Good Boards Dont Just Happen: They are Intentional

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Good Boards Dont Just HappenThey are
Intentional

• Thoughts, Reflections and Actionable Ideas
• IACCE Annual Conference
• November 4, 2009

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Outcomes

• Survey results
• Affirmation of what is working
• New perspective(s)
• Recommendations to consider
• Permission/encouragement to experiment
• Practical tools

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10/28/09 e-mail from an ED

• Joe, I would be interested in how to more
  fully engage the board in furtherance of
  _______s mission, as well as how to recruit more
  active members.  
•  
• How do we match up expectations of board and
  staff?  What do I, as staff, need to do to keep
  board members interested and focused on our
  mission and vision?

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Outline

• Importance of topickey survey issues
• What do we mean by a Good Board?
• Key Premises
• Barriers to a Good Board
• Observed Changes
• Recommendations
• Tools

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Topic Importance

• Given the current IRS, media and legislative
  attention that the nonprofit sector receives, no
  Board can afford to wait a year or longer for its
  newest member(s) to be able to speak and function
  with confidence.
• Todays business communities need good service
  and leadership from their Chambers.
• An effective Chamber chief executive can become
  discouraged and leave due to a poorly functioning
  Board.

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Whos Accountable for the Good Board?

• Executive Director?
• Board President?
• Executive Committee?
• Governance/Board Development Committee?

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What is a Board?

• Houle an organized group of people with the
  authority collectively to control and foster an
  institution that is usually administered by a
  qualified executive and staff.
• Carver The governing board is as high in the
  structure as one can go and still be within the
  organizational framework. Its total authority is
  matched by its total accountability for all
  corporate activity.

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What is a Board?

• Florida Society of Association Executives
  The members of the Board are the stewards of the
  Society and are responsible for reflecting the
  views and interests of all our members. The Board
  provides leadership, a shared vision and sense of
  the mission for the Society and is responsible
  for the fiscal health of the Society.

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What Does a Good Board Look Like?

• Sets Vision
• Ensures Resources
• Monitors Progress
• Is Accountable to Its Members

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The Survey said.

• General camaraderie and sense of respectthe
  chemistry between members.. An appreciation
  for the challenges and successes of each
  other's businesses
• (Members) are committed volunteers and team
  oriented
• Desire to make a difference for the area and
  the business community A vested interest in
  seeing the chamber succeed
• Sharing of/Receptiveness to new ideas
  communication

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The Survey said (continued)

• Strong partnerships with local Village
  officials and staff
• Meetings are efficientwell run well attended
  Open discussions not dominated by one person
  
• Defined plan of work, structured committees
  around the plan, monthly reporting on
  progress follow though
• Creativity and support of the ED's crazy
  ideas!

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Premises

• Good Boards fully utilize their most valuable
  asset.
• Good Boards are seen as such because of a well
  developed process. They carefully recruit,
  select, orient, educate and evaluate their
  members.
• An appropriate framework for the conversation
  on Good Boards is leadership

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Leadership Defined

• Leadership is lifting the Chambers vision to
  higher sights, the raising of the Chambers
  performance to a higher standard, the building of
  a brand beyond its normal limitations. In
  short, management is doing things right
  leadership is doing the right things.
  adapted from the writings of Peter
  Drucker.

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Characteristics of the Leader

• Thinks long-term
• Sees connections with larger units
• Reaches and influences constituents beyond
  jurisdictional boundaries
• Emphasizes vision, values, motivation.
• Can cope with multiple constituencies.
  John Gardiner, On
  Leadership, page 4.

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Premises (continued)

• Volunteers do not necessarily arrive in the Good
  Board room with well-honed leadership or team
  skills. But they can be developed.
• Good Boards realize that a well developed and
  communicated plan creates accountability and a
  template with which to view opportunity/crisis.
• Good Boards, determined to sustain and improve
  their quality, establish and maintain regular
  means of evaluation.

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Premises (continued)

• Attention to WIIFM and the desire to be
  successful is critical.
• Evaluation has a more comfortable home in in a
  learning/continuously improving culture.
• The role of the Board leader is crucial.
• The accountability for Board performance belongs
  to the Board NOT the chief executive.

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Barriers to the Good Board

• Good is Good enough. No plan for Greatness
• Board membership as power trip vs. service
• Chamber Board meeting as social outlet.
• Chamber Board as a means to my end
• Eagles have a tough time playing on teams.

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The Survey said

• Role as policy makers is reduced to operations
  managers
• Not taking role seriouslymany of our Board
  members are there to keep up
  appearancesthere to fill a seat not to be a
  supporter
• Micromanagingforgetting to look at the "big
  picture.
• (Not) setting goals and adhering to a
  strategic plan
• a lack of focus and no direction or vision

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Change is Happening
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Change is Happening
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Change is Happening
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Recommendations

• To better underscore its importance, develop and
  sustain mind set of year round recruitment.
• To ensure better prepared candidates, invite
  prospects to committees and orientations.
• To avoid obvious mistakes, develop formal process
  for gathering and discussing input on all Board
  member candidates.

