FEATURE
FORGING THE
PROFESSION’S
NEXT
GENERATION
OF LEADERS
JUDY L. MARCHMAN
SPECIAL CONTRIBUTOR
I
t all comes down to good succession planning. Do school
districts have the financial and
operations personnel in place
to lead the district forward as
current leadership and management
retire or move on? Because a certain
portion of TASBO’s membership is
nearing retirement, the answer in
a number of districts may be “no.”
But a new program from TASBO has
been designed to respond to that
need.
TASBO Emerging Leaders is a yearlong leadership program that will
cultivate the next generation of leaders for both the profession and the
organization. The program launched
at the Annual Conference in Houston
in February with a two-day meeting
of the inaugural class.
The idea for such a program had
been percolating among TASBO’s
leadership for some time, but Tracy
Ginsburg made it a priority after she
became Executive Director in 2013.
“My concern has been no different
than that of TASBO’s leaders before
me,” Ginsburg said. “My peer group
has moved through the profession
together and, as we approach retirement age, we want to ensure that an
equally strong group is there to step
into our places.”
Serious planning began last summer,
and Ginsburg and her team brainstormed and honed various concepts
to determine a time frame, the number of sessions for the participants,
and which skill sets to develop.
“We also talked to other associations,
but they are not doing what we’re doing,” said TASBO Deputy Executive
Director Becky Bunte. “We wanted
this to be more than just a two-day
thing. We want to provide a continuation of events to reinforce what the
participants learn in the face-to-face
sessions.”
Last fall, TASBO distributed program
information to district superintendents and chief financial officers
who could recognize people in their
districts who would be a good fit for
the program. Some of these individu-
10
als were relatively new to the school
district world, and some had demonstrated the potential and desire to
grow into a leadership role. Applicants had to submit an application,
a resume, and a letter of recommendation from their superintendent or
supervisor by mid-December.
Response to the program exceeded
expectations. The 2015-2016 class
consists of 29 members from a
variety of positions and experience
levels at both small and large school
districts across the state.
“We were thrilled by the response,”
Ginsburg said. “We have people from
all walks of life. It’s a good mix.”
“My concern has been no
different than that of
TASBO’s leaders before
me,” Ginsburg said. “My
peer group has moved
through the profession together and, as we approach
retirement age, we want
to ensure that an equally
strong group is there to step
into our places.”
Strong Relationships
The goal for Emerging Leaders is to
provide those who work in finance
and operations with the leadership
skills necessary to help them take
the next steps in their careers. But
the program also provides another
key component for good leadership:
relationship building. Finding peers
who are available to help with tough
questions or to toss ideas around
with can be hard to do when people
are focused on the day-to-day business of their jobs.
“You need to have a friend out
there who can help with solutions,”
Ginsburg said. As a former participant of several similar events, she
experienced first-hand the connections that can come from leadership
programs.
TASBO REPORT | MAY 2015