Board Staff Relationships Conservation

Planning for Progress Judith Lindenau, CAE, RCE www.judithlindenau.com

www.judithlindenau.com  1. Build awareness of the similarities and differences in roles between staff and volunteer leaders  Gain a working knowledge of techniques you can use to strengthen teamwork between staff and volunteers  Understand the tools for keeping this relationship consistent from year to year 2

www.judithlindenau.com 3

www.judithlindenau.com CEO BOARD CHAIR  Has consistency and history  Temporary leadership  Familiarity with day-to-day  Has divided attention operations  Responsible for leadership of  More familiarity with needs the Board and key volunteers of the ‘customers’  Must evaluate the CEO  More conversant with the organization itself 4

www.judithlindenau.com  Determine the organization's mission and purposes  Select the executive staff through an appropriate process  Provide ongoing support and guidance for the executive; review his/her performance  Ensure effective organizational planning  Ensure adequate resources  Manage resources effectively (the buck stops with them, ultimately)  Determine and monitor the organization's programs and services  Enhance the organization's public image  Serve as a court of appeal  Assess its own performance 5

www.judithlindenau.com  Have a strategic plan  Review it annually  Put mission statement on every agenda  Invest in public statement of mission— sign, ads, website  Position the Board to continually think of the Mission 6

www.judithlindenau.com  Resource: http://www.npgoodpractice.org/Resource/ResourceFile.as 7

www.judithlindenau.com  Document the performance review process in your policy manual  Insist on an annual review, in writing  Have review forms available for review committee 8

www.judithlindenau.com  Long term plan  Short term (one year) work plan  Business Plans for every project ( www.judithlindenau.com/project_planning_marke ) 9

www.judithlindenau.com  Ensure adequate resources (fundraising, management control)  Manage resources effectively (the buck stops with them, ultimately) 10

www.judithlindenau.com  Board as ambassadors  Active presence in the public eye  Ethics  Media Training  Disaster Plan 11

www.judithlindenau.com  Member or Client Concerns  Staff Appeals  Media Investigations  Grants and resource decisions 12

www.judithlindenau.com  Self-Assessment for Nonprofit Governing Boards (Board Source)  The Drucker Foundation Self- Assessment Tool Process Guide, Revised Edition 13

www.judithlindenau.com  Leadership  Team Player  Staff Manager  Business Manager  Communication Skills  Community Involvement  Personal Ethics  Impeccable Financial Management and Control  Business Development Skills 14

www.judithlindenau.com  Legal Compliance  Support  Hands off Management  Financial Support of the Mission  Participation  Personal Ethics  Confidentiality 15

www.judithlindenau.com  CEO  Committees  Volunteer Officers  Board of Directors Keep in your policy manual. Review annually! 17

www.judithlindenau.com  1. Have clearly written and approved procedures for evaluating the chief executive and in an approach that ensures strong input from the chief executive.  2. Have regular board training sessions that include overviews of the roles of board chair and chief executive.  3. When a new board chair or chief executive is brought into the organization, the two of them should meet to discuss how they can work together as a team.  4. Agendas for board meetings should be mutually developed by the board chair and chief executive  http://www.judithlindenau.com/create_agendas.pdf  5. Maintain an Operations Policy Manual, re-adopted regularly 20

www.judithlindenau.com  6. The board chair consults with the CEO when appointing chairs for various committees.  6. Have clear written guidelines about the roles of staff who provide ongoing support to board committees.  7. Rotate the board chair position every few years to ensure new and fresh perspectives in the role.  8. Develop board chairs by having vice chairs who later become board chairs. 21

www.judithlindenau.com  10. Ensure all board members are trained about the role of the board, its committees and their functions, and that the board chair has basic skills in meeting management.  11. The chief executive and board chair should never conceal information from the rest of the board. The chief executive should never conceal information from the board -- all board members have a right to any information about the organization.  12. Celebrate accomplishments, including by naming the key people involved in bringing about successes. 22

www.judithlindenau.com  1. Practice basic skills in interpersonal communications, particularly in listening and giving feedback.  2. Whenever you feel conflict, identify to yourself what it is that you're actually seeing or hearing that might be causing the conflict. This attempt helps to differentiate whether the source of the conflict is the other person's behavior or some remnant of a relationship or situation in the past.  3. If you're feeling uneasy, then say out loud what you're feeling. If you feel there's conflict or tension between you two, name it out loud. (Dead Elephant Theory)  4. Recognize that conflict is inherent in any successful relationship, particularly in a board if all members are actively meeting their responsibilities. The important thing here, again, is to name it if you think it's becoming an ongoing problem. (Abilene paradox) 24

www.judithlindenau.com The President’s Important Skill 25

www.judithlindenau.com  Advance Packet  Supporting Docs  Staff Recommendations  Timed Agenda  Trained meeting facilitator (ie, Chairman of the Board) 26

Board Staff Relationships Conservation

0 comments

Notes on slide 1

Favorites, Groups & Events