Board not bored nais

Jonathan
E.
Mar,n

Clair
Ward

Commonly Heard
about Board Meetings

I don’t learn anything that I couldn’t have read in a report.

All the decisions are made before we arrive.

We always hear from the same people.

My opinion doesn’t really matter or even get solicited.

All they want is my money. What about my knowledge and expertise?

It’s one report after another

We rarely get to hear from the students and faculty, just administrators

I don’t understand what our head and administrators mean
by 21st century learning. Is that just jargon?

Why is it always good news? I want to know what the problems are so I can help.

Disagreement isn’t appropriate. Why does every vote have to unanimous?
Ye
s
Ye
s
Ye
s
Ye
s
Ye
s

I would never run a meeting like this at my business

Needs:

To
be*er
engage
the
board.

To
generate
be*er,
deeper

thinking
about
cri8cal
issues.

To
introduce
and
orient
the

board
to
21st
century
learning.

Two birds with one stone.
Use 21st Century Teaching and Learning Techniques,
e.g., flipped classroom, case study, PBL, design thinking, gallery walks, etc.

Employ
performance
task

assessment
and

project-‐
based
learning

strategies:

Task:
Consider
Hill’s

strategic
goal
of
becoming
a

“des5na5on
place
of

employment”
for
the
most

talented
boarding
school

•  Form
Teams

•  Provide
challenge
ques8on

•  Provide
materials
to
study,
examine,

interpret

•  Provide
research
resources
for
further

inquiry

•  Invite
addi8onal
research

•  Require
explana8on
of
answer
in
form
of

both
posters
and
presenta8ons

Apply
the
case
study
method
to
contemplate

the
acquisi8on
of
a
nearby
property.

•  Create
4-‐5
page
HBR
style
Case
Study
and

distribute
in
advance

•  Conclude
Case
Study
with
a
ques8on:

•  What
should
the
Headmaster
and
Board
Chair

Do?

•  Invite
Small
Groups
to
discuss

•  Facilitate
full
group
discussion,
s8mulate
debate,

seek
consensus

• 
Use
a
ﬂipped
classroom
approach
to
review

Hill’s
new
Campus
Master
Plan;

•  Instead
of
wri*en
report,
produce
film
as

comprehensive
introduc8on
to
the
topic
and

issues.

•  Distribute
and
Ask
Trustees
to
Watch
Film
in

Advance

•  Jump
straight
to
Q&A
about
film

•  Prepare
and
post
posters
about
the
cri8cal
issues

raised
in
film,
and
ask
Trustees
to
ask
as
many

ques8ons
and
make
as
many
comments
as

possible.

•  Par8cipate
in
a

collabora,ve
learning
protocol
to
evaluate

the
preliminary
case
statement
for
our

comprehensive
capital
campaign.

• 
Use
PLC
and
Cri8cal
Friends
Group
Protocols

•  Invite
Faculty
Leaders
to
Facilitate

•  Use
with
Real,
Per8nent
Ma*ers

• 
Try
back-‐channeling

and

real-‐,me
classroom
response
systems
to

consider
the
proposed
FY2015
budget,

revisions
to
the
strategic
plan,
and
the
funding

of
campaign
expenses;

• 
Learn
how
to
produce
screencasts
to
share

our
board
commi*ee
reports.

Culture
of
Conversa8on

•  The
region

•  The
School
&
the
Board
of
Trustees

•  Recent
Growth

The
Challenge

•  Engage
the
strategic
posture
of
each
trustee

•  Address
the
unthinkable:

ﬁnances

Retreat
Format

•  Opening
&
context
(Board
President)

•  Financial
picture
(Board
treasurer)

–  Current
architecture

–  20-‐year
forecast

•  Small
group
work

–  Is
it
or
should
it
be
the
Board’s
goal
to
run
VSL
without
financial
support

from
the
founding
family?

–  Will
the
current
financial
model
sustain
us
indefinitely?

What
will
Valley

need
financially
to
sustain
itself
in
20
years?

–  What
is
keeping
us
from
making
the
decisions
we
would
want
to
make?

•  Dinner
and
Gallery
Walk

•  Genera8ve
Discussion

•  Iden8fica8on
of
Next
Steps

Next
Steps/Advice

•  Rotate
the
Board
mee8ngs
throughout
the
building

•  Use
of
case
studies

•  Use
of
par8cipant
polls

•  Board
of
Visitors

•  Consider
using
consultants
and/or
organiza8onal
psychologist
to
help
shig

culture
carefully/construc8vely

Board not bored nais

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