Are you curious how your board stacks up on the crucial roles and
responsibilities of trusteeship? A
great way for trustees to find out, together, is to take a walk through Friends
Council’s or NAIS’ Principles of Good Practice.
Over the years I’ve noticed one particular principle that
often raises eyebrows, good questions, and rich insights. In the Friends Council version, it’s this
one:
The
Relationship with the Head
The
Board selects, nurtures, supports and evaluates the head. It contracts with the head and sets the
head’s compensation.
In follow-up discussions, trustees often voice a range of
surprised reactions:
·
Support
our head? No, actually, she
supports us!
·
We haven’t
thought about this before. Why is
it important?
·
This is
one of our board goals – but now we notice we don’t have a single specific
action step for doing it. Are we
providing any real support at all?