Wanted: Chief State School Officers

Recruiting leadership candidates, selecting the best fit for the job and onboarding new school leaders is always a challenge. But, how does the process change when the leader is a Chief State School Officer? This week's EdWeek details the current challenges facing 9 states seeking new ed leadership at the state level, see State-Chief Turnovers Squeezing Talent Pool. Like in any high-profile position, there is a necessary mix of mix of educational acumen and political savvy, especially since most search committees (if they exist) are appointed by an elected Governor. Even so, two of these positions are posted on TopJobs, so get your applications in early!

When we think about hiring new leaders, GLISI attends to the entire Leadership Performance and Supply (LP&S) system. Search committees and national postings in EdWeek may be a necessary part of the process, but a systemic solution includes competency maps, clear job definitions, selection criteria and, of course, an aligned performance appraisal system. Districts throughout Georgia have created these LP&S systems, which will help them weather the inevitable transitions in senior leadership. See here and here (pdf).

Is such a systemic process possible for the State Chief? Perhaps not. But LP&S systems would create a strong bench of leaders in State Departments of Education and expand the available talent pool.

Succession or Progression

At GLISI's quarterly Coordinating Board meeting on August 7th, we had a interesting "a ha" discussion about the term succession planning. Ed Bankston, one of the GLISI Scholars at UGA, noted in his report to the Board that a more appropriate and politically palatable term might be progression management.

This new term better reflects the fact that good succession planning doesn't just fill vacancies. Rather, it is a more systemic strategy that identifies competencies and performance criteria for current and future positions and current and future personnel.

"Progression management" has currency as a term in the UK (see here and here), but does not come up in recent management texts or in a Google search. That's good news if we need a new term to help with local adoption. However, I'm inclined to make the term succession work for everyone because it has resonance with both education and business leaders and has long legs in the business literature.