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NBOA President and CEO
This week, top of mind for many of us is the war in Ukraine and related global consequences. The suffering has already been significant, and how the crisis will unfold is uncertain. Last week, fortunately, I was focused on a markedly different experience at the 2022 NBOA Annual Meeting, where we had the opportunity to celebrate the positive contribution education makes in our world. Memories from that event provide hope and optimism during this tumultuous time.
As I was flying into Chicago last Friday, I couldn’t help but think how everything at this year's meeting was likely to feel very different. However, from the first moments of the traditional opening reception, the gathering quickly felt familiar and in some ways better than ever. Our national community of independent school business leaders, administrative professionals, and business partners was reunited in person after a two-year hiatus! Those in attendance were excited to be present (safely), and the energy of reconnection was evident everywhere in the venue, from the lobby to the meeting registration desks to the hallways between sessions. Many were unable to join us, for a variety of good reasons, and they were missed.
Here are five of my key takeaways from the 2022 NBOA Annual Meeting:
1. The Jesse White Tumblers ELEVATED us.
This program, created by the long-serving Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White, is an Illinois institution. The program asks at-risk youth as young as age 6 to commit to education (maintaining a C average) and to stay away from alcohol, drugs and gangs. In return, students learn, with expert guidance, to soar in the air at unbelievable heights and tumble across the room at amazing speeds. Often their fellow tumblers serve as human hurdles, trusting that their teammates will execute their acrobatics flawlessly. And they did.
The Jesse White Tumblers’ performance was a metaphor for the meeting’s ELEVATE theme and lifted the spirits of everyone in the room. The organization was also this meeting’s philanthropy partner, as part of NBOA’s Give Back program.
2. Jade Simmons reminded us of our true purpose.
Your purpose is the impact that you have on others.
Simmons is a classically trained pianist and frequently called classical music’s “No.1 Maverick.” During her opening keynote, she stunned the crowd from behind a baby grand piano with her talent and her message. While there are many lessons to take from her address, including harnessing the audacity to reinvent classical music or PK-12 independent education, it was her definition of “purpose” that was most meaningful to me. In short, her message was that your purpose is the impact that you have on others. It’s not your title, job description or role, but how you treat and move the people around you. I have taken that message to heart, and I hope you do too.
3. Ben Nemtin made us believe the impossible is possible.
Nemtin is one of the world’s top 30 organizational culture professionals and co-founder of MTV’s The Buried Life Movement. He taught us a powerful lesson about setting nearly impossible goals and then gathering the will and know-how to achieve them. He outlined how to write down, share, and persist in taking moon shots, and to give back and help others achieve their dreams along the way. We at NBOA are in a strategic planning process, and the talk made me dramatically rethink the scope of my goals for the organization. As we move toward what currently looks like a post-pandemic world, the time may be ripe for you to reconsider the scope of goals for your schools.
4. Derrick Gay demonstrated how all of us can contribute to and benefit from diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts.
Everyone in our schools is included in the definition of diversity and everyone has a right to feel a sense of inclusion and belonging.
Derrick Gay is a diversity and inclusion strategist who started his work in independent schools and now consults with a variety of organizations around the world. I sincerely hope he will become an honorary member of the NBOA community. We certainly would be the better for it. Gay explained that everyone in our schools is included in the definition of diversity and everyone has a right to feel a sense of inclusion and belonging. Because we live in a world where not everyone has the same access to opportunities and resources, and we are all coming from different places, we all have work to do. He left us with several specific reasons why this work is important to school business leaders, specifically:
- As a senior administrator, the business officer requires fundamental cultural competency to engage in informed decision making.
- Human resources are critical to hiring and supporting a culture of belonging.
- The business office is critical in the allocation of resources and determination of priorities, and if it is not aligned with the school’s DEI commitment and objectives, the work will not move forward.
5. Our community is incredible.
Those that joined us in-person, those who are participating digitally and those who had to sit this year out are all indispensable to NBOA’s vibrant, generous and savvy community of dedicated professionals. This includes school leaders, business partners, and our national, state and regional association colleagues. All of us together are bringing NBOA one step closer to the community we know and love.
With Chicago now in our rear-view mirror, our sights are set on Los Angeles for the 2023 NBOA Annual Meeting and NBOA’s 25th anniversary. Plan to CELEBRATE! February 19-23, 2023. I hope to see you there, if not sooner.
Follow President and CEO Jeff Shields @shieldsNBOA.
