Working With Your Board Creating Partnerships That Work

MANAGEMENT LEADERSHIP

MANAGEMENT Maintain Status Quo (Mission) MANAGEMENT Maintain Status Quo (Mission) LEADERSHIP

Staff’s Roles MANAGEMENT Maintain Status Quo (Mission) MANAGEMENT Maintain Status Quo (Mission) LEADERSHIP Create & Manage Change (Vision) LEADERSHIP Create & Manage Change (Vision)

Staff’s Roles MANAGEMENT: Ensuring Dependable Mission Delivery MANAGEMENT: Ensuring Dependable Mission Delivery LEADERSHIP: Achieving Vision Inside the Mission LEADERSHIP: Achieving Vision Inside the Mission

Board’s Roles GOVERNANCE LEADERSHIP

Governance Role GOVERNANCE: Ensuring Public’s Trust for Mission Delivery, Finances & Funding GOVERNANCE: Ensuring Public’s Trust for Mission Delivery, Finances & Funding

Leadership Role LEADERSHIP: Setting Strategic Vision to Increase Impact LEADERSHIP: Setting Strategic Vision to Increase Impact

Partnership Roles Board Roles Staff Roles Mission Driven Vision Driven Leadership Management Governance Leadership

Board & Staff Management Tasks Hire and support CEO Monitor / oversee all activities, esp’ly fiscal Ensure legal / ethical compliance Recruit, orient & develop board Organize / run the board / set policy Hire & direct staff Implement operational plans Orient & develop staff Prevent & solve problems Organize & share in fundraising MANAGEMENT GOVERNANCE

Board & Staff Leadership Tasks Create vision with ownership Strategic / operational planning Build board “bench strength” Board / CEO succession planning Provide counsel & support to CEO & staff Manage strategically Secure long-term resources & alliances Build staff “bench strength” Develop & track success metrics Create new opportunities STAFF LEADERSHIP STAFF LEADERSHIP BOARD LEADERSHIP BOARD LEADERSHIP

Board-Staff Partnership Actions Mission Delivery / Operations: Most boards are there because of the mission – this is both good and bad news. Good because you want and usually get their passion and support Bad because they want to spend most of their time talking about operations instead of resources

Mission Delivery / Operations: Suggested actions: 1.) Get the board to co-create program metrics 2.) Emphasize outcome reports, not processes 3.) Engage board in new program development when needed, but bring in outside experts to help in design when possible 4.) Focus them on tying funding sources to programs 5.) Periodically educate them with field trips, internal speakers and client testimonials at board meetings

Board-Staff Partnership Actions Financial Oversight: Keep detailed review with the finance committee, spend adequate but minimal time on financial reports at board meetings.

Financial Oversight: Suggested Actions: 1.) There should be 3 – 4 pieces of paper with the finance report: - a monthly statement of activities preferably with YTD budget and actual for comparison - a monthly statement of financial position (balance sheet) - a cover page written by the board treasurer that lists any unusual activity and key financial indicators - and, if necessary, a cash flow estimate (not needed if the organization has no problems) 2.) If there is no CPA board member, recruit one to finance committee

Board-Staff Partnership Actions Fundraising: It is the rare board member and an even rarer board that is both willing and effective at fundraising – staff has to find ways to make it easy to get involved.

Fundraising: Suggested Actions: 1.) Recruit at least 25% of your board with fundraising skills 2.) Educate the board at least annually in some aspect of fundraising 3.) Develop a policy of 100% board personal giving 4.) Engage your board in team asks with you or development staff 5.) Find ways to involve board members in some aspect of fundraising

Board-Staff Partnership Actions Planning: Strategic planning can be a chore, but it is the surest way to move your organization forward, instead of just going with the flow. Oftentimes, the impetus for planning comes from staff.

Planning: Suggested Actions: 1.) Educate yourself on how to do planning and do it; even if it’s not strategic, you’ll build planning muscle 2.) Recruit business members to the board to have a champion or two 3.) Hold one annual retreat each year on some topic of import to the board, a couple of months before start of fiscal / program year 4.) Use your operational plan to report status to the board at least quarterly 5.) Hire an outside professional planning facilitator – use of staff or board is seldom satisfying

Board-Staff Partnership Actions Micromanagement: This is less common than disengagement, but every bit as dysfunctional and contributes significantly to staff dissatisfaction.

Micromanagement: Suggested Actions: 1.) Hire an outside trainer to educate the board on its roles 2.) Conduct a board self-assessment (e.g., with BoardSource instrument) 3.) Get the board involved in the activities listed above 4.) Have your CPA, attorney or risk manager talk to the board about the increased liability incurred (especially in HR matters) 5.) If it’s bad enough, resign, letting them know why

Continuum of Board Involvement Board Over-Involvement Hijacking the organization for personal agendas Micromanagement Responsible partnership and effective governance & leadership Rubber stamp for the ED Absentee landlords Board Under-Involvement