The Art of Governance

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The Art of Governance

• TJD Congregations Board Training
• Annette Marquis
• January 11-12, 2008

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After this workshop, you will
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Friday Agenda
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Saturday Agenda
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• A board members job

can be a hard and lonely one
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Sometimes, you feel like a puppet, just doing
things others want you to do.
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Sometimes, you are expected to be a miracle
worker rescuing the congregation from
approaching armies.
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Sometimes, you are supposed to work magic by
pulling a rabbit (or something!) out of your hat.

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Sometimes, you cant figure out what the heck
happened!
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And sometimes, you are convinced everyone in the
congregation is out to get you (and they just
might be!).
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So how do you turn a sad and lonely job
into one that is
spiritually-grounded
uplifting
and
nourishing?
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Understand your role
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Stay-focused on your congregations vision
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Let go of minutia
Three steps to a better life as a board member
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Democracy

• Definition government by the people in which the
  supreme power is vested in the people and
  exercised directly by them or by their elected
  agents under a free electoral system

Abraham Lincoln "of the people, by the people,
and for the people"
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Direct Democracy
Small Congregations

• Town Meetings

Neighborhood Association
Any Small Group
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Representative Democracy

• Larger groups

Larger congregations
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UU Congregations Use Both Types
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Now Add Committees
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Governance Process
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Governance Process
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Boards and Committees

• BOARD
• If? What?
• Elected
• Accountable to the people
• Removed/replaced by the people

• COMMITTEES
• How?
• Appointed
• Accountable to the board
• Removed/replaced by the board

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Who is the minister accountable to?
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• Envision your congregations structure
• Board
• Committees
• Task Forces
• Councils
• Staff paid and volunteer
• Ministers, called and contractual

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• List 5 things your board has done in the last 6
  months

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(No Transcript)
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• What would happen to your congregation if it had
  no board?

no board
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Boards Have 6 Primary Functions
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Visioning and policy-making

• should be at the forefront of the boards work,
  in collaboration with the congregations
  professional staff.

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As stewards

• the board holds the congregations assets in
  trust, including moral and other intangible
  assets.

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As sponsors

• the board should collectively be among the most
  generous supporters of the congregation with both
  time and money

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As advocates

• the board represents interests of the
  congregation as an institution both to its own
  members and, even more importantly, to the
  wider community.

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As consultants

• board members are available to the staff at
  the staffs invitation to provide counsel and
  encouragement from their particular areas of
  expertise.

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From Models to Modes

• Richard Chait and his colleagues argue that we
  should shift emphasize modes over models in
  seeking to govern well.
• Richard Chait, William Ryan and Barbara Taylor,
  Governance As Leadership Reframing the Work of
  Nonprofit Boards (Hoboken John Wiley Sons,
  2005)

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Governance as Leadership
Type 2 Strategic
Type 1 Fiduciary
Type 3 Generative
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Type I Fiduciary Governance
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Type I Fiduciary Governance
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Type II Strategic Governance
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Type II Strategic Governance
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Type III Generative Governance
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Type III Generative Governance
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Type I, II, III Comparisons
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Type I, II, III Comparisons
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Duties of Board Members
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Qualities of Healthy Governance
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(No Transcript)
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Good Governance Exercise

• What would be in place if the congregation was
  well-suited to fulfill its mission? How could
  each group rise to its greatest level of
  contribution?
• The board is free to
• The staff is free to
• The members are free to

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Scenarios

• Your facility is crowded on Sunday mornings and
  there is no room for a childrens program.
• A Board member was arrested for public exposure
  in a children-focused restaurant.
• Your canvass campaign was 10 over projections.
• Two African American men were arrested in your
  community for protecting an African American
  woman from being beaten by a white man
• You were left an undesignated bequest of 20,000.
• It was just discovered that your treasurer has
  not made any deposits from the Sunday collection
  in 6 months.
• Three youth were caught drinking in the building.
• Your minister announced his/her resignation.
• A member sent out an email to selective members
  of the congregation - the email used derogatory
  language to blast the president and the board.
• Youve had several visitors lately who have only
  come once and not come back.