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Recommendations

• To secure increased value from effort expended,
  put more effort into ongoing orientation,
  education and mentoring.
• To sustain good communication about expectations,
  conduct regular evaluations (meetings and
  personnel) and provide feedback.
• To support the Learning Culture, provide the
  examples to assistdashboardsassessment
  toolsinformative articles.

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Recommendations

• To ensure accountability, develop and communicate
  an annual plan/set of expectations for each
  Committee and each Board member that is tied to
  the strategic initiatives.
• To be sure the talk has a walk, evaluate
  progress against plan at year end.
• To benefit from the work of other Boards,
  consider use of suggested Tools.

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Tools for Creating/Sustaining a Good Board

• A Development Checklist for a Good Board
• Board Member Mutual Expectations Sheet
• Board Member Success Framework
• Recruitment Readiness Checklist
• Program/Product/Service Evaluation Form
• Dashboard Examples
• End of Term Evaluation Questions

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Good Board Development Checklist

• PreparationAre we ready to recruit?
• Assessment...Who is ready to be recruited?
• RecruitmentAre you interested?
• NominationWe think you are ready.
• SelectionAre you ready?
• ElectionWe confirm your readiness.
• OrientationHere is your mentor.
• Learning and DevelopmentIts ongoing.
• Evaluation.Its ongoing too..

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Mutual Expectations(taken from John Carvers
Boards that Make a Difference Jossey-Bass,
1997.)

• The Board has the right to expect performance,
  honesty and straightforwardness from its CEO
  (Executive Director). Boards can at times be
  understanding about performance, but should never
  bend an inch on integrity. p. 119
• The CEO has the right to expect the Board to be
  clear about the roles and then to play by them.
  S/he has the right to expect the Board to speak
  with one voice, despite the massive currents that
  flow within a Boards constituencies. p.119.

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Mutual Expectations

• for the Board Member

• for the Chamber

• Attend meetings
• Participate in meetings
• Be fiscally responsible
• Be good team member
• Support Chamber events
• Help with planning
• Serve 3 year term
• Be a good ambassador
• Evaluate progress

• Ensure a good use of time.
• Provide training to do so
• Teach financial practices
• Orient to whats expected
• Introduce to the role
• Involve in planning process
• Provide inspiration/support
• Provide the tools and skills
• Provide help to do so

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A Perspective

• The most important qualification of Chamber
  Board members should be that they care for the
  Chamber.
• This means that they care for all of the people
  and businesses that the Chamber touches, and that
  they are determined to make that caring count.
  adapted from Robert Greenleaf, Servant Leadership

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Recommended Resources
-- Cynthia Allen, Nomination Crisis Management,
article in the Associations NOW Volunteer
Leadership Issue. January 2008-- John Carver,
On Board Leadership, Jossey-Bass, 2002.-- Jim
Collins, Good to Great, Harper Business,
2001. -- Douglas Eadie, High Impact Governing in
a Nutshell, American Society of Association
Executives, 2004. --Douglas Eadie, Boards That
Work, American Society of Association Executives,
1994. --Rick Goldstein, Does Your Board Add
Value? article in the Associations NOW Volunteer
Leadership Issue. January 2008 -- Hildy
Gottlieb, Board Recruitment and Orientation,
Renaissance Press, 3rd edition. 2008
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Recommended Resources
-- Robert Greenleaf, The Servant as Leader. The
Robert K. Greenleaf Center, 1970.-- Heidrick
Struggles, Insights from the Chair Chairman
Succession, UK Board Practice Chairman Series,
2006 -- Sandra Hughes, Berit Lakey and Marla
Bobowick, The Board Building Cycle,
BoardSource,2002 -- Berit M. Lakey, Nonprofit
Governance Steering Your Organization with
Authority and Accountability, BoardSource,
2002. -- Lowell Noteboom,Good Governance in
Tough Times Is Your Board as Effective as it Can
Be? Symphony Magazine, January-February
2004. -- Dennis D. Pointer and James E.
Orlikoff, The High Performance Board,
Jossey-Bass, 2002.
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Recommended Resources
www.boardcafe.org an electronic newsletter for
members of nonprofit boardswww.boardsource.org
provides resources, programs and services
including materials and an answer service on
nonprofit governance.www.charitychannel.com
collection of website and e-mail forums powered
by a volunteer community of nonprofit
professionals offering a broad range of
topicswww.compasspoint.org California based
nonprofit that provides workshops, conferences,
consulting and training to nonprofits
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Joe McLennan

• Joe McLennan, todays presenter, has a
  wide-ranging background in the profit and
  non-profit sectors working and consulting in both
  large and small organizations. His experience
  includes 20 years in consulting with special
  emphasis in strategic planning and board
  development. A former chief executive of a
  membership organization, Joe has been a
  facilitator in the Chamber Leadership Academy for
  the last seven years
• Joseph McLennan
• McLennan Partners
• 1017 59th Street
• Lisle, IL 60532
• 630.963.1375
• Fax [phone]
• joemclennan_at_sbcglobal.net