting to happen.
That being the case, it is my hope that outstanding teachers will seek positions which offer outstanding growth opportunities and compensation. I am also hopeful that highly motivated, inspired and enlightened parents will gravitate to those schools which offer their children educational environments conducive to their strengths and interest; and which offer the best route for their children’s future direction, development and success.