Board Leadership: Reflecting on Your Present Board Membership

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Board Leadership Reflecting on Your Present
Board Membership

• Montoya A. Whiteman
• Director of Training and Technical Assistance
• First Nations Development Institute

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You Will Learn

• Board and executive director roles in a nonprofit
  organization.
• Types of nonprofit boards.
• The importance of governance in a nonprofit
  organization.
• How a board functions within a nonprofit
  organization.
• Recognize and handle expectation gaps.

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Types of Boards

• Policy Governing Board variety of board
  committees CEO
• Founding Board- just getting started little or
  no staff
• Collective board team effort with shared
  responsibilities

• Policy Governance Board focus on policies and
  determine the ends and leave means to the
  staff
• Other Structures Chamber of Commerce

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What is policy development?

• Plays a central role in any nonprofit
  organization that motivates a staff to move the
  organizations mission forward.

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What is policy development?

• By lawthe board of directors/trustees are
  responsible for setting policy for the
  organization.
• It begins with
• Drafting, revising, and amending (if necessary)
  documents that set out various rules, regulations
  and procedures for an organization.

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Advantages

• Establishes standards against which to measure
  employee and board/trustee actions.
• Provides grounds for dismissal when nonconformity
  exists.
• Protects the trustees from liability.

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Why Should Boards be Involved?

• Contacts people give to people.
• Time it leverages their investment of time in
  the organization.
• Role its their job as a board member.
• Leadership board members make great leaders.

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Six Practical Board Functions

• Relationship to Members
• Board Duties
• Board Organization Training

• Meeting Effectiveness
• Relationships with CEO and Management
• Legal and Financial

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Other functions

• Define, update, and govern the mission, values
  and vision of the organization
• Engage in policy development
• Financial Oversight

• Strategic Planning and Evaluation
• Oversee the work of the CEO
• See the ongoing life of the Board
• Represent the organization to the community

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Board Duties

• Purpose
• Planning
• Delegating
• Board Policies
• Stewardship of Resources
• Monitoring and Evaluating
• Reporting back to the Membership

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Board Duties

• Purpose
• How well are you carrying out your legal and
  financial obligations?
• Planning
• How effective is your annual plan?
• How effective is your long-range plan?

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Board Duties contd

• Delegating
• How well does the board know which tasks in the
  long-range plan and annual plan are their
  responsibility?
• Board policies
• How adequately do you define what is expected of
  board committees?
• How adequately do you define what is expected of
  management?

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Board Duties contd

• Stewardship of Resources
• How well does the board steward the
  organizations reputation?
• How well does the board steward its audit
  process?
• How well does the board steward property, plant,
  and equipment?

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Board Duties contd

• Monitoring and Evaluating
• How well does the board know what is going on in
  the organization?
• How doe the board know what the outcomes of the
  organizations work are?
• Reporting back to the membership?
• How well does the board and staff keep the
  organizations membership informed?
• How well do you celebrate accomplishments/annivers
  aries?

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Legal Responsibilities

• The board of directors have a legal obligation to
  make sure that the organization is carrying out
  its activities and fulfilling its mission.
• Three duties required by law are
• Duty of Care
• Duty of Loyalty
• Duty of Obedience

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Legal Responsibilities

• Duty of Care
• Exercise power with the same duty and skills as
  personal and business life.

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Legal Responsibilities

• Duty of Loyalty
• Put the needs of the nonprofit ahead before
  personal gain and receive no personal profit,
  i.e. conflict of interest.

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Legal Responsibilities

• Duty of Obedience
• Act within the requirements of the law and
  according to the organizations mission and
  by-laws.

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What is Board Governance?

