Diane J. Hulse 2

How We Can Help

Strategic planning

Without strategic planning, organizations stand still in the water. Top performing organizations meet challenges and embrace possibilities. We help organizations begin and complete the strategic planning process in a way that uniquely reflects your community. Our focus is grounded in expansive thinking within a practical, collaborative framework. Click to view our Strategic Planning Model

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School Dashboard Consulting (SDC)

School Dashboard Consulting is a special service that we offer to non-public schools.  The service is designed for schools that are facing serious challenges such as under-enrollment, financial sustainability issues, or governance and leadership quandaries.  SDC can review all leadership and administrative functions, governance structures and processes, and practices in program and operations.
Dashboard warning signals in the following areas might indicate the need for SDC services:

  • Personnel who are no longer powerful contributors to the mission
  • Curriculum that is not reflective of current best practices
  • Governance that does not provide direction or vision
  • Leadership that is stale and uninspiring
  • A mission that is not current or compelling
  • High levels of dissatisfaction in operational areas – admissions, development, program, finances, etc.

During a consulting engagement, highly trained and experienced SDC consultants provide institutional analysis, including a review of current operations; confidential interviews with faculty, administrators, trustees, parents, alumni, and community members; and review of relevant documents such as accreditation reports, board minutes and by-laws, organizational charts, resumes, school policies, and annual reports.  SDC offers a financial analysis that includes realistic assessment, multi-year projections under various scenarios – from optimistic to pessimistic – and recommendations from both a financial and operational perspective.

At the conclusion of every School Dashboard Consulting engagement, a written report is presented to the school.  Included in the final Dashboard report are discussions of strengths, weakness, challenges, opportunities, possible options, and recommendations.  Suggestions for continuing consultation to ensure follow-up are provided.

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Organizational assessment

Hulse Leadership Development offers independent schools and other non-profit and professional organizations individualized analyses using detailed observations, in-depth interviews, document and procedure review, and assessment tools such as the CCAT (Core Capacity Assessment Tool) and the GMQ (Group Management Questionnaire).  We assess finance offices, curriculum, programs, management teams, and board and organizational policies and structure.

Leaders often find that they struggle to make accurate assessments because they receive conflicting reports.  Is the root of the problem the skill set and training of personnel, the assignment of responsibilities, interpersonal dynamics, or all of the above?  After thoroughly interviewing and assessing functions and personnel, we provide leadership with recommendations and strategies for improvement.

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Executive coaching for leaders

Leadership skills are learned.  Just as elite athletes are coached to become the best that they can be, leadership coaching enables leaders to grow in profound and nuanced ways.  Hulse Leadership Development utilizes a unique set of assessment tools that provide data from 360 degree feedback loops to give leaders access to usually hidden information.  Once leaders develop awareness, they can build on their strengths and acquire new skills and new ways of seeing, whatever their level of experience.  Weekly coaching sessions are in person and by video call.  Click here for a printable version of our coaching flyer for heads of school.  Click here for a printable version of our coaching flyer for other non-profit leaders.

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Coaching and mentoring for new heads of school

As a trained executive coach and retired head of school, Diane Hulse brings unique expertise and insight to coaching newly appointed heads of school.  Our New Heads Coaching Program covers the entire first year of entry into a new school position.  Moving into a new leadership position as a first time Head of School, CEO, or high level administrator poses special challenges.  Transition coaching and mentoring can make the difference between a smooth start and a rocky one.  A leadership coach who is experienced in the field provides a mentor and support for entry dynamics.  Assistance with setting goals, developing agendas, understanding how others perceive the new leader, and enhancing team dynamics is part of the coaching process.  Weekly coaching sessions are in person and by video call, and access to the coach is unlimited. Click here for a printable version of our coaching flyer.

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Leadership teams

The quality of a leadership team determines the success of an organization.  Teams that perform at the highest level fully utilize all members’ expertise and best thinking.  Collaboration is the foundation for excellence.  Poorly functioning teams elicit mediocre work from their members.  If hidden agendas, nasty asides, frustration, unclear decisions, redundant discussions, distrust, and tedium permeate team meetings, the team is wasting its human capital.  Using data-driven assessment tools and group facilitation, we evaluate team dynamics and help implement development strategies.

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Leadership team retreats

High quality leadership retreats engage all team members and strengthen the team itself.  During low quality retreats, people tune out, get aggravated, and become disillusioned.  After developing an understanding of what is important for your organization, we design leadership retreats that are as unique as your organization and that leave your team seeking more opportunities to engage in rich and meaningful ways.

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