Leadership magazine May/June 2015 V 44 No 5 | Page 11

ASKED&Answered

What skills are necessary to maintain a good relationship with your Board?
Asked of three ACSA superintendents in March 2015 by Leadership magazine

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Sandy Thorstenson
Superintendent
Whittier Union HSD
Whittier, CA

he skills necessary for establishing and maintaining a
great relationship with your board are in many ways no
different than those skills applied to any important relationship. Relationships are only as strong as the foundation
upon which they are built. The indispensable ingredient of that
foundation is trust.
Trust is one of those precious yet fragile treasures that is not
easily gained, and most assuredly is harder to reestablish if lost.
Indeed, one of the greatest compliments any of us can receive is
hearing the words, “I trust you.”
A culture of trust between superintendent and board members is most effectively established (or undermined) over time
by another disarmingly simple concept: how you behave. A cul-

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do not believe there is a special secret to maintaining good
board relationships, but there are two key things that I personally strive for with my district’s seven-member board. I
work to be an effective listener and always show them respect.
It is critical that you understand your board both individually
and collectively. You must also show them respect regardless
of their positions. Fundamentally, you must consider why they
became a board member. There are different reasons they may
have run for office and this can impact their opinions.
It really is a balancing act. We are the professionals in education and the board is the voice of the community. The thoughts
they have represent the thoughts of many people, so you must

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Lillian Maldonado French
Superintendent
Mountain View School District
El Monte, CA

ture of trust can only emerge when you lead by example, modeling and fostering the cultural expectations of the district; doing
what you say you are going to do; practicing transparency and
fostering frequent, open, honest engagement with your board.
A relationship based on those principles will create a level of
confidence in your leadership that will free you and your team
to focus on what is most important – your students’ well-being
and achievement.
We are all privileged to do the work we do. Appropriately
involving the board in that work, engaging board members in
both the successes and the challenges at your schools, builds a
sense of confidence and trust with the board that the children of
the district are indeed in excellent hands. n

consider whether they have correct information. If the information they have is incorrect, you work to educate them.
During my 13 years as superintendent, I have faced quite a
few changes. Only two board members remain from the original
seven that sat on the board when I began. I spend a lot of time
meeting with new board members to help them learn the history and culture of our board and district. I want to help them adjust to their new position and feel that they are part of the team.
The job of a board member is often thankless, so I believe it
is important to remind them of their successes. The board sets
the direction for the school district, so any success for students
begins with them. n

t the core of a great governance team is frequent and
clear communication; norms and protocols that guide
our interactions; goals to keep us moving in the right
direction; and frequent opportunities to monitor and celebrate
our progress. There are also skills we can cultivate to maintain
good board relations. Here are a couple of the skills that have
helped me.
EQ – “Emotional intelligence” refers to the ability to
understand people’s motivations and point of view. EQ begins
with listening to understand. Invest in the time it takes to meet
with each board member on a regular basis to check in and
learn about any issues or concerns. In order to communicate
in a way that make ͕́