Changing a Board of Trustees

1
Changing a Board of Trustees

• From Futile
• to Fertile

William G. McGinnis
2
Existing Governing Board Climate

1. Dysfunctional
2. Varies between Functional and Dysfunctional
3. Functional Most of the Time
4. Varies between Functional and High Performing
5. High Performing

3
Common Signs of Dysfunction

• Adverse Conflict / Divided Board
• Lack of Trust
• Lack of Respect
• Single Issue Focus
• Political Connections / Ambitions
• Micromanagement
• Disengagement

4
Does your Board have other issues that adversely
impacts their performance?

1. Yes
2. No

5
Impacts of a Dysfunctional (Futile) Trustee Board

• Lack of vision for the college
• Frequent turnover in CEO position
• Accreditation problems
• Audit / Financial problems
• Criminal problems
• Employee Activism / Labor Strife
• Law suits
• Poor student success

6
Steps for Improvement

• Restructure Governing Board Agenda
• Cultivate a Board focus on Vision / Future
• Build / establish trust
• Communicate appropriately
• Facilitate Board accountability
• Expand Boards role to leadership
• Provide opportunities for thoughtful reflection
  discussion

7
Board Agenda Issues

• Agenda Format management
• Educate Board members on agenda format and issues
• Develop focused issued-centered agendas
• Connect issues to vision / mission / strategic
  plan goals

8
What Percentage of your Boards agendas for the
past year have been allocated to discussing the
vision and/or strategic plan of your college?

1. More than 80
2. Between 60 to 80
3. Between 40 to 60
4. Between 20 to 40
5. Less than 20

9
How much time is spent at each Board meeting on
Report Items (when the Board receives written and
verbal reports from others)?

• Less than 30 minutes
• Between 30 minutes to 1 hour
• Between 1 hour and 2 hours
• Between 2 hours and 3 hours
• More than 3 hours

10
Traditional Agenda

• Opening
• Reports
• Faculty Senate
• Classified Senate
• Students
• President
• Public Comment
• Trustee Reports
• Financial Agenda
• Approval of Expenditures
• Approval of Transfers
• Approval of Contracts
• Personnel Agenda
• Appointments
• Dismissals
• Retirements
• Labor Relations
• Benefits Report
• Action Agenda

11
Leadership Agenda Format

• Opening
• Consent Agenda
• Financial Items
• Personnel Items
• Resolution on signatures
• Resolution on course approvals
• Public Comment
• Action / Board Discussion Agenda
• Future Financial Goals
• Proposed College/K-12 partnership for student
  success
• Executive Session on Litigation
• Adjournment

12
Focus on Vision

• Build consensus
• Develop a common vision / mission
• Manage discussions to overall arching issues
• Focus on what not the how
• Tie agenda issues to vision / mission.
• Talk about the future

13
Has your Board participated in any trust building
exercises since it was formed?

1. Yes
2. No

14
Build Maintain Trust

• Create an environment in which trust can be
  developed and maintained
• Board Chairs role in maintaining a respectful
  meeting to maintain levels of trust
• Build consensus rather than scoring wins
• Communicate openly and honestly
• Focus on the future

15
Has your administration identified the style or
manner in which each Trustees prefers to
communicate

1. Yes
2. No

16
Communication

• Open and timely information
• Lack of surprises
• Communicate in the form the listeners need
• Sufficient / not too much / not to little
  information
• Benchmarks leading and lagging

17
Which of the following is completed annually by
your Board?

1. Board self-evaluation, establishment of Board
   Goals, and periodic discussions on the agenda
   throughout the year such goals
2. Board self-evaluation and establishment of Board
   Goals
3. Board self-evaluation
4. None of the above

18
Accountability Issue

• Focus Board attention on issues affecting Vision
  / Mission / Strategic Plan
• Measures that are tied to vision / mission /
  strategic plan goals
• Leading / lagging indicators
• Scorecards / Dashboards
• Establish Board Goals
• Facilitate Board Self-Evaluation Follow up

19
Has your Board identified any leading indicators
that can be used to measure student success?

1. Yes
2. No

20
Sample Benchmarks

• Transfer Rate to Universities
• Placement in desired occupations
• Success of 1st yr students in English Math
• Student Engagement survey
• Efficiency Rating of Student Enrollment
• Facility Condition Index
• Community Survey

21
Expand Boards Role

• Fiduciary Role / Activities
• Strategic Role / Activities
• Leadership Role / Activities
• Percent of work in each area
• Restructure in the future

22
Time to Discuss / Lead

• Open certain meetings to discussion / leadership
  activities
• Create an environment conducive to discussions
• Manage conflict to remain constructive
• Create visions of what not focus on how

23
What is the most important major issue facing
your College today that requires the Boards
attention?

1. Long term finances
2. Employee Turnover Replacement
3. Improving Student Success
4. Improving student participation
5. Other

24
How frequently has or will your Board discuss
this major issue?

1. Every Board Meeting
2. Once a Quarter
3. Twice a year in retreats
4. Once a year maybe
5. Never

25
Benefits of a Fertile Board

• Attracts high performing administrators
• Creates an environment of trust conducive of
  change
• Creates an environment focused on the future
  supportive of innovation
• Creates a community climate of respect for the
  college
• Leads to student success

26
How to Start

• Help the Board build trust
• Among their members
• Between the Board and the CEO
• Change the Agenda
• Less Wasted time
• Fewer Fiduciary matters
• More time for Leadership

27
Maintain Performance

• Thru Board Retreats review Board Performance
• Hold Board training whenever a new member is
  seated
• Board Chair to hold members accountable
• Revisit Board commitment when necessary

28
QUESTIONS
29
Conclusion

• From Futile to Fertile, as in Farming,
• the role of the farmer whose success is directly
  affected by his knowledge of the impacts of his
  stewardship of the environment the success of
  our colleges is directly connected to their
  Boards knowledge of the impacts of their
  stewardship of the institutions.