Why Shared Purpose Matters More Than Agreement

Kristen Miles

Director of Board Development

Oregon School Boards Association

"Why Shared Purpose Matters More Than Agreement"

Does Governance Really Drive Results?

Governing bodies rarely falter for lack of caring. They falter when disagreement turns personal, meetings lose discipline, and attention drifts from shared purpose to individual positions. What begins as tension at the table becomes confusion in direction and inconsistency in action. Over time, that erosion reshapes not only relationships among leaders, but the very results communities rely on.

This week’s Community Catalysts episode speaks directly to that reality—and to the responsibility that comes with serving in local leadership.

Kristen Miles is Director of Board Development at the Oregon School Boards Association, where she prepares school board members across urban, suburban, and rural communities to govern effectively amid complexity and disagreement. While her work centers on education, the leadership challenges she describes will feel immediately familiar to anyone serving on a city council, county board, nonprofit board, or governing commission.

One moment in the conversation was especially meaningful for me. Kristen references the Lighthouse Study, published in 1999, which provides a research-based framework for something I’ve long believed: governing bodies are not just procedural entities sitting above the real work. How boards deliberate, manage conflict, and stay focused directly shapes organizational culture and real-world outcomes. Until this conversation, I hadn’t encountered that research by name—and I suspect others may find that grounding just as useful.

In schools, that connection shows up in student success. In any governing body, it determines whether decisions actually serve the community. Kristen’s offers practical and hopeful insights: strong governance does not begin with agreement. It begins with shared purpose. When leaders practice “power with” rather than “power over,” disagreement becomes productive instead of corrosive—and public leadership becomes something communities can rely on.



If you carry the weight of public leadership, this episode offers more than insight. It offers language, evidence, and perspective that can strengthen how you lead.