• Governance Congressional branch
• Management Executive branch

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Board Governance Includes

• Bylaws
• Policies
• Committees
• Communication
• Evaluation
• Risk Management
• Roles

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By-laws Manuals

• By-laws
• Articles of Incorporation
• Charters
• Board of Director Manual
• Employee Manual
• Board Minute Manual

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Policies

• Policies
• Conflict of Interest
• Equal Employment Opportunity
• Anti-Harassment Policy
• Anti-Violence in Workplace
• Substance Abuse
• Compensation/Benefits
• General Office Policies/Procedures
• Internet/Electronic Mail Policy

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Types of Board Committees

• Executive
• Revenue Development
• Financial
• Audit
• Nominating/Board Development
• Technology
• Human Resource
• Investment
• Program Development Oversight
• Volunteer
• Community Relations

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Communication

• Board Meeting Minutes
• Committee Meeting notes
• Press Releases
• Annual Reports
• Brochures
• Internet

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Risk-Management

• General Management
• Board Management
• Board Liability
• Insurance
• Use of Property
• Intellectual Property
• Volunteers Fiscal Management

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Board of Directors

• Learn by doing.
• Learn by observing and interacting with
  others.
• Learn by reading.
• Learn by moving in a bigger world.
• Learn from their mistakes.
• Learn through orientation.

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A Boards Position of Dominance

• Hire the E.D.
• Evaluate the E.D.
• Can terminate the E.D.

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• Whereas the board decides ends (outcomes),
  management is responsible for the means by which
  ends are achieved.
• Edgar Stoesz

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The Big X
LEGISLATIVE

• Members
• Board of Directors
• Executive
• Chair
• CEO
• Senior Dept.
• Staff Managers
• Staff/Volunteers
• Program

Develop Policy
Discern
What
Head
Ends
Board
Think
How
Act
Staff
Do
Means
Hands
Implement Policy
EXECUTIVE
Stoesz, Edgar. 2007. Doing Good Even Better.
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• The executive director should use a combination
  of management science and artful techniques to
  balance the needs of the organization with the
  interests, abilities and needs of the board
  member.
• Stephen R. Block

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Communication

• Communication between the executive director and
  the board is critical to the successful operation
  of the nonprofit organization.
• Why?
• In good times.problems are averted
• In bad times..a we/they atmosphere can
  permeate the internal operations of the
  organization

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Fundamental Misunderstandings

• Scenario 1
• Board members attempt to involve themselves in
  detailed administrative tasks that are staff
  responsibility, i.e. attending an organizational
  event and trustee seeks to correct a staff person
  when its the executive directors role

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Fundamental Misunderstandings

• Scenario 2
• Board members make programmatic decision without
  consulting staff where staff expertise would have
  been helpful i.e. board members might decide to
  proceed with a fundraising event without
  consulting the chief executive and the staff
  fundraiser/development director

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Fundamental Misunderstandings

• Scenario 3
• Board members may interfere in personnel issues,
  i.e. invite unhappy staff members to bring
  complaints directly to the board rather than
  deferring the issue to the executive director

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How can expectation gaps be stopped from
widening?

• Refer to the organizations policies and
  procedures
• Hold people accountable
• Define roles
• Develop a contract or letter of agreement

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Expectation Gaps

• Conduct annual reviews to evaluate performance
  both at board and director levels
• Recognize that board and staff are equally
  culpable
• Jointly own the mission of the Stop the Violence
  Coalition
• Identify options

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Expectation Gaps

• Use technology to keep each other informed,
  involved, and engaged
• Host meetings that are not necessarily
  face-to-face
• Embrace change
• Understand the need to change
• Identify a vision of how change will be better
• Discuss how change will affect individuals

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THINK!

• Who wins when we work together?

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Review

• Understand the importance of board governance at
  your nonprofit organization.
• Know where the gaps exist.
• Initiate plan to bridge the gaps.
• Once gaps are identified, then work to produce
  change within yourself or your organization.

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For Support

• Montoya A. Whiteman
• Director of Training Technical Assistance
• First Nations Development Institute
• 703 Third Avenue, Suite B.
• Longmont, Colorado 80501
• Phone [phone]
• Fax [phone]
• Email mwhiteman_at_firstnations.org

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References

• Block, Stephen R. 1998. Perfect Nonprofit
  Boards Myths, Paradoxes and Paradigms. Simon
  Schuster, Needham Heights, MA.
• Full Circle Board Training Workbook.
  http//www.fullcircleconsulting.com
• Stoesz, Edgar. 2007. Doing Good Even Better.
  Good Books, Intercourse, PA.
• Wright, George B. 1992. The Not-For-Profit CEO.
  C3 Publication, Portland, OR.