REALBoard Buzz™
Board Education: One Purpose, Three Areas of Focus P.S. What? You’re Not Doing It?
This week's blog is a reminder of the importance of ongoing board education. We decided to reprint Paul Zilz's blog from June 5, 2018 because it connects really well to one of the key messages in the webinar we led on Wednesday. The webinar focused on the importance...
6 Governance Principles Every Board Should Apply
Whether your board governs a nonprofit, a corporation, or any other type of organization, join Richard Stringham to discover 6 universal governance principles that apply to every board. Are you using Policy Governance? These principles apply. Are you using some other...
Make a Real Strategic Difference: Stop Managing and Start Governing!
Originally published October 17, 2020 I recently observed a board meeting where the board discussed whether or not to renew a contract with one of the organization’s vendors. Clearly, a majority of board members and the Executive Director were frustrated by a...
Becoming a High Performance Board
Reposted from August 22, 2017 At one time in my life, I was very involved in coaching education. An important competency for coaches was building high performing teams. It was important not only in team sports but also individual sports where a coach might be leading...
Seven Dysfunctional Board Leadership Approaches…and the Solution
Originally published on October 30, 2018 How transparent, accountable, results-oriented, and future-focused is your board? Does your board follow one of the dysfunctional “Seven P” governance approaches that hinder effective board strategic leadership? Years ago, I...
Role Clarity – An Essential Element of Effective Board Governance
Do you ever see a social media post, listen to a news report or even read a newspaper article about a board of directors that has reportedly gone off the rails? Admittedly, I am drawn to such stories because of my consulting work. I have sadly accumulated quite a file...
Word Smith & Word Smart
*Originally published February 14, 2017 I draft a lot of documents – reports, articles like this one, policies, memos, letters, bylaws, social media posts, etc. If you write a lot, it is easy to get caught up in trying to find the precise words to say what you mean....
Board Monitoring Masterclass: From Subjective Reports to Measurable Outcomes
This Governance Masterclass with Richard Stringham, GSP, demonstrates how boards can effectively monitor policies that seem "unmonitorable." Using a real-world example, the video walks through the transformation of qualitative governance requirements into objective,...
Change or Growth?
(Originally published May 13, 2021) Every now and then, I run into a board that has been using Policy Governance®, often for some time, and decides it wants a “change” – just to try something different. Almost always, this desire is precipitated by a significant...
Driving Lessons
Each Sunday I receive an email blog1. There’s a mix of quotations and short paragraphs. Always thought-provoking, often insightful, sometimes motivating. A while back I read the following quote from Geoff Colvin: “When we learn to do anything new—how to drive, for...