This article appeared as "Leading Real Change" in the Summer 2023 issue of Independent School.Since the racial reckoning of 2020, many independent school boards have been “doing the work”—embarking on learning journeys to understand equity, inclusion, and belonging in the independent school context, and within the larger ecosystem of racism, privilege, and education in this country. It is good, complicated work. Each trustee comes with their own lived experience and perspective, and thus their own journey to take. Many trustees find themselves transformed by this learning and are seeing their schools, their communities, and their roles with new eyes. How should boards apply this learning to the governance of an independent school?
Certainly, the knowledge impacts decisions and discussions. But that is not enough. Parallel to this learning journey, there must also be an actual shift in our systems, practices, and policies. Since the height of the pandemic, there have been innumerable articles on how governance practices must adapt and evolve. If not, schools will face the “dysfunctional cycle of equity work”—limited or misguided trainings without appropriate focus or long-term impact, trainings on diversity rather than equity or systems-level change, and mandatory trainings that lead to symbolic compliance (participants who do only what is required while it is required) without a shift in underlying practices or understanding—which authors Floyd Cobb and John Krownapple describe in Belonging Through a Culture of Dignity: The Keys to Successful Equity Implementation.
So many efforts focus on individuals to effect change, but this is dangerous for many reasons, including invoking community backlash. In the September 2022 Harvard Business Review article “To Avoid DEI Backlash, Focus on Changing Systems—Not People,” Lily Zheng writes, “One powerful method to avoid backlash is by framing DEI initiatives to address inequities as changing systems, rather than changing individuals. By situating an organizational inequity in something less ‘personal’ than an individual or group, like a process, policy, or normalized set of practices, leaders can galvanize the workforce while lowering the risk that people feel personally targeted.”
Leaders must recognize the reciprocal relationship between individual and community and that transformation of one will impact the other. For successful systems transformation, we must do this work together. The field of DEIJB is still nascent, and trying to figure out how to do it the right way can feel daunting. As stewards of independent schools, trustees must have knowledge about DEIJB and move forward with changes in practices and policies to make the vision a reality. What behaviors and attitudes can prime boards for the work before them?
As a consultant and director of diversity and inclusion, we frame our work within two essential mindsets. First, adopt a humble practice toward this learning. A practice of humility invites us to engage in growth in a sustained and engaged way, meaning that we go beyond the one-and-done or checklist approach. Second, as adult learners, we develop skills through practice, so a two-step process, including a reflection of the efficacy of the application, allows us to improve and make changes along the way. This process is organic and strengthens our collective and shared vision.
Know Who Matters
Board diversity initiatives will never be successful as long as they ask people to change in order to fit in. Creating an inclusive board requires systems that open the doors to equitable access and give members a true sense of belonging. To meaningfully diversify our boards, we must critically examine assumptions and barriers in membership, recruitment, and onboarding processes and adopt accountability measures related to defined outcomes.In “Diverse, Inclusive, and Equitable Boards: Why So Slow?” a March/April 2022 Trusteeship article, Cathy Trower describes “self-perpetuating” boards that recruit according to the “looking-glass phenomenon” (recruiting members just like themselves) and power and wealth dynamics that can keep new and historically excluded board members from ascending to leadership or officer positions. Breaking down barriers of access to become a trustee, what the board does, or how the board makes decisions creates transparent on-ramps to board service for those who might historically have felt excluded.
The Practice
Define outcomes. Boards should understand the historical makeup of their board, who sits in the boardroom today, and what their aspirational or ideal board might look like. Board composition matrices can identify gaps in identity, skills, and experience. A transparent tool and annual review process can help schools more effectively recruit candidates who will add to board diversity and shift a board’s priorities. Tracking this data over time will enable boards to define the outcomes they seek to achieve and clearly articulate how to assess progress.Use inclusive communication. To recruit from historically underrepresented groups, boards need to cultivate relationships and educate the community to help everyone understand that the ideal board is different from the board of the past, one that was in most cases an exclusive club for the privileged few. It is critical for boards to center an inclusive message that the school sees every community member as a potential board member.
