Board Member Engagement
The Zoom Muzzle Syndrome Redux
My August 6 post at this blog, “Combatting the Zoom Muzzle Syndrome (ZMS),” begins by pointing out that Zoom has proved to be a very effective vehicle for holding virtual work sessions at which participants can reach consensus on complex …
The Lynchpins of a High-Performing Board Committee Structure
While preparing for a four-hour Zoom work session later this week with the superintendent and cabinet of a large Midwestern school district, focusing on preparation for the launch of a new board committee structure, I reflected on a seminal learning …
Combatting the Zoom Muzzle Syndrome (ZMS)
Since mid-March of this year I’ve participated – wearing my governance counsel hat – in numerous virtual work sessions of client school boards and standing committees, employing the popular Zoom video conferencing platform. Zooming has made it possible for my …
Welcome to the Frontier!
I opened the video webinar I recently presented for the board and superintendent of a Northern Virginia school division by observing that K-12 governance is frontier territory. Far from being a mature, fully developed field, K-12 governance is characterized by …
Harnessing the Power of Ownership in the Highline Public Schools

Turning board members into satisfied owners of their governing work through meaningful engagement in planning and other governing functions is a major theme in my forthcoming book, “Building a High-Impact Board-Superintendent Partnership: 11 Critical Questions You Need to Answer,” which …
It’s Curtain Time
The curtain fell on a splendid production. The superintendent couldn’t have been prouder of the chair of the school board’s new Strategic and Operational Planning Committee, and the chair couldn’t have been more pleased. She’d just presented an overview of …
Engaging Board Members Creatively in Shaping the Annual Budget
The October 6 post at this blog made the case that superintendents – wearing the “Chief Governing Process Designer” hat – are well-advised to work with board committees in designing processes for engaging board members in a meaningful fashion in …
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