building your best board - part 1
DESCRIPTION
Slides from the Oct 2, 2013, webinar "Building Your Best Board," presented by the Ohio Environmental Council, River Network, and the Institute for Conservation Leadership.TRANSCRIPT
Building Your Best BoardBuilding Your Best BoardA 2‐part webinar series: October 2 & 9, 2013
Thank you for joining us We will begin in few minutesThank you for joining us. We will begin in few minutes. Please check your speakers/phone connection. If you experience any problems please let us know byIf you experience any problems, please let us know by typing in the chat box.Follow the OEC on Twitter: @OhioEnviro.Follow the OEC on Twitter: @OhioEnviro. The hashtag for this webinar is #OECwebinar
Building Your Best BoardPart I: Board Roles & Best Practices for
Board Development
Kristy Meyer
Ohio Environmental Council
Francisco Ollervides & Diana Toledo
River Network
Peter Lane & Nancy Oswald
Institute for Conservation Leadership
Ohio Environmental Council
The OEC is the Ohio’s most comprehensive, effective and respected environmental advocate for a healthier more sustainable Ohioenvironmental advocate for a healthier, more sustainable Ohio.
Our experts work daily to restore, protect, and strengthen the quality of life for families and communities—from the air wequality of life for families and communities from the air we breathe and the water we drink to the food we eat and natural resources we enjoy.
Please join us! OEC members: Receive great benefitsB f h i ki d Become part of the community working to restore, protect, and strengthen the quality of life for families and communities in Ohio.
Join us today at www.theOEC.org.
Polls
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Goals of Webinar series
By the end of this Series you will be able to:
Reflect on the roles and responsibilities of a nonprofit Board and assess areas where your own Board can be strengthenedand assess areas where your own Board can be strengthened
Identify steps you can take to strengthen your organization’s Board recruitment and orientation practices
Identify the benefits of a board governance plan and know 5 things every plan should include C id t t b d i b ildi l Consider steps to engage your board in building a plan
Create accountability mechanisms to ensure progress
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It comes down to leadership…
“Development of the Board of Di t i th t f d t lDirectors is the most fundamental activity needed to build and maintain a strong nucleus for a nonprofit organization.”
Marc Smiley, Solid GroundO i i l D l G
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Organizational Development Guru
Evolution of a Nonprofit Board
the Organizing Board
the Governing Board
the Institutional Board the Institutional Board
From: Karl Mathiasen (1990) Board passages:
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From: Karl Mathiasen (1990) Board passages: Three key stages in a Non Profit Board’s Life Cycle
The Big Picture
Board roles:• LeadershipLeadership• Planning• OversightOversight• Resources
Staff roles:• Daily operation & program management; • Implement policies set by Board; • Keep Board informed about issues &
8activities that are part of the life in the org.
Typical Board Roles
1. Ensures ongoing viability of the1. Ensures ongoing viability of the organization
2 Connects to the community2. Connects to the community3. Makes decisions & sets policies that define
h th i t it Mi ihow the org. carries out its Mission4. Manages the organization
hires & fires Exec. Director sets internal policies (financial, personnel,
9fundraising, PR, etc.)
Typical Board Roles
5. Manages the organization’s finances
6 Ensures effective planning6. Ensures effective planning
7. Monitors and evaluates Programs
8. Assesses its own work and replaces itself
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The Big Picture
Board roles:• LeadershipLeadership• Planning• OversightOversight• Resources
Staff roles:• Daily operation & program management; • Implement policies set by Board; • Keep Board informed about issues &
11activities that are part of the life in the org.
Shared Leadership – Responsibilities
Governance (Board) Management (Staff) Oversight & guidance Acts as a group on behalf of the organization
• Day‐to‐day operation• Acts as an individual on behalf of
the organizationthe organization Continuous Has minimal or no staff
the organization• Temporary• Has access to all staff
Ultimately responsible Typically NOT issue expert
• Limited/immediate responsibility• Typically professional/NGO
Volunteer Sees only parts of the whole
expert• Salaried• Intimately involved w/ everything
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whole • Intimately involved w/ everything
An Important Distinction
A Board plays two important but distinct roles:
Governance role, and
S t lSupport role
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Governance Supportb d d d bAs a body or
individuals?Board acts as a body
Board members as individuals
Who is the boss?
