Our highest-demand tools translating 20 years of charter CEO excellence into practical, useful resources.
The CEO Excellence Framework summarizes the competencies and functional knowledge of excellent charter CEOs.
Tactical tools & resources for new CEOs navigating important “firsts” during the first 90 days.
A set of tools & resources to use in navigating the CEO transition, search, & selection process.
Click each competency of the CEO Excellence Framework below to reveal insights and artifacts from exceptional CEOs across the charter sector.
Set a high bar with clear expectations for all.
Hold self and all staff accountable for achieving results.
Ensure accountability systems are fair, consistent and equitable across the organization.
Quickly surface problems and make sound decisions in ambiguous situations.
Model and encourage creative approaches to addressing complex issues and improving results.
Develop strong relationships and inspire confidence with the board chair and individual board members.
Partner with the board chair to ensure that board agendas are primarily focused on organizational performance, health, and strategic direction.
Provide input on the board’s composition and help improve the board’s effectiveness through onboarding, strategic decision-making, and ongoing learning opportunities.
Determine and champion change required to achieve the organization’s vision.
Anticipate the impact of change efforts for students, families, staff and communities.
Include the perspectives of those closest to the problem and navigate tradeoffs to achieve goals.
Authentically communicate, listen, and influence to inspire people to action and skillfully navigate necessary change.
Relentlessly pursue bold organizational goals, even when faced with big challenges.
Have resolute confidence to lead and make difficult decisions in the face of ambiguity.
Model consistency and rebound quickly when faced with challenges or setbacks.
Quickly learn and adapt by seeking feedback, adjusting practices, and learning new skills.
Build a mission-driven, high performance culture that promotes diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Make sure that staff feel authentically valued and find deep purpose in their work.
Execute organizational strategies, solve problems, and build systems to achieve breakthrough results.
Bring deep personal humility, understanding own limitations and biases.
Show care and understanding for students, families, and staff.
Keep organization’s mission and values at the center and always show integrity when making tough decisions.
Hold an unwavering conviction that the organization can and will meet audacious goals, relentlessly persevere through challenges, and balance a resolute confidence to lead with deep personal humility and empathy
Attract and match best-fit talent with key leadership roles.
Design, focus, structure, and lead a strong, cohesive, and diverse executive team to meet the organization’s biggest needs and complement the CEO’s strengths and weaknesses.
Build momentum through people, systems, and culture to achieve excellent results over time.
Actively manage tensions between results and values when they conflict.
Lead at the right altitude, choosing when to operate from the “balcony” or “dance floor” as CEO.
Build trusting relationships, especially across lines of difference, and act on feedback.
Be consistent, honest, empathetic, and authentic in interactions.
Draw the best ideas out of people, and know when and how to communicate the non-negotiables of what must be done.
Clearly communicate organizational vision, strategies, and progress, matching tactics to audience and scale.
Craft culturally resonant messages that define the organization’s “why” and inspire diverse stakeholders to action.
Allocate resources to drive the most important initiatives in a way that is equitable for students and staff.
Set the right organizational structure to execute on top strategies.
Continually look out for opportunities and risks coming internally and externally.
Understand and navigate the political landscape, leveraging civic and community power structures, cultivating relationships, and mobilizing support to advance strategy and safeguard the organization.
Attract, grow, and retain a diverse high-performing leadership team and board; develop a strong culture that propels the organization’s vision.
Set organizational imperative for developing and retaining excellent, diverse talent with equitable opportunity for all.
Model valuing people, setting clear goals, giving feedback, and coaching team members.
Set a vision for an excellent education for all students and choose the right strategies to realize it.
Set clear, compelling vision for what it looks like to serve all students with a high quality education.
Choose the right strategies to drive greatest impact.
Listen to the voices of students, families and staff to shape vision and strategies.