The Importance of Vocabulary

Posted by Eric Phinney
On May 21, 2019
Board Development

In the last year, my wife and I have done two things that involved using a new vocabulary. The first was spending 8 months on our sailboat traveling from Maine to Miami and then to the Bahamas and back. For life on a sailboat to be safe, enjoyable and successful, you need to add a good […]

Does Your Board Need an Information Diet?

Posted by Jannice Moore
On May 14, 2019
Board Agendas, Information for the board

Have you ever received the agenda package for your board meeting and thought “Oh, no – do I really have to wade through all of this information?” If so, you’re not alone. I think many board members, on receiving the package, feel like they are swimming upstream in a river of paper (or electronic documents). […]

Building CEO and Board Success – Part 3 of 3

Posted by Richard Onley
On May 7, 2019
Board Role

In our last blog, we discussed the difference between best practices vs. principles and how this can impact on bringing clarity to the board – CEO relationship. We began to examine the Policy Governance® model and how it can bring role clarity and create excellent communication between the board and CEO. Let’s discuss one of […]

Building CEO and Board Success – Part 2 of 3

Posted by Richard Onley
On April 30, 2019
Board Leadership, Board Role

Last week, I examined the issue of the board’s contribution to CEO failure and discussed whether best practices could be the answer. What about the principle-based approach? Principles are based on a fundamental or general truth that provides people with guidelines to make better decisions in changing circumstances. Well-considered principles will impact a broad set […]

Building CEO and Board Success Part 1 of 3

Posted by Richard Onley
On April 23, 2019
Board Role

Is the CEO and Board Success Mutually Exclusive? In February 2018, Chief Executive Magazine reported: “One of the top reasons CEO’s stated for lack of success was ”the inability to build a connection with the Board” followed by “failure to manage the Board.” The article went on to discuss best practices and success strategies including developing an engagement plan to target each board member. Consider […]

Two “Make or Break” Leadership Values

Posted by Paul Zilz
On April 16, 2019
Board Leadership, Servant Leadership, Values

Think about the last time you were trying to resolve an emotionally-laden issue within your family, your business team, or perhaps your church or service organization. What and how did you communicate? My wife has often said one of my greatest strengths is that I am that person who is not afraid to address the […]

New Ways of doing things

Posted by Eric Phinney
On April 9, 2019
Policy Governance System

As we continue our cruise up the coast of North America in the Intracoastal Waterway, we have visited many cities and towns. We have embraced many new ideas and come to understand that there are many ways of doing things. Today, as we went ashore in Charleston, SC to get some groceries, we saw two […]

Policy Governance® has No Grandchildren

Posted by Ted Hull
On April 2, 2019
Board Development, Sustaining Policy Governance

Recently I became involved in a conversation with the CEO of an organization of which I am one of the board members. The CEO has also served on other Policy Governance® boards. In the course of conversation he was asked why he thinks Policy Governance loses traction with many boards over time. I would love […]

Just a Minute – Pay Attention to the Minutes

Posted by Rose Mercier
On March 26, 2019
Board Meetings

In the course of any board’s work, there will be minutes. Minutes are the record of the board’s hours together, the decisions it makes, and sometimes its deliberations. Despite the fact that they serve the same purpose, minutes invariably differ from board to board. A matter-of-fact board wants minutes that contain only the minimum required […]

The Board as an “It”

Posted by Richard Stringham
On March 19, 2019
One Voice

If you listen to conversations about governance, inevitably someone will refer to a board as “they.” For example: “The board indicated that they want to see more information in our reports.” I suggest that the language needs to change. Instead of “they,” the board should be thought of as an “it.” Before you think that […]

Peter, Paul and Mary

Posted by Andrew Bergen
On March 12, 2019
Board Agendas, Future Focus

The work patterns for my wife and I allow us to travel to the office together in the morning. We park underground at her office complex and, from there, I walk to my office. The parking underground sure is nice in winter! When we first started this travel pattern, in the middle of winter, we […]

Can a Policy Governance® Board do Fundraising?

