Board Governance 101

Copyright © 2018 Charter School Capital, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
BOARD
GOVERNANCE
101:
Learn How to Recruit,
Build, and Manage Your
Board as You Grow

2
TODAY’S
PRESENTERS
Ryan Eldridge
Charter School Advisor
Mike Mizzoni
Director of Leadership &
Governance Training

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TODAY, WE’LL
EXPLORE:
• More Than the Board:
Who's on your governance team
and what do they do?
• Board Recruiting:
How do you recruit the right
people to your team?
• Governing for Growth:
Managing challenges and
changes at any stage
AGENDA

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Who's on your
governance team
and what do they
do?
MORE THAN
THE BOARD

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5
+-BOARD
Voting trustees and
their designees
This includes non-voting
committee members
CEO and their designees
Staff who support the board’s
operations or strategic work;
including the CFO, Chief Academic
Officer, & Development Director
* CEO = Person at the top of your org chart who reports to the board
GOVERNANCE IS A TEAM SPORT
CEO*

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The Board
o Full voting board members
o Large enough to do substantive committee work between full board meetings
o Committees are aligned to strategic goals
o Non-voting board members on committees
Board Leadership
o Board Chair
o Chair of Governance Committee
o Committee Chairs
GOVERNANCE TEAM STRUCTURE: THE BOARD

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The CEO
o CEO devotes time to grow and sustain governance team
C-Suite Support & Leadership
o Staff assigned to and clear on their roles to support and sustain
effective committee work
o Chief Academic Officer / Dean of Academics / Principal
o CFO / Business Manager
o Development Director, Community Relations, Grants, etc.
GOVERNANCE TEAM STRUCTURE: MANAGEMENT

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o Charter organizations are led by two equally important sides of the
coin: the board and the CEO (and their team).
o This collective group—both sides of the coin—have overlapping yet
distinct responsibilities for ensuring the success of the organization.
o Great governance teams find an appropriate balance between the two
sides.
o Many organizations make the mistake of letting this relationship get
out of balance.
GOVERNANCE TEAM BALANCING ACT

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TEAM APPROACH EXAMPLE
Board Goal
Raise $10K from
individual
donors
CEO Goal
Raise $20K
from
institutions
Organization
Raise $30K for new programming

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o The Board Chair is the chief volunteer leader of the organization.
o They’re responsible for facilitating and empowering the work of the
board.
o The most important skill of any Board Chair is to be fantastic at running
group processes.
o Fostering a strong, supportive, collaborative relationship with the CEO
is key.
ROLE OF BOARD CHAIR

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o Set clear direction & norms for the committee
o Bring strong group facilitation skills
o Hold committee members accountable
o Establish the right protocols for interacting with staff to preserve the
governance-management line.
o Help all committee members navigate the tricky role of working
directly with C-Suite team members.
ROLE OF COMMITTEE CHAIRS

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o This is the most difficult role in building and maintaining the governance
team.
o The CEO is ultimately hired and fired by the board.
o The board is only as good as the CEO.
o The CEO has to walk a tightrope, taking direction from and serving at
the pleasure of the board while also being a leader to the board.
o As the organization grows, the CEO needs to delegate committee liaison
work to their C-suite.
ROLE OF THE CEO

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o Partner with the Board Chair to provide leadership to the board without overstepping
into board governance.
o Know when to lead and when to follow.
o Delegate sufficient power to senior staff to support the work of high-functioning
board committees.
o Ensure C-suite is trained in their role.
o Ensure that committees understand their role vis-à-vis staff interactions.
o Set and achieve management goals. And support the board in achieving its goals.
KEYS TO GETTING THE CEO’S ROLE RIGHT

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o Committees should be the engine of the board.
They need direct, expert support from staff to be successful.
o The C-suite is critical to making up the governance team.
o The difference between a true governance team and any other board
with just a CEO is the involvement of staff.
ROLE OF THE C-SUITE

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How do you recruit
the right people to
your team?
BOARD
RECRUITING

Exceptional boards are made of
exceptional people.
Your charter board is more than a group
of well-meaning volunteers.
Rather...
It’s a highly effective team,
strategically assembled,
to bring the skills, expertise, temperament, and time,
to govern a multimillion-dollar public enterprise.

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CONSIDER YOUR BOARD’S:
GOALS SIZE SKILLS
CULTURE DEMOGRAPHICS
SUCCESSION
PLANNING
NEEDS

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Managing
challenges and
changes at any
stage
GOVERNING
FOR GROWTH

Do you have
the right
team?
Are you
building
the team
you need
for the
future?

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FOUNDING
BOARD
INITIAL
GOVERNING
BOARD
SUSTAINABLE
GOVERNING
BOARD
Charter Application
5 to 7 trustees
o Work is done
committee of the
whole
o CEO supports the
board, on their own
o Some committee
work is being done
o CEO delegates
board support to a
senior staffer or two
o Full complement of
committees
o Fully-staffed C-suite
Planning / Year 1 Year 2 and beyond
7 to 9 trustees -> 9 to 11 11 - 15 trustees
GOVERNANCE TEAM EVOLUTION SNAPSHOT

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WORK OF THE GOVERNANCE TEAM
o Develops a vision of excellence;
What does wildly successful look like?
o Partners to develop short- and long-term goals
Goals map the steps towards achieving your vision of being wildly
successful; to meet and exceed your charter promises.

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CONTACT
Ryan Eldridge
Charter School Advisor
Charter School Capital
reldridge@charterschoolcapital.org
Mike Mizzoni
Director of Leadership &
Governance Training,
Board on Track
mike@boardontrack.com

THANK YOU
FOR
ATTENDING!

Board Governance 101

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