Getting Executive Educational Leadership Recruitment Right

Recruiting executive leaders and principals has become increasingly challenging over the past few years due to an aging workforce, teacher shortages (which creates a flow-on effect for leaders), and an increasingly competitive school market.

While this has evolved, much has stayed the same in the Australian recruiting landscape. “Million-dollar decisions” are still being made in outdated ways, following the same script, being rushed, and largely following the same biases we have written about previously.

While not perfect either, the independent school market in the United States is arguably the most robust in the world, and things have been changing.

The Argument for Time

Competitive USA independent schools have advanced the search timeframe, with many schools launching searches in the spring, interviewing in the summer, and conducting finalist interviews shortly after school opens. As a result, schools are offering executive leader appointments as early as September—nine months prior to the new leader’s succession. (A reminder that the USA school year begins in late August.)

A recent review of recruitment sites confirms the above timeframe, which seems to be evolving. Several leading schools have advertised executive roles for July 2026, 1.5 years from the starting dates. One school even listed the following comment: “If the ideal candidate is unavailable for the July 2026 start, alternative start dates of January 27 or July 27 will be given consideration.” Stretching the time frame to two and a half years to “get the right fit”.

Interims

Another approach is to consider a one-year interim principal – an experienced former principal and leader who is talented and experienced in the opportunities and challenges of a school.

Read the full article on LinkedIn