REALBoard Buzz™

Strategic Importance of Effective Board Education

Posted by Paul Zilz
On September 16, 2020
Board Development, Board Role, Strategic Focus

The Jewish Torah tells a compelling story of a Middle Eastern shepherd encountering a bush that burns but is not consumed. The shepherd, known by the name of Moses, was curious and approached the bush only to be called in a new direction by the God known by the Jewish people as Yahweh. This encounter led to Moses taking an entirely new life path that led […]

Make a Real Strategic Difference: Stop Managing and Start Governing!

Posted by Paul Zilz
On September 9, 2020
Clear Delegation, Governance Improvement, Policy Governance System, Strategic Focus, Strategic Leadership

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 perceived lack of responsiveness from this vendor, and alternatives had been explored. Inevitably, someone asked if a motion […]

The Board’s Policy Manual – An Essential Tool

Posted by Rose Mercier
On September 2, 2020
Board Leadership, Policy Development

You shouldn’t be surprised to learn that the board’s essential tool in Policy Governance® is its policy manual. After all, it is “Policy” Governance. However, you might be surprised to learn that a board can control and direct the entire organization in a relatively short document. Thirty or so pages is usually sufficient. This realization is welcome relief for boards whose previous policy manuals ran to hundreds of pages, and who may have drafted policies in response to crises, inadvertently […]

Monitoring as Measurement

Posted by David Gray
On August 27, 2020
Accountability, Any Reasonable Interpretation, Monitoring

I’ve had occasion in recent times to observe a number of boards undertaking monitoring activities. A couple of takeaways have stuck in my mind as a result of these experiences, one of which I’ll describe below and the other I’ll describe in a subsequent blog. One characteristic common to each of the monitoring processes I […]

Track the Package

Posted by Andrew Bergen
On August 19, 2020
CEO Evaluation, Monitoring

In the current pandemic, online purchasing has become even more prevalent than previously. A feature I really appreciate is the ability to track the delivery status of the product by simply clicking one button. I love that! I love it for a couple of reasons: It reduces any worry or concern I have about the […]

Board Oversight of Workplace Discrimination

Posted by Richard Stringham
On August 12, 2020
Accountability, Governance Failure, Monitoring

If you sit on the board of directors for an organization, how do you know whether there has been unacceptable discrimination in the operational ranks? I’m not talking about discrimination based upon qualifications necessary for the position. Instead, I’m referring to discrimination based on factors such as skin tone, creed, gender identification, or disabilities. Each […]

Three Steps to Improve Board Effectiveness

Posted by Paul Zilz
On August 5, 2020
Accountability, Governance Failure, Monitoring

You may be an Executive Director, CEO, or Pastor who is concerned about board effectiveness and whether or not the board of the organization you serve has the proper strategic mindset to govern well. I know some foundations also are concerned about “board development” and are providing grants to improve board effectiveness. You may be […]

The Gift of Time…to Focus

Posted by Andrew Bergen
On July 29, 2020
Board Leadership, Board Meetings

At this time, we are living through the necessity for physical distancing. Like most people around us, we are hoping for the time when restrictions will be lifted safely. My wife and I are having conversations imagining what the “new normal” will be like for the world, as I suspect many others are doing. And […]

Does Your Board Multi-Task in Virtual Meetings?

Posted by Jannice Moore
On July 22, 2020
Board Meetings, Governance Improvement

In pre-COVID days, I have expressed concern about the effect on the board’s ability to govern well of board members who were distracted during board meetings by having their smart phones always at hand. The phones may have been blatantly obvious, they may have been on vibrate, they may have been surreptitiously checked under the […]

GSP – Professionalism in Governance

Posted by Rose Mercier
On July 15, 2020
Accountability

You may have seen and quite possibly know what CPA, CFA, PMI or P Eng. mean when they appear after someone’s name. You might also know that such designations are granted when a person has met certain standards of knowledge and is held accountable for acting within the boundary of professional ethics. We doubt you […]

Freedom In Discipline

Posted by Jannice Moore
On July 8, 2020
Board Development, Board Leadership, Governance Improvement

Has your board considered Policy Governance® but decided against it because it sounded like too much work, or you heard it was too confining? Often, this translates into “we don’t really want to exercise discipline.” Many boards tend to shy away from discipline. Perhaps it’s because the word evokes mental images of punishment – when […]

Boards, Purpose, and Policy Governance®

Posted by Rose Mercier
On July 1, 2020
Board Leadership, Ends

I read a lot of stuff. Online and print, articles and books, the most recent releases and the not-so-current: governance, strategy, management, culture, measurement, news, technology, music, food, mysteries…you get the idea. I don’t read everything with the same attention to detail with which I read governance books and articles. Often, I find myself having an internal dialogue about how an author’s ideas relate to Policy Governance® principles – the main […]

The Trick To Good Soup

Posted by Andrew Bergen
On June 24, 2020
Board Development, Board Leadership

As I mentioned in a previous blog, I’ve been exploring an emerging perspective on “Growth Mindset vs. Closed Mindset”. One of the leaders in this work is the Neuroleadership Institute. Their research indicates that the simple (yet often difficult) work of changing one’s mental model significantly shifts one towards possibilities that were previously unavailable. For example, I like soup. I […]

Boards Can Change the World; But Only with Gut-Wrenching Honesty

Posted by Richard Stringham
On June 17, 2020
Board Self-Evaluation, Governance Improvement, Values

Worldwide protests sparked by the death of George Floyd have some asking if this will be the turning point in history that is so badly needed. Calls are being made for every institution at every level to tackle the pervasive and systemic racism. I’m a white male in his mid-sixties living in an affluent Canadian […]

Who Makes A Good Board Member?