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Simple Church

• Thom S. Rainer Eric Geiger
• Congregations develop one clear statement of
  purpose
• Eg.
• Love God, love people, love the world
• Connecting, Growing, Serving
• Everything is organized around that statement

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Simple Church
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Ways of Organizing
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Models of Governance

Dan Hotchkiss, Alban Institute
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Working Board Model

• This is a functional system up to about 150 at
  worship.
• The Board is comprised of
• Officers and at-large members
• Chairs or representatives of other committees

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Working Board Model
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Permission-Giving Model

• Strong ministry-led congregations
• Ministers "cast the vision"
• Congregation does not have meetings of any
  significance
• The pastor can say yes or no
• Teams are picked who are in favor of the task
• Uncommon in UU Congregations

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Permission-Giving Model
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Received Model (Independent)

• Committees handle operations of the congregation
  in their area of specialty/interest
• Finance
• Facilities
• RE
• Membership
• Staff report to committees at least functionally

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Received Model (lndependent)
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(No Transcript)
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Policy Governance

• Basis for the governance system is policies
• Board has limited role. Their purpose is to
  answer three questions
• Whom do we serve?
• For what reason?
• At what cost?
• Board handles their own governance
• Sets executive limitations - a fence around the
  paid staff. Staff is free to act as long as they
  operate within those limits
• Board speaks with one voice

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Policy Governance

• A congregation and its lay leaders grant
  authority to staff in order for it to morally
  hold staff accountable for its actions.
• CEO - Chief Executive Officer
• Does not truly exist in organizations with
  congregational polity. The CEO in our
  congregations is more of a general manager.
  Congregations have the final word.
• COO - Chief Operating Officer
• The individual who guides the day-to-day
  operations, usually with an administrative
  emphasis. Highly functioning church
  administrator.
• CSO - Chief Staff Officer (General Manager)
• Charged with responsibility for general oversight
  of the staff system. In reality, most of our
  senior ministers have supervisory management
  responsibilities but must involve the board in
  senior level hiring and firing.  

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Policy Governance Org Chart
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Policy Governance
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Policy Governance

• Ends
• An end statement is a big mixing bowl - an
  outcome to be achieved, for whom, and for what
  cost? A congregation might have 7 or so end
  statements.
• Executive limitations
• sit in smaller bowls inside the end statement in
  order to restrict actions in completing the end
  statement.
• For example, can't misspend money to achieve the
  end.
• If it's not spelled out as a limitation, anything
  can be done once.
• Based on past history, board might create a
  limitation based on failure.

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Policy Governance - Ends

• Our members and friends will enjoy a deeply,
  meaningful, transforming liberal religious
  experience through inspirational worship,
  education and individual spiritual practice.
• Outcome "will enjoy a deeply, meaningful,
  transforming liberal religious experience"
• For Whom "Our members and friends"
• At what cost "inspirational worship, education
  and individual spiritual practice" 

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Shared Ministry Model

• Minister and Board share the vision
• Committee are used only in its original sense -
  to help a body to do its job - helps the board to
  do the boards work  Program teams, ministry teams
  rather than committees
• Minister and board have unique responsibilities
  and joint responsibilities
• Staff Team (as Ministers)
• Practical work
•  Board (as governors)
• Fiduciary Work
• Shared Functions (As discerners)
• Planning work
• Generative work

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Shared Ministry Model
Dan Hotchkiss, Alban Institute
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Stages of Board Transition
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Maxims

• It's easier to start a new thing than to replace
  something in existence.
• It's easier to create new norms of behavior for
  new people than it is to change norms of behavior
  for old people.
• If you tell people what's being discussed, who is
  discussing it, when a decision will be made,
  people will tolerate a lot of top-down decisions.