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October 15, 2009: Teaching the Policy Polka |
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Some boards are great at supporting the chief executive but
are uncomfortable setting policy. Depending
on how it is defined, even approving an annual budget or making almost any
decision can be seen as policy. It might
help to start with an easy handle to grasp, like learning the polka as a gateway
to ballroom dancing.
Try talking about the “service niche” of the organization
and the considerations of managing the niche. Grasping the concept of the niche
helps trustees to think about the big picture, to develop a strategic
perspective. Start with the mission: what
do we do and for whom do we do it? One
way to think about policy decision making is considering adjustments to your niche. Some examples would be: 1) you serve young people but want to serve
old people; 2) you have clients in one county but want to expand to a second
county; 3) you provide mental health care but now you want to provide physical
health care; 4) you provide emergency services but now want to provide
preventive services; 5) you have relied primarily upon government funding but
want to gain substantial new income from selling services to private customers.
Changing these aspects of your service niche are policy
considerations. With a little coaching
and practice, any trustee can see the value of understanding the niche and that
it is their job to consciously shape the niche to best serve the community. A more technical way to describe this is “stewardship
of the mission.” So, now that a trustee is able to be thoughtful about the
niche, s/he is now more able to make policy.
And now, on to the waltz.
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October 1, 2009: Committee Care and Feeding |
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As snow appears on the ground in this part of the Northern
Hemisphere, a consultant’s heart turns to thoughts of warm indoor
meetings: getting cozy with some great
committees. “Care and feeding” could
refer to room temperature, sofa softness and snacks but, in this case, it means
“support that creates meaningful committee outcomes.” How to make your board’s committees more
effective? Think about how to help any
work group to be productive. Here are
some starting considerations.
1) Is there a clear set
of objectives or tasks or sense of what constitutes successful output for this
group? If not, please make it so. 2) Are
there adequate members to get the work done?
Now is the time to add a new member if there are only a couple of people
who aren’t even meeting or who aren’t making progress. This is a great opportunity to mentor new
board members or give a senior board member a meaningful task. Make sure there is at least one person with
enough leadership/management skill to engage at least two other members in sharing
work. 3) Is there a timeframe to complete
key assignments? If not, declare the end
of the calendar year (say, December 1) as the target. Then determine what of importance can be accomplished
by that date and give the members encouragement to complete that task. 4)
Does the group have adequate support to be successful? This could be authority, information, technology, access
to staff or partners outside of the organization to provide information, make
decisions or provide other resources. If
not, then make arrangements for appropriate support or decommission the group.
There is more, of course, but these four items provide a
starting point. Why not look at all
committees and work groups now, figure out the most important thing(s) they can
accomplish by December 1 and have board leadership and senior staff do the
minimum to help these groups succeed. Up
to perhaps half of what is important for board trustees to do is done in work
groups, so caring and feeding activity is
really much more important than it may initially appear to be.
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September 15, 2009: Catch and Release Recruiting? |
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A common recruiting approach used by small boards of
stagnating organizations, could possibly be seen as a variation of the sport
fishing technique of “catch and release.”
In the board variation, the existing trustees act like fishermen, catching
the first person they can hook to serve on the board. Then, claiming they have found a replacement,
the trustees depart from their board service, with a clear conscience. After all, they did replace themselves so
that the board can carry on. Unfortunately,
this approach is usually tried out of desperation and in a rush, and the
resulting “catch” doesn’t build up adequate capacity.
An alternative that doesn’t end up taking any more time, is
to consult stakeholders individually or in small groups, a sort of serial think
tank, where needs and priorities for board membership can be considered by a
lot of caring folks that are less stressed and adequately motivated to think
clearly, hopefully even strategically about who can help move an organization
forward through board service. If this
sounds familiar, well, it is…a variation of the favored “one time nominating
committee” technique for developing a list of board candidates.
You just can’t lose by thoughtful consultation with
stakeholders or those who represent them well.
Of course, the primary step that is usually passed over is the
planning: figuring out what the major
challenges are that the organization needs its board to address and developing
a set of membership criteria from there.
At that point, maybe even catching and releasing might work. The only thing is, who wants to feel like a fish
that has been tricked into swimming around in a dreary holding tank for several
years on an underperforming board?
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September 1, 2009: Fantasy Boards? |
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I have never played fantasy football or any other fantasy
sport, for that matter. But I have
frequently fantasized about great boards.
I would like you readers to share a fantasy, not with me, but with your
board colleagues. It should take some of
the boredom out of your board work.
Take a break, don’t even have the next monthly board
meeting. Instead, grant yourself an hour
to fantasize, either by yourself or with a friend, family member or colleague –
however you are most creative when you brainstorm. Take 10 minutes or so, and bitch about why
your board work is so unfulfilling, why you think that your participation is a
waste of time. Feel the frustration,
anger, and tension in your body. Then
take half and hour and really go for it, fantasize about what the greatest
board experience would look like, how it would feel, what types of wonderful
people would be there and what they would be doing. Now take 15 minutes and really let yourself
live in that fantasy world. Just feel
how good it feels doing the most fun and stimulating things you can think of
(in terms of board work!). Breathe
deeply, release the tension in your body, look out into that magical space,
close your eyes if you can. As you
emerge from your trance, jot down some notes to help you remember this
wonderful, imaginary board experience.
Next month, when you and your colleagues get together, make sure
that most of the meeting is devoted to sharing visions about what your ideal,
fantasy board looks and feels like. Don’t
end the discussion without recapping common features of your visions and a making
list of what changes you can easily make to start down the path to that
beautiful day when your board becomes truly wonderful.
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August 15, 2009: Fall Down to Business |
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As the academic year resumes, we are reminded that the end
of the calendar year looms, and there is so much left to do. Make a plan to reinforce productivity before
the holiday season looms. What can you
and your colleagues accomplish in 100 days for your organization?
It might help to think in terms of threes: which three relationships can I strengthen;
which three “asks” can I make; which three decisions must get made; which three
things can I do for PR; which three steps can I take to reach our highest priority
goal; etc. Ask your board colleagues to
make their list of “threes for 100!” and check in on results to insure good
news to celebrate in December.
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