Schools Are Highly Consultative—But Without a Clear Game Plan, Success Is Elusive

Consultation is a cornerstone of international school culture. Yet, research consistently shows that unstructured consultations often yield suboptimal results. Studies on organizational consultation (see sources below) reveal that effectiveness improves significantly when a clear process and purpose are defined from the outset. Structured facilitation helps manage diverse perspectives, align objectives, and focus collective thinking on actionable outcomes. 

The Power of Collective Thinking

Consultation plays a crucial role in shaping strategies that resonate across diverse stakeholder groups, including staff, students, and parents. However, when consultations are open-ended and lack a strategic framework, they risk devolving into unproductive, time-consuming discussions. Any educator can recall a meeting that felt like an endless loop—devoid of focus and ultimately frustrating. Without a "game plan," discussions meander, leading to diluted outcomes and overlooked priorities.

How to Build an Effective Game Plan 

To avoid these pitfalls, leaders must set clear goals and structure their consultations around guiding questions. Consider the following when preparing for a consultation:

1. What is your overall approach? Decide whether to keep the discussion open-ended or focus on specific areas.
2. How will you engage participants? Will your team brainstorm, solve targeted problems, or serve as a reflective sounding board?
3. What does success look like? Define tangible outcomes to aim for.

• Open Canvas: An open process that welcomes all ideas, leading to the most promising direction.
• Focused Ideation: A targeted approach to generate detailed ideas within predefined areas.
• Strategy Testbed: A platform to refine and gather feedback on a board, or well-formed strategic approach, or outline.

While educational leaders might instinctively lean toward an “Open Canvas” approach, a thoughtful assessment of the context often reveals that “Focused Ideation” or “Strategy Testbed” is more effective. Recognizing this early allows leaders to align their approach with the specific needs of the consultation, setting clear expectations from the outset and ensuring that the process remains purposeful and productive.

Design Thinking and Agile Sprints

Another challenge is the limited availability of meeting times, often spread thin due to competing priorities. To stay focused, careful planning of the consultation process is essential. 

The Design Thinking Double Diamond offers a valuable framework, emphasizing divergent and convergent thinking to ensure thorough exploration and refinement of ideas. Meanwhile, agile methodologies like “sprints” help maintain momentum. Time-boxed sessions focus efforts, ensuring each consultation builds on the last and moves projects forward effectively.

The Value of Preparation

A well-prepared consultation process fosters alignment, engagement, and efficiency. In the dynamic environment of international schools, where strategic priorities can shift rapidly, structured consultations ensure every voice is heard while maintaining a focus on actionable insights. Proper preparation transforms routine meetings into strategic accelerators, helping schools meet their goals collaboratively and effectively.

Sources:

• "Consultation and Collective Intelligence: Enhancing Decision-Making in Complex Systems", Woolley, A.W., & Malone, T.W., published in: Science, 2010
• "The Dynamics of Effective Consultation in Organizations", Hackman, J.R., & Wageman, R., published in: Administrative Science Quarterly, 2005
• "Designing for Collective Intelligence in Education", Smith, J., & Alexander, D., published in: Journal of Educational Leadership, 2017