Saw a great sign in a board room not long ago that said, “Leave your egos at the door.” Very impressive, but big egos fill many board rooms and create chaos and confusion. After conducting years of research on school board behaviors, having been both a superintendent and a school board member, and viewing over 350 school board meetings in 45 states, I have seen far too many big egos destroy board meetings.
These big egos, often referred to as “rogue members,” are a force to be reckoned with. You recognize them even before the meeting starts. They start squirming around, getting ready to launch grenades. They want to look good to the public, to appear smarter than everyone else, for people to think they are the savior of the school system, the only one who cares. Their demeanor and actions are deplorable. These actions never complement a good board meeting.
Many boards are struggling with these rogue members. They don’t know what to do with them. And after observing them for years, I can tell you a few things for certain:
1. Rogue members are either appointed, or elected, to be rogue members. They don’t get that way overnight. They are put on the board to create confusion and cast a negative light on the system or key people in it. They are rogue because they choose to be rogue. That is their mission. One of my board members, when I was a superintendent, went rogue in every meeting. Casting aspersions on everyone. I pointed this out to him one night after a meeting and asked him why he didn’t like me. You know what he said, “Oh, I like you, but if I don’t behave this way, I won’t be reelected to the board. My community expects it. How sad, but he was right.
2. Additional training is not the answer because they already know what they should do but choose not to do it. Sending these board members to a workshop won’t change their behavior.
3. There are three things these members focus on: personalities, politics, and power struggles. When they act out, it can be traced back to one of these areas. Rogues aren’t hard to spot. You know their motives up front, and that’s what leaves a bad taste in your mouth. You know what they’re doing but can’t stop it.
4. What do you do with a rogue member? The most common strategies are to have a discussion with that member, involve the board president if they aren’t the rogue member, discuss their behavior, call a special board meeting to address this, or remove the member. Well, most boards don’t have the authority to remove a member, but some state laws allow it, but with complete justification. Where does that leave you?
5. These individuals are usually driven by politics. If politics got them where they are, it will take politics to get them out. Problems caused by politics can seldom be solved without involving politics. Our board meetings are becoming mirrors of what’s happening nationwide. More divisive meetings are occurring due to individual political agendas. What a shame to allow this to infiltrate our board meetings.
Boards must get an honest evaluation of how the public perceives them. Do a quick, and inexpensive, survey of your community to get a real picture of how you are perceived. You might be surprised by what you find out.
Observing board behaviors is not fun. However, it is a pleasure seeing the productive boards work as teams getting big things done, while too many others are disheartening. And the bad news is the latter meetings are gaining momentum daily. Good board members must stand up against their fellow members who are out in left field with their own agendas. These rogue members must be cast in a negative light, so their supporters won’t feel comfortable supporting them. Live by politics, die by politics.
Boards have an enormous responsibility to provide a sound governance structure for the safety and academic achievement of our children. Big ideas happen in sound, productive meetings, not in rooms where people are jockeying for power. Any power that you have stems from being a member of a team, not individually. Stay strong as a group, and that will serve as armor for all the things you will be facing in the future.
David E. Lee (david.e.lee@usm.edu) is an associate professor at the School of Education and Human Science, The University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg.
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