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Hi all -
“It’s Not a Head Transition; It’s a School Transition” is now the most viewed post ever on Talking Out of School! Clearly, there is an interest in this topic. I’ve been working away on what will likely be several more pieces on succession planning and head transition - from the board perspective and the school perspective, why we as a sector continue to do things that don’t seem to work particularly well or have changed even a little bit to reflect the times (hint: people are people-ing…cultures are culture-ing) and some ideas about how to change the way we operate to better set up the school, the community, the board and the new head all for success.
HOWEVER, at the moment, this is all a heap of verbiage that still needs to go through the craft machine. And it’s Memorial Day Friday. And you are all busy. So when it was a choice of breaking off a piece and shining it up so it was publishable, or gabbing with my sister on the phone this afternoon, gabbing won.
I do believe in trying to be as consistent as possible, so instead of rushing out something on an important topic that deserves more thought and intention, I thought I’d share a few recent articles I’ve found interesting and ideally, entertaining. To my horror, when I looked back at the most recent articles I’ve read over the past few weeks, it is mostly a parade of bummers. So I’m sharing an article I posted earlier this week on LinkedIn about a “grand experiment in parenthood” that looks a whole lot like “raising a family on a boarding school campus.” We are ahead of the curve, boarding school friends - use this in your faculty recruiting materials.
A Grand Experiment in Parenthood - The Atlantic
And then there was this extremely long article on the Boston Celtics legacy that I could not put down, mostly because I will always be a Bostonian at heart and will bleed green even the years when I am not paying close attention to basketball, which in adulthood has been most, until recently. My grandfather was a part time usher at the Garden and watched a decade’s worth of the Bill Russell era Celtics; in the 70’s and 80’s, my uncle was a cohost of one of the first sports radio talk shows in the country and my dad was a dedicated lifelong fan. I remember that crappy, hot, smelly Garden with the fondness that can only come from never having to go there again.
Unexpectedly, I was truly moved over Jayson Tatum’s ruptured achilles tendon a few weeks ago - really felt something rather than just thinking, “too bad” - and then I got totally sucked into this article that, as a bonus, has some lessons about how to build culture. Because there are a lot of things you can say about the Celtics organization and one of them is that they have a distinct culture, in many ways a truly remarkable one. A shrinking group of aging community members are trying to keep that flame alive. The organization maintains a spreadsheet of every player who ever played for the team. Imagine that next time you’re trying to remember who to invite back for reunion!
The Boston Celtics and the Price of History
I know a lot of you are busy this weekend at traditions or events or even graduation. May it be sunny and beautiful and happy and a little sad in that good way. May you feel the your heart lift at the idea of freedom around the corner - or at least a bit of a slower pace. One of the best things I did for myself as head was schedule a massage for the day after graduation. Within five minutes, I was sawing wood.
I wish you peaceful snoozes and pleasant dreams in your near future.
I appreciate you, readers! I do. Every day. I’m looking forward to having some time to reflect and look over what’s been getting traction and how you’re voting with your eyeballs, and do more of that. I also have some other stuff up my sleeve and I think it’s pretty exciting. Let’s make the summer of 2025 a good one!
Julie
Stony Creek Strategy featured service
We are currently enrolling our third cohort for Finding and Leaning Into Your Authentic Authority for women leaders. We’ve had two wonderful groups of student-facing female senior administrators and we can’t wait to work with you! More information here and hit reply on this email or reach out to me at jfaulstich@stonycreekstrategy.com if you’re interested!