Introducing IndySchool Consultancy

February 26, 2023

As Ian Symmonds wrote in his blog post titled “Isn’t It Time To Redesign The Stone Age Search Process”, we sought to do just that. Head terms are getting shorter. Administrators are leaving their schools for other opportunities. Why is this? While there are a number of factors at play, including burnout from the pandemic or unclear expectations, I find the single greatest factor of short tenures and abrupt departures is a void of happiness in the position.

Before officially launching IndySchool Consultancy publicly, I spend months speaking with heads of schools, association directors and leaders in higher education, trying to understand why some leaders remain at their school for decades, while others, in some circumstances, not even a year.

My thesis is simple- Leaders who have long tenures exude happiness and joy. Their boards exude the same feelings towards their leader. Why is this? Fit. Match. The right person found the right school and the school found the right person. Diving deeper, it was not the experience on the resume or CV that made the right fit, although it is important, it was that the leader’s soft skills (I call them Power Skills) were in line with the school’s.

Diving more deeper, schools were using the age-old search process method, yet ignoring one major factor that makes a difference between a happy and joyful long term leader or a short-term leader—Matching Competencies sought by the school with competencies of the candidate.

So here we are. While IndySchool Consultancy has been engaging with schools and associations, assisting them in special projects since 2020, after careful planning and thoughtful research, we’re launching our search services for heads of school, administrators and we will even help a school out to fill a teaching vacancy.

For more information on IndySchool Consultancy, please visit our new webpage (www.indyschoolconsultancy.com) or email Tim Viands at timviands@gmail.com