Time to Competence

In your school, what is the "time to competence"? In other words, how much time does your department chair, division head, or head of school provide an employee to reach competence in his or her area?

With all the changes surrounding us right now, it could be argued that independent schools, being schools for which families (consumers) must pay tuition, need to assure themselves and their communities that they are the top of their game. To do so, school personnel must be at the top of their game; they must be at a level of competence that is agreed upon by those responsible for performance evaulations.

Of course, not everyone is "at competence." When that occurs, what steps does your school take to illuminate the pathway to competence for a particular individual? Additionally, how much time is the school willing to provide that person to attain competence? In an economic environment in which every business (schools included) is competing for a consumer's discretionary dollars, how long can your school afford to let someone attain competence?

Put another way, how can your school reduce time to competence?

This is a cultural issue more than it is a personnel issue. You can hire the best and brightest (if you're lucky), but you can also build a culture of competence that encourages personnel to attain competence in an informed and supportive manner. When "competence" changes as a result of emerging technologies and/or leading practices, does your culture have the flexibility to support and encourage "time to competence"?

Do you have the leaders in place to facilitate that shift? After all, schools can't manage their way to competence; they must lead the way.