EDUCATORS CROSSING THE DIVIDE
To be a successful school leader and to achieve your educational goals, you must learn the language of business. Why? James MacDonald, Director of the International School of Brussels has some sage advice.
Different breeds
Business and education are not the same thing: educators and business people are generally different breeds. Increasingly, however, the world of international education is impacted by the world of business and this means educators need to know how to work with business people effectively, especially as they climb the leadership ladder. How, then, can educators prepare for working in an environment conditioned by the business world, whether on the Board of a not-for-profit school or as part of a leadership team embedded in one of the big education groups?
As old as the hills
Archaeologists tell us that some of the first examples of written language are from ancient Sumeria, where traders devised writing systems for tracking their accounts. More recently, it has been argued that one of the most significant (yet underrated) intellectual advances of our modern era has been the adoption of ‘generally accepted accounting principles’ (e.g., GAAP). Having common approaches to accounting means people can compare financial performance across almost any industry, making accounting a universal language of business.
By extension, accounting methodology has helped the birth of our modern form of globalization and, without it, we probably wouldn’t have international education!
As a result, business success, essentially, comes down to numbers. The ultimate success of a business is its profitability, or in accounting terms, the ‘bottom line’.
The measure of business
In order to monitor performance of the various activities that affect bottom line results, organizations incorporate performance metrics (e.g., the percentage of market share, changes in costs, etc.) into their management. These metrics become de facto report cards for employees, and they are often linked to SMART performance targets (and, as a reminder, the ‘M’ stands for measurable). I doubt I am telling you anything you don’t already know, but it is important to acknowledge how businesses are generally managed, because if you are an educator working with (or reporting to) business people, you should assume they will expect to use metrics to track performance. And ro speak ‘their’ language.
Keep it succinct
And how you communicate is important. Business leaders generally value efficiency and appreciate clear and concise communication. Qualifying too many responses, or being seen to make things more complicated than necessary, can lead to frustration. Decisiveness and self-confidence are celebrated leadership qualities in business, whereas in education this is not always the case. Of course, it is problematic to over-generalize about people, especially in international contexts, but I think what is remarkable is how much business leaders around the world tend to have similar approaches to performance management. Anticipating the thinking of your business-world colleagues, and especially around their desire for numbers to evaluate performance, will help you navigate these relationships.
No single bottom line in schools
Hiwever, if you ask a room full of educators what is a ‘good education’ you are likely to have lots of different responses. Ask a room full of business people, what is a ‘good business’ and there will be an almost uniform response. Schools are enormously complex social environments and there is not a single, agreed bottom line for learning, despite the modern use of quantitative assessment data to track student progress. This point of difference between businesses and schools cannot be overstated. Education is a very human business, kids (like all human beings) are not numbers and we cannot gauge school performance through numbers alone.
A conversation you must have
Therefore, if you are working with business leaders in a school setting, a key conversation must be around which numbers will be used to judge organizational performance, and, just as importantly, when qualitative data are more appropriate. Making sure this conversation happens with your Board and in particular with your Board Chair at an early stage of a headship, can make all the difference to achieving your educational agenda, and will set the tone for shared purpose and mutual understanding.
Get it in your diary now!
James MacDonald is the Director of the International School of Brussels and an instructor at the Academy of International School Heads.
His next AISH webinar series, Understanding the Business of International Schools starts on March 9th and is open to both members and non-members of AISH.
You can register here
FEATURE IMAGE: by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
Support Images: by Iris,Helen,silvy from Pixabay,& Getty Images For Unsplash+
