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No Need To Fear the Appointment of an Interim Head

Trustees are sometimes unaware that a typical Head of School search process now extends over six to nine months, a timeframe that allows for an inclusive process and broad outreach to prospective candidates. These days, Heads who initiate their own departures routinely give a year’s notice or more to permit an orderly and successful search for a successor. We are conducting searches now for appointments that will take effect in July 2010, with application deadlines set for late summer or early fall.

Each year, though, there are several independent schools that find themselves in a situation where there is not enough time to conduct a thorough search prior to the Head’s departure. Some will address that problem by appointing an acting Head from within, but most will seek an interim Head to fill the position for the next school year.

While trustees often are initially distressed at the prospect of welcoming two new leaders in two years, it’s been our experience that a one-year interim headship can have extraordinarily positive effects on the school and pave the way for a long and successful tenure by the permanent Head.

Because most of the interim Heads we place are recently retired Heads with extensive experience, the schools who appoint them are essentially getting a “two-fer”:

1. A seasoned leader to manage day-to-day operations.
2. An in-house consultant who will have a full year to evaluate all aspects of the school.

An experienced interim Head can calm the institutional waters if there has been an abrupt or divisive change of leadership and will bring fresh eyes to challenges that might have seemed intractable. An interim Head can be particularly valuable if the departing Head has served the school for many years and is beloved by the school family - providing a transitional period that will make it more likely that the permanent Head will not be compared unfavorably to the departing one.

Here are some ways in which the Board of Trustees can take full advantage of an interim headship:

• Encourage this experienced leader to identify and defuse potential landmines that would otherwise await the permanent Head. Immune to many of the political consequences that a long-term leader must consider, the interim Head can make difficult programmatic, budgetary, and/or personnel decisions.
• Ask the interim Head to prepare a written report at the conclusion of his or her term to provide the Board and incoming Head with an analysis of the school’s condition in key areas and a set of recommendations for actions that would improve the school.
• Invite the interim Head to suggest ways in which the Board could improve its own approach to governance and most effectively support the next Head during the transition period and beyond.

Wickenden Associates maintains a database of nearly 250 retired Heads and others interested in interim assignments. When schools retain us to conduct a Head of School search, we will conduct the search for an interim Head, if one is required, at no additional charge.

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As part of a redesign of our website, we've decided to create this vehicle for sharing the information and insights we gain as we visit independent schools and interact each year with hundreds of school leaders -- administrators, faculty, and Board members.

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