Stuck in the Middle with You: Finding Joy in the Division Head RoleNAIS Annual ConferenceFebruary 27, 2014Barbara Kraemer-Cook, Marin Country Day School, CAKathleen McNamara, Tuxedo Park School, NY

Boulders, Rocks and Pebbles: How will you fill your jar?

Boulders

• Rollout of Strategic Plan• AIM • Construction• Reorg of Admin

positions• Enrollment• Communications• Class size

Rocks

• Implementation of anti-bullying program• New carpool traffic patterns• Staff member diagnosed with terminal illness• Policy on pencils!• New forms!• Integration of new curriculum• Storm closes school for six days• New curriculum committee• Tuition Assistance Ad Hoc Committee• FMLA leaves• Integration of new teams into division• Accommodating children with food allergies• Primary Math Curriculum• Varying needs for Parent Education• The schedule

Pebbles• Lice• New playgroung equipment• Discipline issues• Shepherds Pie communication• Tag on the structure• Suspended first grader• Third graders spelling out foul language• Peanuts at the concert for local visitor• Board education• What to do with library?• Sun butter sticks to the trays• Skunk under the Kindergarten classroom• The creek is closed• Parent request for access to school community for personal

needs/business ideas• The class trip is scheduled for Yom Kippur• Lost & Found• Healthy treats• Gift policy• New progress report form• Valentine party drama• New system for grades online• Class size!

Six Strategies that Work

I. Understand your role

Did you know you are all of these roles?

• Parent figure• Nurse• Person of the cloth• Disciplinarian• Evangelist• Referee• Financial wizard• Judge• Arbitor

• Learner• Detective• Negotiator • Cheerleader• Philosopher• Teacher• Social Worker• Therapist• Voice of reason

Johari Window: How we grow…

What else about the role should we name?

• Division Heads are always in the middle• The job of division head has the highest degree of

unpredictability of all administrative jobs available in independent schools

• Division Heads are the glue between the operational side and the educational side

• Division Heads are the glue among the various constituents• There is no play book for the Division Head role• The role varies from school to school• The role is different when you rise from within

II. Know the Landscape• Understanding

the “burial grounds” at your school; what came before…

• Get to know the sacred cows at your school

• Be prepared to be flexible when you hit a land mine: it’s not weakness but a show of adaptability and respect for the culture

III. Know Your Constituent Groups

• Faculty and its permutations• Students• Admin team members• Parents• Board members• Alumni• Alumni parents

And…Understand permutations inside each constituent group

• Younger vs. veteran faculty• Students• Parents– Age of parents– Age of children and birth order– Similarities/Differences between our parents’

parenting styles, our own parenting styles and those of current parents

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IV. The Head of School is the Head of School

V. Use Your Resources

• Admin team and head of school• Connect with other people (in school and out)

who do what you do• Do not be afraid to get a mentor• Trust your instincts

VI. Find Your Mantras and Use Them Often

Barbara’s Mantras

• Whatever you are doing, be present.• It’s not my emergency.• Maintain a non-anxious presence.• Do not act without ALL the facts; sometimes

delaying action illuminates something new.• A civilization flourishes when people plant

trees under whose shade they will never sit.• The smartest person in the room is the room.

Kathleen’s Mantras

• Leadership is managing expectations and assumptions (Debbie Freed)

• The school should be directed by what is good for our students, not what is ___(fill in the blank)_ for the adults.

• Change is Inevitable, Adaptation is Optional• Know when and what to delegate and get good at it• The goal of schools should be to prepare students for their

future not our past (Daniel Pink)• My goal as a division head is to become obsolete• “It’s not personal, it’s business.” Rob Evans quoting The

Godfather