QENO Executive Directors Roundtable January 28, 2010 Camilla M. Herlevich, Coastal Land Trust

 Advice and counsel: Big Picture ◦ Fresh, varied viewpoints ◦ Wisdom; keep you from making mistakes ◦ Objectivity ◦ Rein you in when needed and push you forward when needed ◦ Plan for the future

 Connections ◦ Broader, more diverse communities ◦ Links to persons with influence  Money ◦ Duty to secure adequate resources ◦ Make peer to peer asks ◦ Preserve and manage assets ◦ Oversee budgets and finances

 Participation and Work ◦ Help carry out the mission ◦ Support the Executive Director  Ambassadorship ◦ Build your good reputation with their friends, family and colleagues  NOTE: you may also want things from them as individuals

 Micro-management of you and/or your staff  Cliques or sub-groups  Pressure to do favors for friends, family or colleagues  Lack of participation, apathy or worse

 Identification, Recruitment, etc. ◦ Size of Board: not too big ◦ Be careful who you approach; committees service try-outs? ◦ Before election, be clear about expectations re: attendance, travel, time, committees, contributions ◦ A job description is helpful ◦ After election, use annual work plans, with plenty of options

 Meetings ◦ Agenda: distinguish between action items and information items. Consider a consent agenda for latter ◦ Don’t overuse Executive Committee ◦ Frequency of meetings-infrequent enough for staff to get things done? ◦ Are items fully prepped by staff ? ◦ Is there at least one “big picture” discussion item at every meeting?

 Communications between meetings ◦ Use s out for information items that don’t need debate; e.g. requests for assistance, status reports on projects, etc. ◦ Distinguish between good helpful ideas and micro-managing; protect staff by deflecting the latter

 Conduct annual Board Self- Evaluation ◦ Best if done by outside consultant ◦ Cover culture of Board, responsibilities of Board as a whole and members individually  Encourage Board Training & Seminars

 Use Peer Pressure! ◦ Report on what the various Board members are doing; e.g. attendance grids, ambassadorship reports ◦ The President or other Director, not staff, should address any problems that may arise; e.g. attendance, improper influence, lack of contribution, etc.

 Consider values statements, posted at meetings  Model good behavior (no gossip, open discussions)  Allow time for Directors to get to know each other; enhance connections

 Respect their time and contributions ◦ Actually follow their advice; take it to heart and adapt your actions to incorporate their wisdom ◦ Don’t micro-manage them; accept their labor, even it’s not the way you or your staff would do things ◦ Make it easy for them to help you ◦ Thank them often for their passion, time and commitment

 Board Source ◦  Governance Matters (subscription) ◦  Philanthropy Journal ◦  NC Center for Nonprofits ◦