Expand the board profile. Boards should review their bylaws and trustee job description and align them with equity commitments. It is not unusual for a school with a bold diversity statement to still require all trustees be lead donors. Equitable boards recognize that socioeconomically diverse perspectives are more valuable in the boardroom than a large gift from every trustee.
Boards also can specifically recruit trustees with expertise in DEIJB, just as they would trustees with finance and law expertise because it is an increasingly important and relevant role in board service. In her book Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds, adrienne maree brown writes, “What we pay attention to grows,” so we need to pay attention to building DEJIB expertise on our boards.
Create new pipelines. Critical to diversifying boards is disrupting the pipelines for membership that reproduce the status quo. For example, development directors have often served as gatekeepers for the pipeline, advocating for the slice of our community that already has ample paths to board membership.
Requiring board prospects to work on a committee for a year before joining the board allows the potential trustee to understand more about how the school board works, its culture, and how they can best contribute. This practice centers service capacity, rather than financial capacity, as a key criterion for a trustee. Committee membership, with its lower time commitment, can also be an effective way to include those in your community who are managing issues of time inequity and broaden the voices impacting board work.
Build a Culture of Belonging
Diverse teams are high-functioning teams, but that is only true when the teams also foster a positive culture of belonging for all members. In Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, belonging comes before achievement; we must feel a sense of belonging to achieve at our highest level. Boards must commit to creating a culture of belonging by consistently assessing their climates and redirecting efforts when they go astray.A culture of belonging is an essential prerequisite to courageous conversations. If people don’t feel safe to speak openly, bring necessary tension, and raise the temperature without the risk of exclusion or harm, the board can’t move toward effective solutions to complex issues.
The Practice
Adopt board agreements. Boards that take time to create agreements that define how the group comes together to do its work and share these agreements at every meeting are taking a first step toward creating aspace where a broader range of voices can be heard and all trustees feel empowered to participate.
Designating a person or group to be accountable for safeguarding the agreements is an important step. They can then help identify when the group has violated the agreements and recenter them, ensuring each voice is heard and facilitating necessary repair.
Assign board buddies. Pair each new trustee with an experienced board member who can offer a personal connection, accompany them on their journey of board service, and help navigate the culture, practices, and unwritten rules that are part of any board. This guidance can range from the simple (How does one get a board nametag?) to the complex (How does this board interpret and carry out Robert’s Rules of Order?).
Integrate ongoing assessments. Boards could complete a DEIJB assessment tool. Alternatively, they can integrate board culture questions into annual board self-evaluations. A midyear assessment tailored to a board’s specific needs allows time for improvement. Agreement scale questions might include, “I feel comfortable sharing differing opinions, asking questions, and challenging points of view;” “I am treated with as much respect as other board members;” or “I feel our decision-making processes are equitable and inclusive and center historically marginalized identities.”
Shift Toward Relational Meetings
Often boards will say they don’t have time to do relationship-building. But it’s simple: Make the time.The Practice
Begin with intentional relationship-building. Start each meeting with an activity to foster relationships and build trust. Invite participants to share their experiences with one another, ideally on a topic that relates to the larger goals of the meeting. Encourage people to share how their personal identities and lived experience influence their perspective. When we devote time to connection, group effectiveness improves because people are invested in the relationships and the outcomes.Incorporate fluid agendas. Consider loosening your agenda so conversations aren’t time-bound and determined only by the chair. Using a consent agenda, ask all trustees to submit agenda topics in advance and all committees to submit written reports to help ensure equitable time is allotted for a variety of discussion topics. Highlight one or two topics for discussion, presentation, or decision-making, and list additional topics to be covered briefly.
While it is difficult to shift to a practice of letting each conversation take the time that it needs, attaching times to discussion has been shown to stifle participation and engagement. In her June 2019 Stanford Social Innovation Review article, “The Bias of ‘Professionalism’ Standards,” Aysa Gray cautions that an adherence to timeliness will lead to prioritizing productivity over people.
Track participation. If it’s been a while since the governance committee has reviewed how the board meets and who participates, take a closer look at meeting structures and conduct an audit. Are women and trustees of color being interrupted? Are meetings an effective forum for difficult conversations where divergent opinions can be openly shared and discussed? Are those with finance or legal expertise getting more airtime? Intentionally giving meeting time and consideration to those who have been historically marginalized in your community will help shift the historical power dynamics embedded in your board.
