What if your headship has been going well, so well in fact that you know you are ready to take the next step toward advancing your leadership practice in a genuinely significant way?
What if your curiosity has far outstripped any complacency you may have earned, and you wonder what kind of advanced leadership work you could do to rise to the challenge of the next phase in the life of your school?
What if your deep commitment to strengthening character development in the students under your care extends to the faculty and indeed to your administrative team, yet you know it must begin with you?
You may be ready to learn about the Return on Character assessment, a yearlong, highly personalized process that begins with in-depth feedback from those who know your work well and ends with a focused, specific plan forward.
Distinguishing features of the “ROC” include
- an emphasis on Responsibility, Integrity, Compassion and Forgiveness as the four essential qualities of successful school leaders,
- the use of an extensive database to aid in analysis of the client’s qualitative and quantitative data,
- creation of defined metrics to assess impact over time, and
- the ongoing implementation support of the client’s SSL coach.
Clients of Strategic School Leadership who have undertaken this growth process have
experienced Return on Character as renewal. Here’s what a few of them have to say.
“The survey data enabled me to feel seen and that I mattered in ways that I hoped for but wasn’t sure about. It means a great deal to me.”
Gary Taylor, Head of School – Trinity Episcopal School, New Orleans, LA
“Going into the ROC, I thought it was going to reveal things about who I was as a person that I needed to change. That wasn’t it at all. It wasn’t about my personality, but about how my leadership style and the intentions I have don’t necessarily impact in the way I expect them to impact. It was not about changing who I am but using the data in a way to align my intention with my team.”
Hart Roper, Head of School – Oak Hill School, Nashville, TN
“My biggest takeaway probably had to do with how I was viewing leadership and how I was viewing this job, and it reoriented my way of thinking around planning and long-term growth as a leader of this institution. … I recommend the ROC to everybody I talk to in a leadership position. I tell people that they need to strap in. It’s a very intensive process, and they need to be ready to really challenge themselves, but I’m also always quick to add that one of the brilliant things about the process is that it’s framed in such a way that is both absorbable and actionable.”
Dave Baad, Head of School – Episcopal School of Dallas, Dallas, TX
“The ROC was transformative. It was the first time I’ve been through an experience where someone outside the school is collecting information and looking over it with me. Not someone who functions in the same context, but someone with a fresh perspective and expertise. My coach helped me make sense of how others perceive me. I also appreciated the focus on character. It’s not, ‘Do you show up on time and do you fill out reports,’ but what kind of character do you bring to your role? … I’m happier than I’ve ever been professionally, and I owe some of that to my Return on Character experience.”
Amie Creagh, Associate Head of School for Student Life – Deerfield Academy, Deerfield, MA
If you wish to learn more about the ROC opportunity, contact us here.