What it takes to become an Effective and Impactful Workforce Board member Mary Margaret Garrett GDEcD

Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act – fully implemented July 2017 Visions Workforce Boards as: System Builders: WIOA expands the strategic roles of state and local workforce development boards Regional Backbones: WIOA positions boards to better meet the workforce needs of local and regional employers ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL! No Two LWDBs Alike! Likewise, No STATE IS THE SAME.

Key Governance Provisions within WIOA Reduces size of state, local boards Streamlines board membership Retains business majorities/leadership role (w/ focus on high-growth employers) Adult Ed as required member Enhances local control over the mix of services More flexibility

Functions for Local Workforce Boards – WIOA 679.360-370 Analysis of regional conditions Lead efforts to engage employers Lead efforts to develop and implement career pathways Identify and promote proven and promising practices Establish standing committees to more effectively accomplish the work of the board Better utilize technology to facilitate connections among the intake and case management systems of one stop partners, to access services providing though the one stop system, to meet the needs of individuals with barriers to employer and to leverage resources and capacity

Board Functions Promote customer choice of participants among providers Enhance coordination with education production; and Assess the physical and programmatic accessibility of one stop centers annuals in accordance with the ADA and applicable non-discrimination provisions under Title I WIOA

Expected Outcomes More talent development strategies: Enhanced sector strategies – HDCI Coordinated career pathways Strengthening connections between core programs Fresh operational approaches: Customer flow/service (e.g. customer-centered service design)

How many Board members? 19 minimum size (WIOA) with all required partners Majority business and if add more business members, have to add more in the 20% category (union, apprenticeships, CBOs, youth providers) Smaller board size should allow for more in-depth discussion of issues and strategic planning.

Standing Committees WIOA encourages the use of standing committees to expand opportunities for stakeholders to participate in board decision-making. Possible Types of Committees: Youth Services to Individuals with Disabilities One-Stop Operations Other Committees (as determined by the Chief Elected Official)

WHAT COMMITTEES HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHED BY THE BOARD? WHAT COMMITTEES ARE YOU INVOLVED IN? Did you volunteer or were you asked? Planning One Stop Youth Finance Executive

Keys to Success The Board/Committee: Understands its purpose for being together and the goals that it is working toward, or openly works to resolve disagreements (aligned on purpose) Is clear about larger project goals and can translate them into smaller action steps, meetings, discussions and steady progress toward the desired outcomes DOES THE BOARD UNDERSTAND THE ROLE OF ADULT EDUCATION IN THE WORKFORCE SYSTEM?

Board Balance Most Boards must balance their strategic role with their compliance role. Some Boards deal with all compliance details at the committee level and strategic work engages the talents and energy of the full Board. With all the requirements, it is easy to get focused on compliance.

Board Participation The board cannot function effectively unless each member actively participates and contributes to the work of the organization. ARE YOU DOING YOUR PART? ARE YOU PARTICIPATING and ENGAGED OR SHOWING UP? ARE YOU SHARING YOUR KNOWLEDGE?

EFFECTIVE/ACTION? ARE YOU SUGGESTING AGENDA ITEMS – PRESENTATIONS FOR THE BOARD? HAVE YOU MET WITH THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE and the BOARD CHAIR to see how to be more involved?

Participation/Information? WHAT VALUE DO YOU ADD? Are you sharing your knowledge in Adult Education? At the WIOA Convening session – ‘Core Programs – What it is that you do?’ Beverly Smith shared a Fact Sheet on Adult Ed programs – She received the most response from the audience! In FY17 10,128 Georgians achieved a GED! GA’s adult education providers enrolled 41,307 students for FY 17 taking instruction at one of our 450+ sites

Participation? Have you visited other Board members to determine their interest in their community Adult Ed Programs? Do you see Board members in other parts of the Region or are you focused locally? Or are you just attending the Board meetings?

Collaboration (lapiana.org) Real Collaboration necessarily involves partners working closely together on substantial content-laden issues, and workforce development issues, not merely monitoring programs. It is inherently interactive. It may entail conflict, but it must involve engagement. Real Collaboration is relationship-based; it requires that the partners get to know one another well enough to eventually develop trust. This trusting relationship includes a deep commitment to work together.

Collaboration? Real Collaboration takes time. It cannot begin, be nurtured, and mature within the limited timeframe and high-pressure environment created by a required memorandum of understanding process. Real Collaboration is painful and difficult to achieve. Most often, there will not be many happy collaborators in the early going. Conflict and stress, because they can be by-products of engagement, are often healthy signs in a Collaborative; they are much preferable to distance and lack of engagement.

Collaboration Mandates cannot create Real Collaboration, but they can bring key leaders together. In most instances the WIOA will not seed or create a partnership where none existed before unless the motivation to create a partnership is present and strong.

Types of thinking (Creativethink.com) These four roles are a part of the creative process and each one embodies a different type of thinking. The Explorer - Your Role for Searching for Information The Artist - Your Role for Transforming Information into New Ideas The Judge - Your Role for Evaluating an Idea and Deciding What To Do With It The Warrior - Your Role for Carrying Good Ideas Into Action

HOMEWORK WHAT IS YOUR ROLE? NAME ONE ACTION/BEHAVIOR YOU WILL TAKE/CHANGE? WHAT WILL YOU DO DIFFERENTLY MOVING FORWARD?