This site is for boards of directors and CEOs at nonprofit organizations of all sizes. It supports effective board governance through articles, discussions, tools and governance consultant services.
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Effective Board Governance SeminarI will be offering an Effective Board Governance Seminar on Friday, May 11 in Minneapolis. For an information flier, click here. For the registration form, click here. I hope to see you there! |
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Board Governance
Serving as a board member or trustee for health care, higher education, human service and other public benefit organizations can be immensely challenging. Even though members want to make decisions in the best interest of those served and the organizations, it is no surprise that governing boards lose their way and find themselves wandering in a forest of confused roles, conflicting public expectations and boardroom ineffectiveness. This site is a resource for those involved with governing boards and committed to looking at governance challenges with fresh eyes. Welcome! Join the conversation! Come back often!
"Call to Order"
Governance Blog
June 16, 2011 at 12:49pm
If only I received a dollar every time I have heard this moan coming from the lips of an executive director…!
May 4, 2011 at 10:21am
This is the final post in a series about organizational monitoring. Please read the previous two posts before reading this entry.
One of the benefits of Policy Governance isan organizational monitoring process that provides an organized, thorough assessment of organizational compliance to board policies. Here is the proof that the organization you govern has stayed on the playing field you have defined! Let me explain how it works...
April 6, 2011 at 11:03am
This blog entry is the second in a series on the internal CEO monitoring report, a critical board tool for assessing organizational performance. These reports have four elements: 1) a restatement of the exact policy language, 2) the CEO's operational interpretation of that policy, 3) the data that proves the organization is in compliance (or that it isn't!) and 4) the signature of the CEO verifying the report. A properly executed operational interpretation is explicitly stated, measurable, and justified. This entry focuses on the role of measurement within the operational interpretation.
The CEO submits monitoring reports to the board on two types of policies established by the board; policies that define desired external outcomes (“Ends”) and policies that describe situations to be avoided by the organization (“Executive Limitations”). Explaining how the organization measured outcome accomplishment or situation avoidance is a key component of the CEO’s operational interpretation. Let’s look at two measurement examples.
February 23, 2011 at 01:23pm
If pressed to identify one topic my governance clients have been most challenged by over the past 12 months, I would unhesitatingly say the internal CEO monitoring report. CEOs struggle with what to put in their report and board members struggle knowing what to look for when reading and accepting them. Today's blog kicks off a series of entries on the topic. Check in for the latest entry soon. I promise I'll start writing more frequently (especially if I get some positive feedback from readers). I'll start the series with some thoughts on the report's operational interpretation sometimes called the CEO's Interpretation but first...
September 16, 2010 at 01:09pm
Boards that work with me hear me talk continually about how important teamwork is in the boardroom. Yes, process and structure is important but effective social dynamics is just as important to a board as it is the performance stage or the athletic field. If your team mates don't trust each other or maximize each other's strengths, you aren't going to win many games.
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Quick Question?
What governance challenge brought you to this site for answers? Ask me and I'll either respond privately or write about it in the Call to Order blog.
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All Material © 2010 Outof the Woods Consulting. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part is prohibited without the written permission of the publisher. |
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