Episode 3: Board Chairs and Executive Directors Creating Strategic Partnerships

1. 33 Principles in 33 Minutes
Boards Chairs & Executive Directors –
Creating a Strong Strategic Partnership
Webinar by
BoardEffect & Independent Sector
October 23, 2018
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2. • Webinar lasts 33 minutes & is being recorded
• Phone lines are muted - please post questions in the Q&A box
• Recording & slides will be emailed to you after today’s session
• Join us at Upswell in Los Angeles for:
– “Board Governance in a Digital Age,” excerpts from the forthcoming book,
Governance in the Digital Age: A Guide for the Modern Corporate Board
Director, Wiley, March 2019
– Thursday, November 15, 9:30 am – 10:30 am, Location: Hancock Park East
– Exhibit Booth - BoardEffect
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Webinar – General Announcements

3. Presenters
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Kristina Gawrgy Campbell
Moderator
Independent Sector
Dottie Schindlinger
Speaker
BoardEffect

4. Session Objectives
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Review Principles for
Effective Governance
Strategies for Strong
Board Chair-CEO
Relationships
?
Answer Your
Questions

5. Principles for Good Governance and
Ethical Practice
 Originally published in 2007 in response to accusations
of malfeasance in the sector, and revised in 2015.
 Panel on the Nonprofit Sector came up with
recommendations
 Pension Protection Act of 2006
 33 Principles (Legal Compliance and Public Disclosure,
Effective Governance, Strong Financial Oversight and
Responsible Fundraising)
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6. The board should hire, oversee,
and annually evaluate the
performance of the chief executive
officer of the organization. It
should conduct such an evaluation
prior to any change in that
officer’s compensation, unless
there is a multi-year contract in
force or the change consists solely
of routine adjustments for
inflation or cost of living.
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7. The board of a charitable
organization that has paid staff
should ensure that the positions of
chief staff officer, board chair, and
board treasurer are held by
separate individuals. Organizations
without paid staff should ensure
that the positions of board chair
and treasurer are held by separate
individuals.
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8. Who’s Accountable?
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Nonprofit staff carry out
business, report to CEO
CEO oversees business &
staff, reports to board
Board: oversees mission,
represents stakeholder
interests, oversees CEO
Stakeholders: clients, families,
businesses, funders, media,
legislators, et al

9. Governance vs. Management
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GOVERNANCE
Board of Trustees
Executive Committee
Chair
CEO
Senior Leaders
Staff / Volunteers
MANAGEMENT
Policy Discern Head
Board “Ends” Think
Staff “Means” Do
Implement Act Hands
- Adapted from “Doing Good Better: How to Be an Effective Board Member of a Nonprofit
Organization,” Edgar Stoesz & Chester Raber, 1997 (2nd Edition).

10. Board Responsibilities re: the CEO
• Board has only 1 direct report, the CEO
• Board’s oversight of the CEO includes:
– Hiring, supporting, retaining, evaluating, compensating, and ensuring
succession of the CEO
– Ensuring clear, realistic, measurable goals
– Serving as CEO’s advisors & strategic partners: coaches, cheerleaders,
sounding boards, reality checks
– Broadening the CEO’s access to networks & resources
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11. What Roles Do Board
Members Play?
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Voices of Board Chairs, Judy Freiwirth, Psy.D., Mary Hiland, Ph.D., Michael Burns, M.A., Gayle Gifford, M.S., and Debra Beck,
Ed.D. https://cdn.ymaws.com/allianceonline.site-ym.com/resource/resmgr/docs/VoicesBoardChairsReport1016.pdf

12. • Mutual trust
• Clarity of expectations
• Shared sense of purpose
• Open communication
• https://nonprofitquarterly.org/2018
/08/29/effective-board-chair-
executive-director-relationships-
not-about-roles/
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Board Chair & Executive Director –
Success Factors in Strong Relationships

13. • “Goldilocks” spectrum of nonprofit boards
– “Too little” boards offered virtually no support or oversight to
executives
– “Too much” boards tried to micromanage executives
– “Just right” boards used the turnover to assess organizational needs
and hire an executive who was equipped to address those needs.
– Ideally, executives also wanted their boards to communicate
effectively and to provide public support when needed.
– https://news.ncsu.edu/2016/05/nonprofit-exec-turnover-2016/
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What Does a Healthy Board Chair/ED
Relationship Look Like?

14. • “The board chair walks a fine line between knowing &
understanding the operations of the nonprofit, and getting too
involved in the operations - supporting the ED without trying
to do the ED’s job.”
• “You still want your board to set high expectations, balanced
with a dose of reality.”
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Quotes from a Nonprofit Executive Director

15. Simple Tips for a Strong Partnership
Board Chairs
• Hold regular (weekly) check-ins, review
since last check-in, what’s coming up
• Plan social time away from the office
designed to build trust
• Proactively work to expand the ED’s
network of relevant leaders
• Engage ED in conversations about
professional/personal development &
succession planning
• Ask what kind of feedback the ED wants,
and provide it
Nonprofit Executive Directors
• Share with board chair the list of “good,
bad, on my mind” items
• Make time for social activities with the
board chair a priority in your schedule
• Make chair aware of gaps in your network
that you’d like to fill
• Make your own development and
succession planning a priority with your
board chair
• Be explicit about the feedback that would
most help you, and seek it
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16. Secure, cloud-based board management
software that drives board efficiency,
effectiveness & engagement
What Is
?
Maximizing
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Enhancing Board
Operations
Improving the Board
Member’s Experience

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Principles for Good Governance and
Ethical Practice
• Free resources available online at
independentsector.org/principles
• Join us at Upswell!
• Check out BoardEffect’s resources at
boardeffect.com/GovTechGeek