1.
Governance as Leadership in Practice
Mode III - Generative
Governance
As
Leadership
-- Dr. Debra Beck, www.boardlearning.org, debrabeck@boardlearning.org
2. GAL - Debra’s “In a Nutshell”
Our ultimate governance responsibility is:
Envisioning the future (generative)
Moving toward it (strategic), and
Stewarding resources assigned to advance it
(fiduciary)
3. Three Board Duties (plus)*
Duty of Loyalty
Duty of Obedience
Duty of Care
* Duty of Imagination
5. Generative Mode (“Why?”)
Role: Sense-maker Responsibility: Insight
“Source of leadership to discern, frame, and
confront challenges rooted in
values, traditions, and beliefs”
“Engage in sense-making, meaning-making, and
problem-framing”
- Dr. Cathy Trower
6. Generative – In Practice
Problem finding (precursor to everything else)
Anticipating the future - uncharted territory
Boundary work
Creative framing of issues
Exploring from different perspectives
Asking ‘what does this mean?’
Individual, collective reflection
7. Four Frames
Structural - rules, authority, priorities, policies, etc.
Human resources - relationships, fit
questions, professional development, needs
assessment
Political - questions of power, constituency
interests, coalitions, needs for
compromise, collaboration
Symbolic - questions of meaning, values, beliefs; use
of stories, ceremonies, etc.
-- Bolman and Deal
8. Examples of generative questions*
“What will be the most strikingly different about this
organization in five years?”
“Five years from today, what will this organization’s key
constituents consider the most important legacy of the
current board?”
“What will be most different about the board or how
we govern in five years?”
“What is the biggest gap between what the
organization claims it is and what it actually is?”
* Governance as Leadership (2005), pp. 123-134
9. Debra’s “Generative” Musts
Agendas with open space for
questions
reflection
Access to range of
Information
Perspectives
Connections
10. More “Generative” Musts
Clarity of mission, direction
Members willing to ask different types of
questions – tough questions
Connections across boundaries
Reaching out, in
15. Strategic Mode (“How?”)
Role: Strategist Responsibility: Foresight
“Partner with senior staff to think strategically”
“Scan internal and external environments”
“Design, reflect on, and adapt strategic plans”
“Strengthen competitive advantage”
- Dr. Cathy Trower
16. Strategic – In Practice
Mission identification, advancement
Working with CEO to identify strategic
issues, opportunities, define goals
Exploring implications of potential decisions
Identifying, monitoring strategic benchmarks
Board focus on boundary-spanning
Problem solving
Frames:Structural (rules, authority, priorities, policies, etc.)Human resources (relationships, fit questions, professional development, needs assessment)Political (questions of power, constituency interests, coalitions, needs for compromise, collaboration)Symbolic (questions of meaning, values, beliefs; use of stories, ceremonies, etc.)