Conducting an Executive Search for a Principal with an outstanding record of educational leadership to support a culture of academic excellence
The Brief
Following the announcement of the resignation of the incumbent after ten years of outstanding leadership, the School Board chose to partner with Future Leadership™ to appoint an inspirational and highly credible leader as Principal.
The Principal would need to be highly visible and connected community figure with the ability to take all members of the community on the journey from great to exceptional.
The School sought an individual with an outstanding record of educational leadership and demonstrated innovation in teaching, underpinned by high emotional intelligence and outstanding interpersonal skills.
Candidate net Promote Score
Future Leadership combines truly personalised relationships with innovative technology solutions to ensure an approachable and efficient process for all our Net Promoter Score across clients, successful candidates and unsuccessful candidates is well above industry standard.
Candidates supported every year
We maintain genuine relationships with past candidates and continue to support them with leadership solutions long term, after they land their role.
Senior Women Appointed since 2002
Over half of the executive search assignments undertaken by our team have resulted in the appointment of outstanding female or LGBTQI+ leaders to high profile roles.
Candidate Retention Rate for 12 months since 2002
Our thorough briefing process and ability to engage passive candidates mean that we go to great lengths to find the right person for the role – long term!
The Process
The Future Leadership™ team led by Liz Jones, held an initial briefing workshop with the Principal Selection Committee (the Committee) followed by additional meetings with key stakeholders including the outgoing Principal, senior leadership team, alumni, current School Captains and a representative of the Baptist Union of Victoria.
A comprehensive search strategy was outlined to the Committee that combined active approaches within known networks with national advertising to provide additional profile for the school.
The Future Leadership™ team managed all aspects of the process, providing support and guidance to the Board Chair and Committee. The search process was underpinned by the Future Leadership Capability Framework (FLCF), with short list reports providing additional data in relation to the suitability and fit of potential candidates.
Emerging Capabilities
Strategy and Purpose
Develops and leads strategy for the function/organisation, taking a broad and long-term perspective. Communicates and gains buy-in to organisational goals and vision, promoting change initiatives.
Culture and Engagement
Fosters a positive culture, creating a sense of belonging and inclusiveness. Creates an environment that encourages diverse perspectives and facilitates a psychologically safe environment.
Governance and Compliance
Establishes, champions, and measures the effectiveness of an organisation’s regulatory and reporting systems. Identifies and evaluates risks and develops strategies to mitigate risk.
Stakeholder Relations
Establishes rapport with stakeholders, builds and sustains trusted and collaborative relationships. Identifies and draws on relevant and diverse perspectives and integrates them to support productive interactions.
Communication and Influence
Communicates with clarity and impact to facilitate individual and collective understanding, inspire action and enable information exchange. Leverages human-centric communication and storytelling to effectively influence stakeholders across the physical and virtual realms.
The Outcome
With an unwavering commitment to girls’ education, the appointee demonstrated a progressive, strategic and engaging approach. The Board was particularly impressed by her strengths in building strong relationships, her collaborative style and success in implementing new programs and procedures into the curriculum, professional learning and wellbeing programs.
It was a pleasure to work with Liz Jones and her team in the significant task of recruiting our next Principal. We particularly valued the psychometric testing and insights provided by Future Leadership’s organisational psychologist, which provided objective data as an input into the process.
What sets Future Leadership apart is its exemplary team approach. From the outset, the collaborative efforts of Larissa Langley, Liam King, and, most prominently, Liz Jones provided a reassuring sense of being skillfully guided throughout the process. Their cohesive professionalism and in-depth industry knowledge made the recruitment journey seamless and remarkably supportive. Liz's influence was particularly noteworthy, marked by her extensive expertise, dedication, and a well-balanced, systematic approach. Her good humour, honesty, and genuine commitment to achieving the best outcome for both her client and the applicant were outstanding. I am sincerely grateful for Future Leadership's contribution to my appointment as Principal and confidently recommend their services to anyone seeking executive-level recruitment.
