REALBoard Buzz™ - The Governance Coach

Policy Governance®: A Values-Based Model

Posted by David Gray
On September 11, 2019
Policy Governance System, Values

If you’ve had anything to do with the team here at The Governance Coach™, you’ll know that we are big fans of the Policy Governance® system first developed by John Carver back in the 1970s. And for good reason: over a period of 25 years, we’ve helped more than 500 boards work with the system, […]

External Monitoring Reports – When, How & Why?

Posted by Rose Mercier
On September 4, 2019
Monitoring

If you are buying a house or a car from the current owner, you want to know that the house or car is safe and operational as stated. After all, you don’t want to move in and discover a flooded basement at the end of the first rainy day, or have the car break down […]

All For One and One For All

Posted by Dee Incoronato
On August 28, 2019
One Voice

Feeling confident about your role as a board member and your ability to make a difference may depend upon how board members function as a team. The board of directors is the group of people entrusted with and accountable for the leadership and governance of an organization. In the best of circumstances, board members work […]

Policy Governance® – One Size Fits All?

Posted by Rose Mercier
On August 21, 2019
Policy Governance System

Should your Board be Governing for Disruption?

Posted by Richard Stringham
On August 14, 2019
Ends, Executive Limitations, Strategic Focus, Strategic Leadership

If you observe boards over time, you start to see some interesting patterns. A couple of decades ago, boards of non-profits were prone to direct their CEOs to enter into partnerships. Closer examination would reveal that it wasn’t just boards that were pushing partnerships; much was driven by funding agencies, particularly government funding agencies. From […]

The Value of a Robust System Regarding Risk

Posted by Jannice Moore
On August 7, 2019
Executive Limitations, Policy Governance System, Risk

A recent Governance Briefing from Davis Polk* details an interesting decision from the Delaware Supreme Court on the importance of boards exercising oversight of risk. The case revolved around a listeria outbreak at an ice cream production facility, which resulted in devastating losses, including several deaths. To quote from the article, “the case tells us […]

Eat One Hot Dog Faster

Posted by Andrew Bergen
On July 31, 2019
Board Leadership, Ends

One a recent episode of the Podcast* “Freakanomics Radio”, the host was interviewing world famous food eating champion Takeru Kobayashi. He is most well-known for taking on the Coney Island Hot Dog Eating Contest at the age of 23 and walking away the winner. Not only did he win – but he doubled the record […]

Three Types of Questions Your Board Should Ask Owners

Posted by Paul Zilz
On July 24, 2019
Owners and Ownership

I once served on a non-profit board comprised of passionate board members focused on improving the lives of those residing in our community. In an effort to shift the board’s focus from internal operational issues, I suggested the board seek input from members of our community about what community needs they saw that were not […]

Leading Through Values

Posted by Joseph Inskeep
On July 17, 2019
Board Leadership, Values

In the life of organizations, it really does matter whether leaders stay focused on the things that actually matter. For governing boards, what matters most is giving voice to the core values and principles that define organizational purpose, ethics and prudence. It is all too easy for a board to allow inertia to carry its […]

The Danger of an Executive Committee

Posted by Ted Hull
On July 10, 2019
Board Role, Committees

It’s been around since time immemorial and every board has one. It’s the executive committee. This sacrosanct group is usually made up of the officers of the board; typically the chair, vice-chair, secretary and treasurer. Its daunting mandate can include making decisions for the board in the event of an emergency, and doing the business […]

Effective Board Meetings

Posted by Dee Incoronato
On July 2, 2019
Board Agendas, Board Meetings

We live in a society of meetings. In the United States alone, there are more than 11 million meetings a day! If you are a board of directors, you are ultimately responsible for the success or failure of your organization. Most boards are mandated to meet at least once a year and many meet much […]

Should the Board Approve CEO Interpretations in Policy Governance®?

Posted by Jannice Moore
On June 25, 2019
Any Reasonable Interpretation, Monitoring

I’m often asked what the board should or should not “approve” in Policy Governance. This is an area that sometimes results in confusion because it requires a shift in mindset from traditional governance practices. Traditionally governed boards “approve” (or adopt, or accept) all manner of operational decisions. I am going to limit this blog to […]

Owner vs Customer

Posted by David Gray
On June 20, 2019
Owners and Ownership

It is sometimes said that owner-accountability is the holy grail of governance. Boards are encouraged to understand who their owners are, to differentiate between legal owners and moral owners, to connect meaningfully with those owners in order to understand their values and aspirations, to translate those values and aspirations (ultimately) into organizational performance, and to […]

Revolving Door Boards

Posted by Richard Stringham
On June 11, 2019
Board Meetings, Board Recruitment, Governance Improvement

Does your board suffer from revolving door directors’ attendance? In other words, some board members attend board meetings on an erratic basis: a meeting here and another there. Even if your board enables distance connection, these board members have spotty in and out attendance. Of course, who can blame them? These are busy people who […]

How a Board can Embrace Diversity

Posted by Rose Mercier
On May 28, 2019
Board Development, Values

It would be hard not to notice the proliferation of media stories, academic and industry research, anecdotal evidence, and statistics about the diversity – or lack thereof – on boards of directors. Corporate boards, in particular, have been under pressure from institutional investors, governments and regulators to address gender diversity, and there are many excellent […]

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 […]

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