REALBoard Buzz™
Are Your Monitoring Skills Over or Under Par?
Golf is an interesting sport. You head out to play your first round. You’re confident you’ll know what to do once you’ve teed up. After all you’ve been watching PGA and LPGA tournaments for a while. You’ve watched a few You-Tube videos to learn which clubs you need...
Board Improvement Requires Three Outcomes
If you serve on a board, you may see your role as limited to supervising and managing the highest-level staff person such as the CEO, Executive Director, or Lead Pastor. But what if your board’s actual job is to shape meaningful futures for those your organization...
Could AI be Your Board’s New Dad?
Having watched the frustration my father experienced teaching my older brothers to drive (one drove the car through the front end of the car port), I decided that driving lessons with a certified driving instructor might save my Dad from an early coronary. It turned...
Board Decision or Just Board Members Commenting?
In a previous blog, I’ve argued that boards should be less formal when applying parliamentary procedure. For example, if using a more formal process, a motion would be made before discussion could take place on the subject. Except for very large boards (which really...
Developing Wisdom
Wisdom: the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgment A board can develop wisdom by learning through experience or discipline. But…learning from experience is hit or miss. Learning through experience requires reflection. When was the last time...
Board Game Changers: Why Reflection is Your Secret Weapon
As a board member, your role goes beyond simply showing up and going through the motions. Fulfilling your fiduciary duties requires strategic decision-making. That means getting into the game, not just sitting on the sidelines. Think of it like reviewing game...
Non-Compliance Isn’t Scary
Years ago, I was working on a team that was using some quality improvement metrics. Every week we would huddle around our board and see if the targets we had set for ourselves were red or green (red meaning we missed the target, green meaning we hit the target). We...
Is your Board Shucking Oysters?
In my younger career, I reported to a CEO who, in turn, reported to the board of our nonprofit organization. I, along with my colleagues, were responsible to prepare some of the reports which were presented to the board. Through a couple of decades of service in that...
Understanding Those to Whom Your Board is Accountable
When you hear the term “accountable governance,” what comes to mind? For many, they think of accountability to the law, to government authorities, or to funders and donors. Certainly, those are important for a board’s accountability. But there is another group to whom...
Is the Board’s Security System Actually Working?
Am I the only one with security fatigue these days? I can’t access many of my online membership portals anymore with just a password. I enter my password, then the site sends me a text, emails me, or messages my authenticator with a code I then need to enter to verify...