What's it Like to Work with BQI
Rallying a Community Around an Ambitious
Strategic Plan Where Trust was Fractured
A “high-performing” school district had gone through multiple Superintendents in a few years; the community didn’t feel heard when previous plans were made, so they didn’t trust administration; and the district needed a new strategy that articulated an inspiring, actionable, authentic mission, vision, values, goals and objectives that would help them continue to be responsive to changing needs and expectations. This all needed to happen fast, before confidence would be lost again.
BQI worked closely with the new leadership team to create a plan that would be clear to the community and build their engagement in its construction. For example, we . . .
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• conducted a range of listening sessions across students, faculty, staff, parents, and other community members
• analyzed extensive quantitative and qualitative data to inform meaningful next steps
• helped advise leaders on navigating the kind of inclusive and engaging process they wished for
• facilitated multiple groups, including a Guiding Coalition where the voices of diverse community members actively contributed to a more meaningful mission and other core statements.
• Importantly, we collaborated on helping them tell the story in an inclusive, engaging, and authentic way, continuously throughout the process.
As a result of this careful, inclusive, community-centered effort, the plan has served as a unifying force for the district, its elements are practical and actionable, and trust in leaders and the strategy have demonstrably grown. Given our close knowledge and relationship with many members of this community, BQI continues engaging with the district to build on and co-design its next plan.
Building Governance and Leadership Capacity Amidst Rapid Technological and Community Change
The Board of an international school with a strong reputation in its country and region was concerned about changes in education, technology, demographic and other trends among its student population and wider community -- and how it would maintain its standing, not simply rest on its past laurels. When it was time for their Board retreat they asked BQI to support their members to not only gain basic governance training, but also insights on what is changing in schools and how to think more strategically and generatively about the future they hope to realize at the school.
Raising faculty and staff trust, unity, and connection to the strategy by dreaming about the future
A strategic planning client faced a bigger issue: Changing demographic and market forces that threatened the continued viability of their school. Business as usual was not an option. How could they articulate their value proposition and their aspirations ten or more years into the future?
After an in-depth diagnosis and listening process with all stakeholders, a “Dream Summit” brought together the entire faculty and administrative staff, as well as some parents and students around shared hopes for the future of their beloved school. This experience helped unify community members around a shared plan that would involve some significant changes at the school and more openness to experimentation.
As elements of the new plan needed careful implementation, members of our team with specific and progressive curricular expertise worked closely with division-level, academic leaders responsible for roll-out of new initiatives, to help them anticipate challenges, smooth the start of the new academic year, build confidence in those responsible for the pivots, and helped create greater unity around change.
Co-creating generative, innovative Head of School goals and evaluation process
A Head of School was hired after a pain-staking process involving high expectations and an extensive search process that reflected a certain moment in time. But once in the job, the new leader’s expectations seemed mismatched with their Board’s. Not only had key members of the selection committee rotated off within a year, but misunderstandings between educators and business leaders, across generations and cultural backgrounds, added up to create personal friction.
After two years of using a haphazard evaluation and goal-setting process, and continued friction over issues like grades and student success, the Head of School decided the tension with the Board and expectations for the leadership team were not sustainable.
Either they would not renew their contract, or something significant had to change. BQI was brought in at this point to relieve the tension. When we came in it wasn’t only about building trust back, but finding out root causes, listening to various perspectives, and finding the “connective tissue” that could help both the school Director and Board members move forward, wholeheartedly, with a shared purpose and vision.
Our VISTA evaluation and goal-setting framework helped to align, co-create shared aspirations, and develop meaningful goals based on the VISTA principles. Our deep experience in cultural competence helped unearth gaps and create bridges. This remains an iterative process after a tense period, but now the Board and Head of School have a shared anchor they can refer to and turn to.
Launching a whole-school belonging strategy that shapes the culture
When students from a school with a storied reputation were heard taunting a rival team’s players with racial epithets, deeper cultural harms that had been taking place at that school were uncovered. We were called in to launch school-wide support for the school:
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• to help train teachers around a clear process for interrupting identity-based harm that they previously didn’t know how to react to, and institute changes in collaboration with restorative circles
• to support the middle-level and senior leadership teams in building their own cultural competencies and courage to speak up and act with knowledge and clarity
• to institute various school policies that had been missing and led to confusion
• to integrate belonging initiatives, social-emotional learning efforts, and the new strategic plan
• to listen to a wide range of voices that made up the backbone of this dynamic community, share their experiences and use their inputs in data-informed decision-making, and
• to support faculty teams and student leadership for long-term, embedded culture of dignity, inclusion, and belonging.
A few years later, the theme of belonging is widely spoken of across school community members as a pillar of school culture, and a point of attraction for new staff and families – a significant change.
Guiding a Board and administrative team through a significant loss of confidence and school reputation
When a Board loses confidence in its leadership or a school’s reputation is under strain, the stakes could not be higher. In moments like these, we are often called to help Boards and administrative teams navigate the complexity with clarity, care, and discretion. Sometimes this means coaching a leader through a highly charged crisis to rebuild trust; other times, it means guiding the Board toward difficult but necessary decisions about leadership transitions. Our role is to steady the organization, restore confidence among stakeholders, and chart a path forward that protects both the integrity of the school and the wellbeing of its community.
Coaching leaders through career challenges and growth transitions
Every year, senior members of our team take on a limited number of individual coaching clients. If you are interested in working with a coach, don’t hesitate to reach out. In addition, through our partnership with AAIE, we continue to run our popular Masterminds cohorts. These coaching cohorts offer a safe, trusted, provocative space for honest discussions around personal and professional topics of one’s choosing. In monthly virtual meetings, we’ve shared problems, designed solutions, and offered support to one another in ways that energize and grow capacity to lead into the future. We know that leadership can be lonely and we hope to change that.
Masterminds are facilitated by Tim Carr, Kathleen Naglee and Homa Tavangar
Futures Thinking & Dream Summits
Through Futures Advisory Councils, Board and school leadership training on scenario planning, futures thinking, strategic sense-making, and community-wide participation in Dream Summits, we support schools to confront the uncertain future – offering a variety of “serving sizes” to suit your capacity. These can range from a 2-hour session to a year-long commitment. Such efforts help schools move beyond “future ready” lip service to greater clarity, common purpose and a vital ingredient – hope – in what might come next, and how your school will prepare for whatever is to come.
Big-Picture Vision, Practical Pathways
“…the combination of wise facilitation and the engaged and diverse group of participants made this cohort an unforgettable experience. I am grateful for the opportunity to have been a part of it and would highly recommend it to any administrator looking to collaborate with colleagues from around the world.”
Jackie Jenkins
Assistant Head of School, Greenwich Country Day School, Connecticut USA
