Governance Mindset
To be ready to govern, a board must establish (and maintain) a Governance Mindset.
This post will describe Governance Mindset, the first component of the responsibility for Board Readiness, and the first of ten components that make up the four domains of governance (Board Readiness, Strategic Voice, Operational Guidance, and Accountability).
1a. Governance Mindset [Does your Board have a governance mindset?]
The development of a governance mindset in our view is the most important characteristic of effective trustees…Having a governance mindset is understanding the role and responsibilities of the governing board and how individual trustee leadership can enhance the positive, value-added impact of the governance process. – Davis Campbell and Michael Fullan1
It is not enough to acquire knowledge (what you know) about governance or the skills (what you do) for governance. Boards must as a first priority develop a mindset (what to be) that predisposes them to act on their knowledge and apply their skills to perform the strategic governance role of a board.
The importance of this task. The board’s core accountability function is directly related to and dependent on its concept of responsibility. If we accept responsibility to serve the public interest, we must be willing to account to the public for district performance, holding accountable all those who answer to the board. We must also hold ourselves accountable to the public, collectively as a board and individually as board members. Having a governance mindset requires that we bear the full mantle of responsibility and with it the full spectrum of accountability for the performance of the district, the board, and its individual board members. A governance mindset adopts an attitude of servant-leadership and an orientation of a growth mindset to enable a board to fulfill its governance responsibilities.
Petersen and Fusarelli describe, at one end of a continuum, overconfident boards that think of themselves as “far superior to mere educators such as the superintendent,” and at the other end, overly humble boards that “seldom question the professional expertise of the superintendent.”2 A servant leader attitude permits neither of these extremes. The servant leader takes full leadership responsibility, balancing the idea of responsibility to (the role of a servant) against the equally important idea of responsibility for (the role of a leader).
A servant-first decision is symbolically represented in the oath of office administered when a board member takes office. In addition to deciding to be servant-first, a board also must intentionally step up to its responsibility for others by taking charge as owner-representative and leader of the district. Regardless of the levels of individual talent, including dispositions, knowledge and skills possessed by its members, the board as a legally defined entity must accept full responsibility for all district performance.
The ultimate end toward which effective school board efforts should be directed is student learning. Research conducted by psychologist Carol Dweck indicates that the most successful students are those who develop and employ a growth mindset – a core belief that intelligence is not fixed, that it has a capacity to grow, and that growth in learning is strongly influenced by the learner’s efforts.3
The value of a system-wide growth mindset is validated by school board research. A landmark study of school boards in otherwise similar districts that significantly differed in their student achievement test scores concluded that a board’s beliefs about students’ ability to learn do make a difference in student achievement:
In the high-achieving districts, the board/superintendent team and school personnel consistently expressed an “elevating” view of students. Students were viewed as emerging and flexible, and the school’s job was seen as releasing each student’s potential. – Mary Dellagardelle4
These findings from the Iowa Lighthouse Study show that the most effective school boards, as measured by student achievement, are those who adopt an elevating view – in effect a growth mindset about the capacity for growth in students’ ability to achieve high standards through their learning efforts. The positive effects of a growth mindset can be extended through similar board beliefs about staff in their instructional and managerial roles, beliefs about the board collectively in its governance role, and beliefs about board members individually in their boardsmanship role.
Further research (Lighthouse II) studied efforts to bring about improvements in student learning through board professional development aimed at increasing background knowledge underlying and reinforcing the beliefs described in the findings of Lighthouse I. Researchers found that not only board beliefs, but also board efforts to learn, do make a difference:
When local school board-superintendent teams generate a districtwide focus on improved achievement and engage local administrators and teachers in creating or strengthening key conditions that support continuous improvement it will result in high and equitable student achievement and elevated beliefs across the system. – Mary Dellagardelle5
The effective board adopts a governance mindset, ready to act because it has a solid foundation on which to act. It understands its purpose and defines its role in relation to its responsibilities. Distinguishing its own role from that of the superintendent and staff whom the superintendent manages gives the board the right perspective when providing strategic and operational guidance, communicating expectations that are both lofty and achievable, then pursuing those expectations with an accountability mindset based on a servant-leadership orientation and the formative dispositions of a growth mindset. The result of a governance mindset is fulfillment of the board’s purpose: assuring positive student outcomes.
Indicators. The following indicate a board mindset committed to servant-leadership and a belief in growth based on effort:
The board conducts an oath of office ceremony when adding new members, then follows up the ceremony with board discussion of the oath and its meaning.
The board expresses a belief in all students’ ability to grow and achieve at higher levels.
Board decisions reflect a belief that all students can handle advanced curricular offerings.
Governance Mindset consists of 4 primary* elements: Commitment to Serve, Willingness to Lead, Belief in Growth, and Work Ethic.
* Servant-leader orientation (commitment to serve and willingness to lead) and growth mindset (belief in growth and willingness to do the work needed for that growth) are necessary for a governance mindset but are insufficient when we consider each of the board’s governance responsibilities, component by component. More specific dispositions (beliefs, values and attitudes) are also necessary to prepare the board to perform each of its responsibilities. Such dispositions supplement essential elements of a governance mindset and will be included in descriptions of each component of those major board responsibilities.
Campbell, D. & Fullan, M. The Governance Core, pg. 30.
Petersen, G. & Fusarelli, L. Systematic Leadership amidst Turbulence: Superintendent-School Board Relations under Pressure. The Future of School Board Governance, pg. 127.
Dweck, C. Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, pg. 13.
Dellagardelle, M. The Lighthouse Inquiry: Examining the Role of School Board Leadership in the Improvement of Student Achievement. The Future of School Board Governance: Relevancy and Revelation, pg. 204.
Source:
A Framework for School Governance (2018) Rick Maloney