School leaders and our school communities know that to grow is to change. We’re committed to student learning, faculty development, and parent education. And yet as school leaders we often encounter resistance when we announce almost any plan for institutional growth such as initiating or sunsetting a school program, or restructuring school divisions, or relocating a campus. Why is that? This session explores intentional institutional change, some of the sound reasons that we undertake it, methods for anticipating and mitigating pushback, and strategies for achieving successful systemic or structural change that our schools need.

This webinar will be recorded and available until June 30, 2027.

Most heads of school work with capable leaders. What enables those individuals to become a true leadership team—one that shares responsibility for the whole school and expands the head’s capacity to lead? In this interactive and practical session, heads will examine their own teams, explore what it takes to lead together, and leave with fresh perspective and practical ideas for strengthening their team’s collective leadership.

This webinar will be recorded and available until June 30, 2027.

By cultivating a “coaching mindset," heads of school can support mid-level leaders to deepen their self-awareness, clarify what is most important, and lead with intention. Adapted from the field of executive coaching, we will explore key principles and strategies to invite meaningful dialogue with and advance the growth of these front-line leaders. 

This webinar will be recorded and available until June 30, 2027.

The relationship between a head of school and their board—and especially their board chair—is arguably the most consequential partnership in independent school leadership, and one of the least discussed in professional preparation. Heads inherit chairs rather than choosing them, chairs rotate out just as trust is built, and the line between governance and management is rarely as clear as either party would like—a challenge that plays out not just with the chair, but across the full board. This session offers a practical framework for building trust at both levels: the intensive, private partnership with your chair, and the broader culture of confidence with your full board. We'll cover what governance research tells us, the habits that distinguish between resilient and fragile board and chair relationships, and a checklist for onboarding both a new chair and new trustees. Heads and board members at every relationship stage will leave with language and practices they can use this week.

This webinar will not be recorded.

We all know hiring is critical. Get it right and a school thrives. Get it wrong and the consequences can ripple for years. But how clear and rigorous is your approach, really? Most school leaders were never taught how to hire, so we default to instinct and unreliable interview methods. This session introduces structured hiring: a practical framework for defining what you need in a role, running a consistent process, and deciding based on evidence, not impression. We'll share an approach and concrete tools you can use right away to reduce unconscious bias and make strong hires. 

This webinar will not be recorded.

TBA

This webinar will be recorded and available until June 30, 2027.

Headship demands so much of us (our time, our energy, our identity) that it can be easy to lose sight of the inner life that drew us to this work in the first place. In this session, Russell Shaw reflects on what he learned across sixteen years as head of Georgetown Day School about sustaining a sense of purpose over a long career, and what his own transition out of headship has taught him about rediscovering it. Drawing on his writing, his experience, and the research behind his forthcoming book, Shaw will invite heads at every stage to ask: what fills me up? What grounds me? And how do I protect that, even when the job threatens to consume everything else?

This webinar will be recorded and available until June 30, 2027.