Principals' Roundtable

Leading at the top doesn't need to be a lonely job anymore.

ETHICLEAD recognises the sustained pressure, loneliness and long hours Principals endure on a day-to-day basis. We developed Principals' Roundtable to be a safe space for Principals to release the pressure, escape all outside distractions and share experiences for the sole purpose of collective growth.

Roundtable is a professional setting, that guarantees high levels of conduct, conversation, collegiality and reflections to challenge your leadership and accelerate you to the top of your game. A high performing and confidential assembly of eight Principals who meet regularly to access the collective wisdom and support each other in the pursuit of excellence in educational leadership.

Carefully defined by a series of minimum standards of professionalism which enable each member to acquire the greatest value from the Principals' Roundtable experience.

Want to be part of this exclusive group of leaders?

Principals' Roundtable Information

Mission / Purpose

To accelerate 8 Independent School Leaders to the top of their game by sharing experiences and learning from each other in a high trust environment.

Vision

A high performing and confidential assembly of 8 Independent School Leaders who meet regularly to access the collective wisdom of the group and to support each other in the pursuit of excellence in educational leadership.

The Making of a Successful Roundtable

Roundtable is a professional setting, that guarantees high levels of conduct worthy of the financial investment made by each member. An investment in Roundtable gives each member access to the collective wisdom of 7 other Principals. The quality of that wisdom and its availability to each member is predicated on the professional standards guiding the conduct of the Roundtable.

ETHICLEAD has carefully defined a series of minimum standards of professionalism which, when upheld, will enable each member to acquire the greatest value from the Roundtable experience. This guarantees full protection of each member’s financial investment. These standards are listed in this document as ‘Terms of Reference’.

ETHICLEAD also understands each Roundtable will have a unique personality by way of bringing 10 individual personalities together. We have therefore made provision for the Roundtable members, should they wish, to define additional standards of their own to uphold. These additional standards, will not be allowed to replace or relax existing standards defined in the Terms of Reference.

As a guarantee of each member’s investment, ETHICLEAD will provide a Chairperson to monitor and guide the professional conduct of each Roundtable. Notwithstanding this service, each member is an equal shareholder in the Roundtable experience. This means each individual member is personally responsible for upholding the standards of the Roundtable experience to ensure it achieves its mission.

Terms of Reference

1. Minimum Membership – Annual.

2. Membership Term – 1 January to 31 December each year.

3. Members – 8 x Independent School Principals plus one professional Chairperson and one secretary.

4. Meetings – There are nine Roundtable meetings per year. Eight of them are five-hour meetings and the remaining meeting is a two-night, two-day retreat.

5. Retreats – The two-day Roundtable Retreats will be held in February of each year unless unanimously agreed otherwise.

6. Location of Meetings – The eight five-hour meetings will be in a boardroom environment hosted by member schools on a rotational basis. The two-day retreat will be hosted by ETHICLEAD at a commercial resort-style location within 100 km radius of the Brisbane CBD, unless unanimously agreed otherwise.

7. Scheduling of Meetings – An annual calendar of meetings will be proposed by the secretary and agreed upon by all members at the start of each membership term (February of each year).

8. Attendance – It is expected that members attend all scheduled meetings ready to start at the time set on the meeting agenda.

9. Conflict of Interest – Leaders applying to join a Roundtable will be vetted by ETHICLEAD to ensure there is no conflict of interest between members. The following points may be factors for consideration when confirming applications:

a) Two members of the same Roundtable reporting to the same governance committee i.e. school board or council, overseeing their schools.

b) Two members of the same Roundtable working in the same Geographical catchment area.

c) Two members of the same Roundtable have worked at the same school within three years of applying for membership

Meeting Schedule

There are 9 formal group meeting opportunities scheduled throughout each calendar year. Specific meeting dates are negotiated and agreed to by the members at the commencement of each membership year.

The two-day retreat is held in an offsite commercial resort style facility organised and paid for in full by ETHICLEAD. It includes all meals, accommodation, some refreshments and guest presentations.

February: Annual Residential Retreat (Two-day / two-night)
March: Monthly Roundtable Meeting (5 hours)
April: Monthly Roundtable Meeting (5 hours)
May: Monthly Roundtable Meeting (5 hours)
June: Monthly Roundtable Meeting (5 hours)
July: Mid-Year Break
August: Monthly Roundtable Meeting (5 hours)
September: Monthly Roundtable Meeting (5 hours)
October: Monthly Roundtable Meeting (5 hours)
November: Monthly Roundtable Meeting (5 hours)

Example of a Monthly Meeting Agenda

Welcome (15 minutes)

Monthly Check In (1 hour)

Morning Tea Break

First Presentation (1 hour)

School Tour by Host Member (20 minutes)

Lunch Break

Second Presentation (1 hour) Please note this second presentation could be replaced by a guest speaker

Warehouse Review (15 minutes)

Roundtable Business (15 minutes)

Please note: The format for each meeting is a working breakfast/lunch. The host is required to provide a light meal and refreshments for the roundtable meeting. The roundtable secretary will liaise with the host, or host’s PA, to support this prior to the meeting.

Fees & Costs

An annual roundtable membership fee is $5250 ex GST. All meetings, including the annual residential retreat are included in this cost. Please note, fees do not include costs for members to travel to and from meetings.