RG175 Blog

I used to assume that quality decision-making was an innate leadership skill, more a matter of instinct and personality rather than something learned. Turns out, I was wrong.Recently, I read Chip Heath and Dan Heath’s book Decisive, which explores the nature of decision-making, delineates the inevit... read more

Early in my tenure as a 34-year-old Head of School, a small group of trustees, the athletic director and I were chatting about the many ways in which we could make the school better. We were on a roll, one idea leading to another. After about ten minutes of riffing on each other’s ideas, the athleti... read more

One of the most powerful tools an independent school leader has is perspective, an ever-evolving practice of seeking deeper and deeper insights into the landscape of reality. Those insights can lead to better strategic thinking and better strategic decisions.But clearly seeing and understanding real... read more

Recently I heard about the struggles of two first-time heads of school. Their missteps are a reminder of the importance of a head’s on-going professional development that focuses on the practical skills of leadership.Within a year and a half of beginning his tenure, a first-time head fired two long-... read more

Being a successful Head of School is more than just adding value to the school – it requires good judgment. Case in point: the crises involving sexual misconduct that some independent schools are currently facing. Yet sadly, the typical independent school search process rarely addresses this critica... read more

“My goal is to be the dumbest guy in this room, and I’m pretty smart,” said a successful C.E.O. to his senior administrative team. This C.E.O., a good friend of mine who started and sold two successful businesses, was recounting this story to me recently. At first it seemed an odd statement. Shouldn... read more