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Detailed Service Plan
Who This Serves
New board chairs (first 2 years) finding your leadership voice and navigating the chair-head partnership
Experienced chairs facing new challenges: difficult trustees, underperforming heads, financial crises, controversial decisions
Chairs leading major initiatives: head searches, strategic planning, capital campaigns, board restructuring
Vice chairs preparing to step into the chair role
Committee chairs with significant responsibility (finance, advancement, governance)
I also offer as a separate service Board Chairs & Head/Executive Director Partnership Coaching.
What We'll Work On TogetherYour Head/ED Relationship
Managing the chair-head relationship: Balancing support vs. oversight, having performance conversations, conducting meaningful evaluations, and navigating disagreement without undermining authority
Leading volunteer trustees: Getting accomplished people to do governance work, managing those who dominate or underperform, addressing inappropriate behavior, and building consensus on controversial decisions
Running effective board meetings: Engaging rather than boring people, accomplishing real work, facilitating difficult conversations, and building psychological safety for strategic dialogue
High-stakes governance decisions: Financial oversight and budget calls, head evaluation and compensation, strategic direction setting, crisis management, and leading fundraising (especially if you're uncomfortable asking)
Your personal leadership and boundaries: Managing the volunteer workload without burning out, balancing board work with career and family, leading with authority you didn't seek, and navigating the loneliness of board chair
Committee oversight and board culture: Engaging disengaged trustees, delegating effectively to committee chairs, building accountability among volunteers, and transforming board culture from rubber-stamp to strategic governance
What Makes This Different
I've Been on Both Sides. As Head of School for eight years, I worked with five different board chairs through institutional challenges; rebuilt and sustained board governance; led boards through strategic planning, capital campaigns, and crisis decisions; and I know what heads need from their chairs—and what makes that relationship work or fail. As Board Vice Chair and Fundraising Committee Chair right now, I navigate volunteer leadership while balancing career and family; support an executive director while maintaining governance oversight; lead with influence rather than authority,; and experience firsthand the complexity and loneliness of board chair work
Practical, Not Theoretical: This isn't academic governance theory. Every session is grounded in your actual board dynamics, your next meeting, your specific challenges. You'll leave with clear actions you can take immediately—not reading lists or frameworks to study.
Completely Confidential: Board chairs often can't talk openly about challenges with other trustees, their head/ED, or even family. This partnership provides completely confidential space to voice concerns, test instincts, and admit when you're in over your head. Nothing we discuss leaves our sessions.
Honest Feedback: I'll tell you what you need to hear, not just what you want to hear. If you're micromanaging your head, avoiding a necessary conversation, or need better boundaries—I'll name it. My commitment is to your effectiveness and institutional health, not your comfort.
Timeline: Monthly 90-minute sessions with flexible scheduling
Pricing: Varies depending upon organizational budget. Many schools and nonprofits cover this as board development investment. I can provide a proposal for your head/ED or finance committee.