The School District of Philadelphia - Design and Delivery of Finance Team Executive Retreat
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Challenge
SDP is under tremendous public scrutiny to show marked improvement in the delivery and administration of the education of the children of Philadelphia. In order to aid the transformation of the school district, a dramatically new management structure was adopted on August 14, 2000. A School Reform Commission was established, composed of five members, three appointed by the Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and two appointed by the Mayor of the City of Philadelphia.
The Philadelphia Home Rule Charter stipulates that the School Reform Commission has no direct taxing authority. Instead, the school district submits a "lump sum" budget request to City Council for its approval. The School Reform Commission in turn appoints the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Academic Officer, Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Financial Officer. A tremendous sense of urgency to "fix" everything immediately prevails, and there is no absence of issues to address and consider. BRONNER was tasked with creating a one-day Executive Team retreat to serve as an opportunity to bring SDP Directors together to identify and reach consensus upon an overall Financial Team mission, raise and problem solve financial challenges facing the district, and promote collaboration and trust among the newly appointed executives.
Solution
Bronner was asked at the invitation of the Chief Financial Officer to bring the entire Finance Team executive staff together for a day of planning and visioning. Most of the Executive Team was new to SDP, and given the tremendous pace of change required, had not had a real opportunity to reflect on how their function fit into the larger picture. Bronner proposed a one-day retreat to serve as an opportunity to identify and agree upon mission and the most urgent issues facing the Finance Team. In addition, since most of the executives were new to SDP, the session also focused on team building and communication improvements to facilitate Finance Team synergy in the busy and stressful months ahead.
Results
The SDP Executive Finance Team retreat was such a success that the Chief Financial Officer requested that Bronner return in 90 days to continue forward momentum by delivering a follow up Executive Team retreat. The second retreat was so well received that Bronner has been invited back to continue to work on behalf of the Chief Financial Officer to help address specific departmental challenges with the respective departmental directors.
