Making the Case

Making the Case

Share this post

Making the Case
Making the Case
Making the Case for the Transformative Hire

Making the Case for the Transformative Hire

A catalyst for a school's evolution from good to exceptional

Reshan & Steve's avatar
Reshan & Steve
Jan 01, 2025
βˆ™ Paid

Share this post

Making the Case
Making the Case
Making the Case for the Transformative Hire
Share

The Brief Case πŸ“šβ†’πŸ’Όβ†’πŸ“ˆβ†’πŸ“Š

β€œAs you become an adult, you realize that things around you weren't just always there; people made them happen. But only recently have I started to internalize how much tenacity *everything* requires. That hotel, that park, that railway. The world is a museum of passion projects.” ~John Collison

Based on our collective experience in many educational environments, every school needs at least a handful of transformative employees. Such employees (again, in our experience) possess most or all of the following traits: extraordinary relational skills, an entrepreneurial mindset, an understanding of systems, and an expansive vision for what is possible.

  • Because they build deep relationships with students, colleagues, parents, trustees, and alumni, transformative hires work from a base of trust that makes real things happen in real schools.

  • Because they inspire growth, drive innovation, and follow-through with rigor and grace, transformative hires amplify school missions in unique and impactful ways.

  • Because they know β€” by intuition or long practice β€” how to build sustainable, repeatable offerings, transformative hires solve problems so that they stay solved (rather than just being pushed off to the next year).

  • Because they ask β€œwhat if?” more than most, transformative hires keep the 4 Rs of good churn happening in schools: reinvention, remixing, reorganization, or retiring.

Simply put, transformative hires are catalysts for an institution's ongoing evolution from good to exceptional.

Keep reading with a 7-day free trial

Subscribe to Making the Case to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in
Β© 2025 Reshan Richards and Stephen J. Valentine
Privacy βˆ™ Terms βˆ™ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture

Share