Committee for Change
Many school boards have relatively new DEIJB committees wondering what their charge is. As a board committee, their purview is not school curriculum, staff training, hiring and retention of employees, or community education. The board DEIJB committee may support the board’s DEIJB learning journey and should focus on ensuring that the school’s policies and structures reflect the school’s commitment to DEIJB.The Practice
Reimagine evaluation processes. Many boards, and those who lead them, get caught up in keeping track of their achievements—understandably as trustees have a limited term and a genuine desire to have an impact. Instead, reimagine the annual evaluation process for the head of school and the board to ensure it includes success at creating an equitable inclusive culture of belonging across all stakeholders—alongside typical measures of success such as enrollment, finances, and program. This type of shift at the leadership level will signal to the community the depth of the school’s commitment to equity.Update documents. The DEIJB committee can review the mission, vision, values, and policies to ensure they reflect the school’s commitment to DEIJB. If they don’t, the governance committee should design an inclusive process for revision to ensure that school policies reflect these changes and the school’s commitment to DEIJB.
Center equity in decision-making. Consider creating a decision-making screen for the board to use every time it makes a new decision. (See Decision-Making Tool below.) Agreeing to a series of questions to evaluate decisions—from whether to close the preschool program to adopting a new financial aid policy—embeds transparency. Creating transparent processes builds trust within the community, undermining claims of information silos, closed-door decision-making, and power imbalances. The DEIJB committee should review this tool and ensure it supports the board’s DEIJB goals.
Understand Our Broader Context
Part of the board’s DEIJB journey depends not just on the individuals and practices in the room but the place in which the school exists. Our schools have a responsibility to model stewardship in the greater community. These communities have unique challenges and attributes that impact the school, and therefore the board’s discussions and decisions.The Practice
Engage in generative discussion. Boards need to regularly take the time to explore local contexts through generative discussion for equitable governance, governance best practice, and strategic thinking. Here are some sample generative questions related to DEIJB:- What’s your school’s founding story? What was the historical moment that led to its founding, and does it have any connection to issues of segregation or busing?
- Where’s your school located? What’s the history of this location as it relates to issues such as redlining and Indigenous land ownership?
- What does it mean to be a single-gender school in a country where 20% of Gen Z describes themselves as LGBTQ or nonbinary?
Show up for the community. Ask trustees to be school representatives at community events such as business openings, community meetings, and celebrations. Having a presence in these places and building these relationships demonstrates the school’s support of, and commitment to, the larger community.
In the 2021 Stanford Social Innovation Review article, “The Four Principles of Purpose-Driven Board Leadership,” author Ann Wallestad shares that “as they are currently operating, boards are not well-positioned to lead us toward a more equitable future as a society.” She goes on to say, “We need to have a more explicit conversation about what a board’s most essential work is and how board composition must shift to be able to support that critical work.”
What is your board’s most essential work? We believe it is creating transformative, sustainable, systemic DEIJB change throughout your school. This requires nothing less than a personal and collective commitment to building equitable schools. The fruits of this sacrificial labor benefit everyone in the school community and are essential for schools to be responsive to the needs of the age in which we live. The work of DEIJB requires us to build our courage, strengthen our resolve, take cacluated risks, and develop our capacity to navigate more and more complex challenges.
Learning about and integrating principles and practices of DEIJB will be a process that looks different for each board; we believe that among all these ideas any board can find someplace to further its DEIJB journey. We hope that boards center both changing practices and transformative trust-building. And come to see that doing the work is actually changing the practices—they are one and the same.
Go Deeper: Trustee Jobs
Given the many important roles trustees play in sustaining a school’s success, the board needs the right people around the table. How can your board make certain that it is mission-aligned and diverse in perspective? How can you convince busy and talented community members that they belong on your board of trustees? How can you keep trustees engaged and satisfied while working for the future of the school?NAIS conducted Jobs-to-Be-Done research to understand what trustees are looking for when they decide to join the board of an independent school. Read the report, “What Are Trustees Seeking When They Join Independent School Boards?”