Change Creates Anxiety. Leadership Search Is Where Schools Feel It Most.
Written by KATHERINE MONCURE STUART, TEG PRESIDENT
A few months ago, I was on a call with a Board Chair just as they learned that their school would be launching a Head of School search. They paused mid-sentence and said something like;
“We know we need new leadership. We just don’t want to lose who we are.”
That tension, between change and identity, is at the heart of every leadership transition. And it is where anxiety shows up.
For Boards, a Head of School search can feel like a once-in-a-decade decision with generational consequences. Faculty worry about culture and priorities. Families worry about continuity. Students, at every grade level, feel the emotional ripple effects, even if they do not have the language for it.
Change is strategic on paper. It is deeply personal in practice.
This is why I do not think leadership search is primarily about candidate sourcing. It is about helping a community move through uncertainty with clarity and confidence.
At The Education Group, we see that clarity reduces anxiety. Before we ever discuss candidates, we slow the process down. We listen. We help schools articulate who they are now and who they are becoming—often in ways they haven’t named out loud yet. That work becomes the foundation for every decision that follows.
Process matters, too. A structured, transparent search builds trust. In recent board and search chair feedback, over 96% said they would enthusiastically recommend TEG, and 100% felt we were responsive and prompt—but what matters more to me is why: people felt held by the process. When nearly 94% said the position profile was accurate and compelling, that tells me the school felt seen and understood.
The work does not stop when the contract is signed. Transition is not an event; it is a chapter. Supporting onboarding, governance alignment, and early goal-setting is where hope becomes reality.
Change will always create anxiety. That is not a flaw, it is an emotion and a sign of care. The role of a leadership search partner is to honor that emotion while guiding schools toward decisions grounded in purpose, evidence, and vision.
The role of a search partner is to honor that anxiety, translate it into clarity, and help boards move forward with courage and intention.
In moments like these, schools do not need just need a strong candidate. Schools need a steady process, honest reflection, and a search partner who understands both the strategy and the human side of change.
