Beach Ball Awareness

Summer planning has never been as challenging and complicated –or filled with possibility and opportunity.  In this unchartered territory, what we’ve learned over the past pandemic response months is that the best solutions evolve from team collaboration. As we have seen in hospitals during this COVID crisis, the best traction and outcomes arise from harnessing collective knowledge from the different beach ball stripes of expertise. Within our schools these stripes are the

• Business office deals with affordability, wiggling the budget to embrace enrollment shifts and new costs for creating safe spaces for learning;

• The admissions office seeks to reassure applicants that your school provides rigorous learning and emotional support whether in school or virtual;

• Advancement stays the course on donors and fundraising initiatives;

• Teachers wrestle with ensuring that they can deliver both virtual and in-school teaching and learning;

• Middle managers (counselors, division and tech directors) counsel staff and faculty on myriad concerns;

• Board concentrates on supporting the head and keeping its eye on fiscal sustainability.

The head sets the tone.  S/he understands the difference between leading and managing, stepping in as needed to listen and respond, to cheer lead and get out of the way. As the beach ball gets tossed around, it’s the head who knows when to gather the players, when to pause pause reflect, how to strengthen “stripe” expertise and set the pace of the game. The head helps decide when the game of a particular decision is done. S/he models celebrating the moments of closure and leads the debriefing of decisions for the lessons.

Embrace the energy of beach ball leadership. Rich, wise and generous resources are everywhere. From NAIS and NBOA, researchers, leadership coaches, local colleagues and affiliates, ideas and answers are a fingertip away. Schools have a historic opportunity harness the expertise of many perspective within and without,  rise to new heights and create a strong and solid school plan for the fall.

Follow-up question: Who and what are your “go-to’s” for grounding your leadership? Consider looking at the “Framework for Collaborative Leadership” to jump-start ideas if you feel stuck.