Posted by Ted Hull
On March 5, 2019
Board Role, Clear Delegation, Fundraising

When a not-for-profit organization recruits board members, one of the desired – and even required – criteria is the capacity to raise funds. How well a candidate is connected with those who have deeps pockets and are more likely to reach into those pockets is a coveted asset. If you are on a Policy Governance […]

Your Members Can Make a Real Difference in a Way You May Never Have Thought Possible

Posted by Paul Zilz
On February 26, 2019
Role Clarity

Role clarity for members is often a topic I address with a church interested in improving its ability to achieve its mission. This issue arises because the church leadership is interested in moving from a member-managed organization to a board-governed organization, using John Carver’s system of Policy Governance®. Ensuring members have a proper understanding of […]

Executive Sessions – Why, When and How

Posted by Rose Mercier
On February 19, 2019

Early in my professional career, I worked in a nonprofit organization. I knew relatively little about board roles or governance processes – no one was even actually talking about ‘governance’ back then. I did observe that, quite apart from the need to prepare seemingly endless reams of material and reports, upcoming board meetings instilled a […]

At The Heart of Change

Posted by Joseph Inskeep
On February 12, 2019

The world becomes a little better place to live when any governing board ascends to principled, strategic leadership. Such a board undoubtedly will have fostered a culture that values learning as much as leading. The learning curve is not without discomfort, of course; it usually involves dissonance and always values insight more than comfort. Principled, strategic […]

Why Should the CEO [Not] be on the board?

Posted by Ted Hull
On January 29, 2019

If you want to have a passionate discussion, try one that addresses whether the CEO should or should not be on the board. Some will view it as necessary as ice-cream with apple pie and others as a skunk at a garden party. Well, not quite that good or that bad; but you get the […]

Board Expectations: Where are they Written?

Posted by Richard Stringham
On January 22, 2019
Board Meetings, Governance Improvement, Policy Development

As a last-minute request, I was once asked to chair an Annual General Meeting for a non-profit organization. There had been some internal conflicts on the board followed by some resignations and the Board (including replacement directors) wanted someone “neutral” to chair what was shaping up to be a contentious meeting. (Note to self: don’t […]

MIRROR, MIRROR ON THE BOARD WALL – ARE WE THE MOST EFFECTIVE BOARD OF ALL?

Posted by Rose Mercier
On January 15, 2019
Board Self-Evaluation

A new year. Time for resolutions. Energy for self-improvement. What better time for your board to ask itself – are we governing as effectively as we could? Why is self-evaluation important? As a board, you are entrusted with the stewardship of resources on behalf of someone else – the legal and moral owners of the […]

Does Willpower Lead to Success?

Posted by Jannice Moore
On January 8, 2019
Governance Improvement

It’s that time of year again. Your board has resolved that THIS year, things will be different. You will do a better job of – fill in the blank. You’ve begun using Policy Governance®, but are struggling with how to maintain a connection with owners. Or your CEO isn’t all that keen on writing monitoring reports […]

How Formal Should Your Board Meetings Be?

Posted by Richard Stringham
On December 18, 2018
Board Chair Role, Board Meetings

Have you ever come away from a board meeting with a sense that the group could have made better collective decisions? Did you feel that a healthy conversation would be far more productive than a set of orchestrated motions that you are expected to vote upon following some rather tightly controlled debate which doesn’t seem […]

When Boards Make Big Changes and Govern with Purpose

Posted by Paul Zilz
On December 11, 2018
Board Leadership, Governance Improvement, Strategic Leadership

Remember the last time you moved or renovated? My wife and I are making major renovations to our main floor in the house. Wow! What an endeavor! As well as you try to anticipate the various decisions that must be made, there are always 100 more that arise because of contingencies. Same with a move! […]

Measure What You Value

Posted by Andrew Bergen
On December 4, 2018

This week, I listened to a Podcast from Freakonomics Radio called “Where Does Creativity Come From?”. If you are looking for a recommendation for a good podcast, I’d suggest Freakonomics – very divergent and evocative thinking is presented in their work. The episode in question aired on October 24, 2018. One of the people being […]

Don’t Be Satisfied with Low-Hanging Fruit

Posted by Jannice Moore
On November 27, 2018

We have an apple tree in our backyard. This fall it was so loaded with apples we had to prop up the lower branches to keep them from breaking. When it was time to harvest them, we picked all the apples we could reach without a ladder – the low-hanging fruit – and filled several […]

The “At What Cost” Question

Posted by Ted Hull
On November 13, 2018
At What Worth, Ends, Opportunity Costs

When boards – and specifically not for profit boards, are developing their Ends, they will determine who the beneficiaries are and what benefits will result for these beneficiaries. The third part of this process is determining whether or not it’s worth the cost of producing those results for those people. Underlying that is the question […]

Implementing Policy Governance: A Cost-Benefit Analysis

Posted by Rose Mercier
On November 6, 2018
Policy Governance Implementation

Before we decide to invest in anything major, either as an individual or as an organization, we often undertake a cost benefit analysis. We usually start by listing the benefits, the potential upside of moving forward. If we want to make sure we’re considering all the angles, we also list the potential downsides. So, what […]

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