Posted by David Gray
On June 10, 2020
Board Recruitment, Board Role

I’m often asked what qualities distinguish a good board member from a not-so-good member, so that boards can try to recruit the former. In my opinion, there are three qualities. The first is a comprehensive understanding of the Policy Governance® system. Yes, I’m completely biased in this respect, but I regard the system as the […]

PART 2: Does Your Board Need to Downsize Before it Implements Policy Governance®?

Posted by Rose Mercier
On June 3, 2020
Board Structure

For Part 1, click here. You’re adopting Policy Governance – why would you consider downsizing? What are the possible benefits of a “smaller board”? One possible benefit is that with fewer members, you are more likely to hear everyone’s voice when talking about the values that should be the basis of your policies. As a […]

PART 1: Does Your Board Need to Downsize Before it Implements Policy Governance®?

Posted by Rose Mercier
On May 27, 2020
Board Structure

From time to time I like to Google the topic of board size – prompted either by a question I’ve been asked by a board – usually wanting to know the relationship between board size and effectiveness. Sometimes I go down the Google rabbit hole simply out of curiosity. Okay, I know board size is […]

Are You Mything Out?

Posted by Rose Mercier
On May 20, 2020
Objections to Policy Governance

“Here’s why our board doesn’t use Policy Governance®.” It’s “one size fits all” It gives too much power to the CEO It only works in big organizations You can’t have committees It prescribes structures and size It’s too rigid Board members can’t talk to staff Directors can’t fulfill their fiduciary duty unless they approve the […]

When the Wheels Fall Off a Meeting

Posted by David Gray
On May 13, 2020
Board Meetings

In my New Zealand-based governance consulting work, I’m privileged to work with a number of Māori tribal governance bodies. These are organisations which have been created (often by Act of Parliament) to govern the affairs of an iwi (or tribe) and to manage its assets. Tribal members are elected to the boards of these bodies through various kinds of electoral processes, often […]

Board Business in a Virtual World

Posted by Eric Phinney
On May 6, 2020
Board Meetings

I just completed a weeklong meeting with an international organization that I chair. Normally, to minimize travel costs, we meet only twice a year for 5 days. Facing the restrictions for COVID-19 was daunting. Could we get through the business that we had planned? Would people be able to engage? Would we be distracted by the technology? Would the technology work? Could we […]

Authority and Accountability

Posted by David Gray
On April 29, 2020
Accountability, Board Focus

One of the features of the Policy Governance® system is its focus on accountability. In my experience, this feature sometimes provokes a negative reaction from observers who are not completely familiar with the system. I think this is unfortunate, and often reflects a lack of understanding of how governance actually works. There is a cycle of authority and accountability at […]

Post-Covid 19 Governance and the New Norm

Posted by Richard Stringham
On April 22, 2020
Board Focus, Ends, Future Focus, Strategic Foresight

I think it’s fair to say that I’m not the only one wondering: “When will this pandemic be over so that we can return to normal?” Of course, there are two absurdities to that question: a) no-one knows when it will be over; and b) we won’t be returning to “normal;” instead we will be living the “new normal.” […]

Handling CEO Non-Compliance with Policies in a Pandemic

Posted by Jannice Moore
On April 15, 2020
CEO Evaluation, Monitoring

This pandemic is challenging for boards and CEOs. One issue expressed to me by several boards is how to support the CEO if the CEO is unable to meet the board’s expectations stated in existing Ends and Executive Limitations policies due to the changed circumstances resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic CEOs are often reluctant to […]

Revamping Board Agendas for Virtual Meetings – Part 2

Posted by Jannice Moore
On April 14, 2020
Expert Coaching. Practical Resources.

In Part 1 of this series, we looked at what you might consider changing on your board agenda to ensure the organization has appropriate processes in place in relation to the pandemic. Now we will address how you might consider processing your agenda differently in the new world of virtual-only meetings, at least for the […]

Why Your Board Cannot Ignore Any of the Policy Governance® Principles

Posted by Ted Hull
On April 8, 2020
Accountability, Policy Governance as a Whole

My wife and I have decided that we must replace our old vehicle. It has served us well, but recently it has laid down on us at the most inopportune times. We sat down at the table and after careful budget considerations determined we could afford $25,000. We could do that and still travel to see our daughter and her family in Toronto, take a winter vacation, […]

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