Rotating Department Heads: Building Leadership Capacity

One of my mentors, Dr. Joyce Armstrong Carroll,  wrote a book called Jesus Didn’t Use Worksheets. Amazon had a preview of the beginning pages: 

That all the answers are in the Bible is a comforting idea. The Timothy, Paul, Barnabus Trinity is one that intrigues me. Barnabus, the oldest. Paul, in the middle - deeply embedded in the work. Timothy, the youngest - coming into his own. 

In my personal life, this has worked well. A group of ladies, one older, me in the middle, and one younger met together for about 5 years, supporting each other as mothers and professionals. Quite a powerful triad in my life. 

In my professional life, this structure has also worked well. CREST, the Coalition of Reading and English Supervisors of Texas has been a part of my life for over a decade now. My mentor, Sue Howell brought me into the leadership when she accepted an executive board position for the organization. When she was president, I was elected president elect. As she served, she trained me to take her position. The president, Anne Marie Trammell, walked me through the process and preparation of leading the organization. Karen Foster,  remained on the board to fill in and advise as needed. These leaders have developed me at every turn. And now, I have the opportunity to welcome and support another capable leader that will replace me, Beth Egmon.

This cycle of support and rotating responsibilities seems to be a good model for department leadership for schools as well. Here's how I imagine it working. 

Past Department Head: Serves as an adviser or mentor for the current Department Head. Supports the Department Head with additional tasks or workload. Can substitute to support the Upcoming Department Head when the Department Head is absent or has other responsibilities. 

Department Head: Leads the department, meetings,  and completes campus requirements. Trains and communicates activities and shares the work load with the Upcoming Department Head. 

Upcoming Department Head: Serves to assist the Department head in preparing for meetings. Keeps department records. 

I envision this triad staying in constant contact with cc'd emails, etc. After a year or two, the Past Department Head would roll off the team. The Department Head would then become the Past Department Head and take on that role's responsibilities. The Upcoming Department Head would become the new Department Head and a new Upcoming Department Head would be chosen. 

Benefits: Everyone has someone to help them grow. Everyone has a support system in place. There is a plan for absences, high demand work load times, etc. The entire department realizes that they, too, will be the leader at some point and will need to remember what it is like to walk in someone else's shoes. I think that's in the Bible too.