The board is the boss
Board members act with or under direction of boss? boss staff
What are • Big decisions• Legal oversightCEO
• Advice• Revenue strategy (fundraising, donating or
they doing?• CEO• Planning• Efficiency & impact
( g, gmaking connections)
• Ambassadors• Volunteering
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• Volunteering
Board Café (2011), Jan Masaoka
Shared leadership form ‐ Homework
Helps distinguish what staff does from what Boards do
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from what Boards do
Are there aspects of your organization’s work where more clarity on the staff’s vs. the Board’s role could be helpful?
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pf
Five “BMPs” for Creating a Strong Board
1 Select well1. Select well
2. Articulate expectations
3. Provide organizational information & ongoing education
4. Engage each Board member and promote team workteam work
5. Anticipate and prepare for leadership transitions
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transitions
1. Select well
A thoughtful, deliberative process that is functioning throughout the yearfunctioning throughout the year
C id d iConsider your needs in:• Skills and knowledgeC t t d i fl• Contacts and influence
• Demographics
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2. Articulate Expectations“A Board that knows what is expected of it and performs at“A Board that knows what is expected of it and performs at the highest level is a strategic resource for its organization and lead staff…. Good governance begins with people whoand lead staff…. Good governance begins with people who can do the most to fulfill the mission of the organization.”
BoardSource
Tools: Board job descriptions &
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Tools: Board job descriptions & Fundraising Commitment form
3. Provide Needed Information & Ongoing Education
• Board Manual
• Board meetings & retreatsBoard meetings & retreats
• New Board member orientation
• Committees
• Board & Committee workplansp
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4. Engage Board Members & Promote Team Work
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4. Engage Board Members…
• Evaluate effectiveness of current assignments
• Conduct Board self‐evaluations
• Conduct exit interviews with departing Boardwith departing Board members
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5. Plan for Leadership Transitions ‐ Steps
1. Review bylaws regarding term limits for Board members & officers
2. Review current make‐up of Board, officers and committees
3. Determine upcoming term expirations & vacancies4. Review your needs with regard to upcoming projects, y g p g p j ,
developments, etc.5. Review potential new Board members identified
throughout the year for skills and dynamics
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5. Leadership Transitions
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In Conclusion:
Great Boards have critical elements of leadership, composition,
structure and practices in place;structure and practices in place; clarity on their role vis‐à‐vis staff leadership that reinforces interpersonal
relationships and strengthens lines of i ticommunication;
meaningful engagement through committees;
25 personal satisfaction.
Your Homework
Fill out the Shared Leadership form b f t k’ bi
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before next week’s webinar
Upcoming Programs
• River Network Financial Management Webinar Series g• 6‐month intensive training, starting November ‘13• Six 90‐min. webinars, first Tuesday of every month (Nov. ‘13 – April ‘14)
• Five hours of one‐on‐one consulting • Email [email protected] for more information@ g
• National River Rally Pittsburgh PA• National River Rally, Pittsburgh, PA (May 30‐June 2, 2014)
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Tools & Resources
• Resources from webinar• Shared Leadership form & Board Succession Planning formpreviously sent
• For others, email [email protected]
i k hi fi• River Network Partnership Benefits • Free fundraising database, insurance discounts, quarterly
publications, discounted services & morep ,• http://www.rivernetwork.org/partner‐benefits
• River Network Resource library yhttp://www.rivernetwork.org/resource‐library?tid=All
• Organizational Assessment Tool // /
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http://www.rivernetwork.org/status‐report‐survey
See you next week! o Building Your Best Board (Part 2);
October 9th, 1 ‐ 2 p.m. EST, po If you registered for Part 1, you are
already registered for Part 2already registered for Part 2. o You will receive another email with
login instructions for Part 2.