by Gary Gruber

I have just accepted my 4th interim assignment and upon receiving this news, one of my esteemed colleagues wrote:  “I am glad you’re going to do it, but why would you want to work that hard?”    I wrote back and said, “When you love what you’re doing, it’s not hard, it’s a joy.”   My first interim headship was back in 1993 at The Hun School in Princeton, the second at The Harrisburg Academy in Pennsylvania and the third at The American School in London for two years, rather recently.   I will tell you about the 4th in a few moments.

For the past eleven years I have also served as a senior consultant with Carney Sandoe & Associates doing mostly searches for heads of schools across the United States and so I have had the privilege and benefit of seeing many schools in operation.  I have also enjoyed a great group of colleagues, many of whom are former heads of schools, some from the corporate world of search and consulting and it is very rewarding work.  The hourly rate isn’t great but few of us do this work for the paycheck.

Interim work is by its very nature, short term and, as the word suggests, it’s the time between one period or process and another.  I was always grateful when I was doing a search and there was an interim head in place either whom I knew or who had a successful track record as either a head of school or even a previous interim.   Those folks brought a sense of stability and calm to the school and I would certainly hope that I have been able to do the same in my work.  For many people, significant change is difficult and hard to embrace but an interim can facilitate that change of leadership by paying attention to what was in place previously and what needs there are that will greet the new head of school.

What I said to my leadership team most recently is that I wanted to focus on the three C’s of effective leadership - collaboration, coordination and communication.  Not exactly rocket science for those of us who have been at it for over 40 years.  However, getting almost everyone on the proverbial same page with a common understanding of mission, vision and values, a commitment to make decisions based on those characteristics of a school, and to lay aside personal agendas, that is the hard part.   But worthwhile, in my estimation.

I tend to ask lots of questions:  Why are you doing it this way?  Are you getting the results that you want?   How was your last evaluation and assessment and what did you learn from it?  What do you see as the most pressing needs of the school?  What are you celebrating in the way of teacher and student achievements?  What kinds of professional development experiences have been the most meaningful and productive?

In 1994 I was recruited to Albuquerque, New Mexico to start a new school along with a few parents who had a vision and a lot of enthusiasm.  That vision became a mission which became a reality and the Bosque School opened it doors in 1995 and is now a thriving learning community of some 545 students and 100 adults nestled in the bosque close to the Rio Grande.
(http://www.bosqueschool.org)   I left the school in good hands in 1998 as plans were unfolding to move to a new campus.  For the past twelve years I have worked as a consultant with all kinds of schools, mostly in the arena of executive search and recruiting.  When the invitation came to consider serving as the Interim Head at Bosque, it was easy to respond with deep and genuine affection for the school and all it has become.  As I begin yet another academic year, it is with the same excitement and enthusiasm as the first time around although I hope with a little more wisdom and experience than when I first became a head of school in 1985.

This is not simply another interim appointment but an opportunity to continue learning and growing, to help others in the same pursuit and to be part of a school family that holds a special place in my life and career.  I am honored, privileged, grateful and humbled by it all.