Strategic Governance

The Lure of Operational Involvement

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Board members often want to help their non-profit in any way they can.  Contributing to its  effectiveness around the board table is essential but one’s role here can seem remote from the direct work of the organization. Indeed, governance work for board members can seem intangible in terms of how exactly it adds value.  Perhaps one should volunteer in the non-profit’s programs or services. Surely it would also be a support to staff.
 
Despite such good intentions, when board members focus their attention on, or even step into operational matters, roles can easily be confused and frequently are.

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Old Business – New Business

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Non-profit boards usually meet monthly or quarterly and most of those meetings involve multi-item agendas. Tradition tends to rule what the design of the agenda looks like. I think this is unfortunate. This post looks at some easy to adopt ideas that, for most, will represent a departure from their current agenda practices.

If board chairs and executive directors, the two people most responsible for the agenda, are prepared to experiment with some new board meeting elements they can give more spring to their organization’s governance step.

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Executive Director Reports

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One of the most enduring features of non-profit board meetings is the executive director’s or CEO’s report. There are few resources that offer good practice recommendations. Aside from the consideration of level of detail, few boards and EDs together give much consideration to what subject matter should be included.

So, I have some of my own suggestions, informed by my board experience and from two other sources, about the content of such reports. Despite the model that I suggest here, nothing beats a board-ED discussion of key content areas and even a little experimentation with actual board reports.

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Governance as a Bus

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In 2001 Jim Collins, an American consultant, became a star in management circles with his book, Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…And Others Don’t. In it he compares a business to a bus and the leader to the bus driver. Today, people often say that business success is dependent on getting the right people on the bus.

A similar metaphor can help us in understanding the work of non-profit governance. As you will see though, it has a different twist.

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Board Orientation Rejigged

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Board orientation refers to a process for helping newly elected directors contribute fully, and as early in their term as possible, to the governing work of the board. Very often it takes the form of a special meeting designed to provide information to these directors about their responsibilities and the operations of the organization.

Is it enough to assume that the goal, simply stated, is to transfer important information and respond to questions from new directors? From an adult education perspective I think board orientation could benefit from the articulation of some specific learning objectives

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Easy Board Home Improvements

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Living in an 100+ year old house means getting used to a life with a long and never completed home maintenance agenda. Something always needs repair or replacement. And, out there in the world there is no shortage of additional household improvement ideas I could add to my list.

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Distinguishing Strategy

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I was having coffee the other day with friend at the Humani-T Cafe on South Park Street in Halifax. In the course of a wide-ranging conversation about non-profits, she related a story about a organization she knew of whose board said they could not do strategic planning because they did not have the resources.

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