Monitoring Archives - The Governance Coach

The Blame Game

Posted by Rose Mercier
On October 23, 2019
Accountability, Any Reasonable Interpretation, Monitoring

I read a series of reports in my local paper chronicling the hand-wringing of the board of a local municipal agency about what it could do about credit card expenses that had been submitted by a previous CEO – two years since departed. The board was not happy about what it had discovered. The local exotic dancing venue seemed to have been a favourite venue for entertaining prospective businesses or partners…One can perhaps understand the board’s discomfort. The […]

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 […]

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 […]

What is Monitoring in Policy Governance®?

Posted by Richard Stringham
On September 11, 2018
Monitoring

Remedy for a Governance Failure: Part 2: A Board is Ultimately Accountable for Everything

Posted by Rose Mercier
On August 14, 2018
Accountability, Executive Limitations, Governance Failure, Monitoring

For those who haven’t yet read Part 1 of this blog, here is a short recap: the blog was motivated by a newspaper article about a board of a social housing organization that was removed by the body that gave it the authority to govern. I pondered on the types of governance failure that would […]

Remedy for a Governance Failure: Part 1: TRUST….BUT VERIFY

Posted by Rose Mercier
On August 7, 2018
Accountability, Executive Limitations, Governance Failure, Monitoring

Perhaps because I live in a smaller city, lots of circumstances that might otherwise be a footnote in a larger metropolitan area attract the local newspaper’s attention. Consequently, I have a rich source of revelations about the impact of poor governance. Last week’s secondary front page story revealed that the municipality had removed both the […]

Are We There Yet? Developing Clarity About Results

Posted by Jannice Moore
On March 20, 2018
Ends, Monitoring

I remember several road trips when my children were young. About every ten minutes, one of them would ask, “Are we there yet?” Children ask this question because they have not developed a sense of time or distance, or they don’t have a clear picture of what the final destination is – what “there” will […]

But Dad!…

Posted by Andrew Bergen
On January 9, 2018
Monitoring

One of my colleagues (let’s call him Dave) is in the (un)enviable position of parenting a teenager. This seems to always be a challenge for both parents and teens alike. Recently, Dave was mentioning to me his frustration in managing his daughter’s curfew. On a Friday night in the not too distant past, she had […]

The Power of Words

Posted by Dee Incoronato
On December 19, 2017
Monitoring, Policy Development

“Handle them carefully, for words have more power than atom bombs.” Pearl Strachan Hurd Words, more powerful than an atom bomb? Words are risky. We must think about our words carefully! Risk is the possibility that something bad will happen. In Policy Governance® is it the Board of Directors’ or the CEO’s role to manage […]

You Want to Measure What?

Posted by Rose Mercier
On December 5, 2017
Monitoring

In my decade-long path of helping boards and CEOs implement practices that support the elegant governance system that is Policy Governance®, I have learned that monitoring is both embraced and cursed. Embraced for its promise of providing evidence that the organization is really making a difference. Cursed because figuring out the ways in which the […]

What’s Trust Got to Do With It?

Posted by Andrew Bergen
On November 14, 2017
Accountability, Monitoring

Not too many minutes ago, the plane I am sitting on took off and is taking me home. I’m anxious to return. I’ve been on the road for a while and look forward to home and connecting with those I love. It’s the beginning of the winter weather where I am, so I know that […]

What do you really want to know?

Posted by Dee Incoronato
On November 7, 2017
Information for the board, Monitoring

Have you ever been to a board meeting where it seems one board member beats around the bush trying to get information, but won’t ask a direct question? Instead, the person asks for a direct inspection of one item after another. “Just spit it out,” other board members think. What do you really want to […]

Becoming “Most Ethical”

Posted by Rose Mercier
On October 17, 2017
Accountability, Ethics, Monitoring

I read a wide variety of articles and reports –sometimes because they help to understand the breadth of thinking about governance, sometimes to help me reflect on how Policy Governance® can support increasingly impactful governance, sometimes just out of curiosity. Recently a March 2017 article in Forbes, “The World’s Most Ethical Companies”1 caught my eye. […]

Can We Be Candid?

Posted by Joseph Inskeep
On September 19, 2017
Board Self-Evaluation, Human Resources, Monitoring

The topic of candor got a boost this year from the popular book Radical Candor by Kim Scott (1), a retired Google/Apple veteran and management coach who believes the right kind of candor is a critical factor in personal and organizational success. Kim has YouTubed about the subject as well, and both her book and […]

Policies and Monitoring: More or Less

Posted by Joseph Inskeep
On August 8, 2017
Monitoring, Policy Development

More policy is not necessarily better, and less may sometimes be more. John Carver went so far as to headline his November 1997 Board Leadership article, “Honey, I Shrunk the Policies,” with the sentence “In Policymaking, More is Definitely Not Better.” A board I’m familiar with recently downsized the number of Executive Limitations in its […]

Could this Headline be about Your Organization?

Posted by Richard Stringham
On June 13, 2017
Executive Limitations, Governance Failure, Monitoring

It is the headline that board members dread: “Former Treasurer Charged with Defrauding [name of the organization]”. Yet, in the past month, I’ve caught two of those headlines in my local newspaper. It’s by no means the first as I’ve seen several such headlines over the years and met board members who tell me horror […]

Does A Church Congregation Need a Report Card?

Posted by Ted Hull
On March 28, 2017
Ends, Monitoring

Your grade six daughter has started at a new school this year. As report card time approaches you are looking forward to seeing how well she has adjusted. The email arrives with the promised report attached. The document reports on the educational degrees of the teacher, the skill level of program delivery and his classroom […]

Are You Really Reading This?

Posted by Dee Incoronato
On March 14, 2017
CEO Evaluation, Monitoring

As a former college professor, I challenged my students to be articulate. I’ve always believed the ability to clearly and effectively express ideas and to be understood is important. In the course of a semester, I would assign, at minimum, two oral presentations, a few short writing assignments and one final paper. Of course, this […]

Where’s the Package?

Posted by Andrew Bergen
On March 7, 2017
CEO Evaluation, Monitoring

In the current world, it is becoming increasingly easier (and more convenient) to order many goods from online marketing sites. I’m sure I purchase something online at least once every week. A feature has been added to online purchasing in the past few years, that I really appreciate. After receiving your invoice for the purchase, […]

How Does a Policy Governance Board Evaluate its CEO?

Posted by Ted Hull
On January 31, 2017
Accountability, CEO Evaluation, Monitoring

One of the most common questions I’m asked is “How does a Policy Governance® board evaluate its CEO?” Let me suggest that if your board is asking this question, it is asking the wrong one. If you hired someone to build a fence, you wouldn’t (or shouldn’t) evaluate the competence of the carpenter while the […]

Everything is NOT Fine

Posted by Dee Incoronato
On December 5, 2016
CEO Evaluation, Monitoring, Policy Governance System

A non-profit behavioral health organization I work with has an awareness campaign entitled “Everything is Not Fine.” Their clientele are children, youth and families. We all know this story. A loved one walks in the front door and you ask, “How was school? How was your day?” The typical answer: “Fine.” In spite of what […]

Don’t Look Under the Covers?

Posted by Dee Incoronato
On October 11, 2016
CEO Evaluation, Monitoring

If you’re on a board, it’s so tempting to look under the covers! In Policy Governance®, who gets to look? The Board? The CEO? Well, that depends. In Policy Governance®, the Board writes policy that guides the management of the organization. There is a clear sequence as the Board commands through this one careful channel, […]