by Dr. Kurt Senske
During the past several months, I have spoken with numerous executive directors and board members of Lutheran high schools about their governance challenges. While each situation was unique, they each shared two commonalities. First, the school’s leadership were intent on improving their school’s governance model because they intuitively understood that their current model, while working, has the potential to become a hinderance as opposed to a true partner. Second, each situation involved what I label as “an elephant in the room” that needed addressing in order to ensure that their school remained missionally impactful and financially strong.
The governance model of Lutheran high schools is often unique in their design. For example, a high school may be owned by numerous “member” congregations, or it may be a separate stand-alone legal entity. Each high school also has its own unique culture, history, and community which demands a governance model tailored for its unique situation.
I would submit that every organization, including Lutheran high schools, will over time have an elephant in the room that is not being addressed. It could be new competition, an outdated governance structure, deferred maintenance, or the need for new technology, to name a few. The art of governance demands that honesty, transparency, and intentionality exist between the board and the leadership team to effectively and openly wrestle with its unique elephant. Failure to do so could prevent your high school from achieving its true potential.
The increasingly complex external environment in which you operate has heightened the need for leaders and boards of Lutheran high schools to adapt their governance model to fit this new reality. Heightened competition, culture wars, pandemics, and challenges in recruiting and retaining talented faculty and staff have created an environment where good governance is a “must have” as opposed to a “nice to have.”
Tailoring a governance model that will allow your leadership and the board to proactively address its unique strategic issues must become a priority for any organization to continue to thrive going forward. While it is tempting to place issues of governance on the back burner, what is forgotten is that governance is intertwined with virtually every strategic decision that your high school will wrestle with.
The question becomes, how will you, as a leader of a Lutheran high school, and your board know if your governance model is a missional advantage or disadvantage? By how you answer the following eight questions:
Is there a healthy, trusting relationship between the executive director and the board?
Is the executive director comfortable sharing everything with the board or does he or she manage the board?
Is the board and the executive director spending at least half of its time together looking strategically forward into the future?
Have the elephants in the room been identified and wrestled with in a blame free, trust filled environment?
Does the board have the requisite collective skill sets and is appropriately diverse?
Does the board and the executive director regularly engage in the topic of succession planning?
Can both the board and the leadership team articulate a clearly defined strategy that is being effectively implemented and appropriately measured?
Does the executive director believe that she or he is being supported by the board and does the board feel supported by the executive director?
Serving as a leader or board member of a Lutheran high school is not for the faint of heart. It will require your full attention and personal sacrifice coupled with a dose of humility and a willingness to, on occasion, forgive as imperfect children of God.
The good news is that as leaders of Lutheran high schools you each possess a unique advantage in that your mission is faith inspired and you can openly bring our deep faith to the table. Your sole purpose is to be of service to others.
Your calling is indeed a worthy calling as you continue to serve as the hands and feet of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is an honor to be your partner in ministry.
Dr. Kurt Senske is the author of The Board and the CEO: The Art of Nonprofit Governance as a Competitive Advantage (CPH: 2023). He is the founder/principal of CEO-Board Services, a consulting firm that specializes in working with mission-oriented organizational leaders and boards. Dr. Senske also currently serves as chair of the boards of Thrivent Charitable and Lutheran Hour Ministries. For more information go to kurtsenske.com. You can reach Dr. Senske at kurtsenske@gmail.com.