1. Trustee Board Drive(rs) Time
Tunes for governance and leadership

2. In this session we will…
Define the role of the board in students’ unions and its interrelationship with democratic decision making bodies
Understand the importance of structures, processes, meeting but also behaviours in effective governance
Use Compass Partnership & CASS CCE “Delivering Effective Governance: insights from the boards of larger charities” to help understand key behavioural drivers common in the charity sector
Consider potential challenges in attempting to develop such behaviours in students’ union boards
Define a set of behaviours which should be exhibited by SU trustee boards

3. The worst possible meeting… ever!
Meeting Behaviour
The worst possible meeting… ever!

4. What is the role of a students’ union board?

5. What is the role of a students’ union trustee?

6. Trustees
Trustees are people trusted to do the right thing for an organisation
Collectively they make sure the organisation is functioning effectively:
Legally
Financially
Strategically

7. Structure In 2013 SU board make up was: Officers 45% Students 25%
External 30%
There were a few responses who also have:
University appointed trustees
The charity commission is clear that all trustees have the same responsibilities in terms of the running and management of a charity 7

8. Trustees
A trustee board is the collective group of trustees responsible for a particular organisation
The board is made up of trustees with a variety of backgrounds and skills that combine to create an effective working team
It allows for strategic, financial, legal and experiential strength to be present and put to the best use

9. Governance, democracy and operations
Board
Democracy
Operations

10. 8 key areas of activity Union democracy Strategic direction
Organisational performance
Financial performance
Legal compliance
Risk management
Delegation
Senior level staff management

11. Drivers of good governance

12. Drivers of good governance
It’s possible to break the drivers of good governance down into key groups
Governance
Structures
Processes
Meetings
Behaviours
Source: Compass Partnership &CASS CCE Delivering effective governance: insights from the boards of larger charities 2012
We spend lots of time focusing on structure and processes
These are important and pre-requisites for becoming effective as a board

13. Drivers of good governance
It’s possible to break the drivers of good governance down into key groups
Governance
Structures
Processes
Meetings
Behaviours
Source: Compass Partnership &CASS CCE Delivering effective governance: insights from the boards of larger charities 2012
Governance
Board size
Terms of office
Term limits
Committee types
Recruitment
Succession planning
Induction
Diversity
Performance
Frequency
Duration
Attendance
Quality of papers
People in the room

14. Drivers of good governance
Behavioural characteristics of governance are very important and can be the most powerful
Behaviours
Increasingly gain from making improvement s
Increasingly demanding to implement change!
Meetings
Processes
Structures
Source: Compass Partnership &CASS CCE Delivering effective governance: insights from the boards of larger charities 2012

15. 5 top behavioural drivers

16. Strong behavioral drivers
Work well together as a team
Boards that are focused on strategic issues
Operate in an atmosphere of openness, confidence and trust
Praising and supporting management
Offering robust challenge to management 16

17. #1 Working as a team
Trustees should be collective. Trusteeship is about compromise and making decisions together – all trustees need to understand this
Different to decision making in other areas of union life
Board review plays an important role here – self refection, anonymous surveys, action planning
Away days, team building activities and investing time in relationships are key
Setting clear objectives for the board to help build a sense of shared purpose
Tune

18. #2 Strategic focus Tune Far Generative 20% Near Strategic 40% Now
Governance as leadership: reframing the work of non-profit boards Chair, Ryan Taylor
Generative
Fiduciary
Strategic
Now
Near
Far
75%
20%
40%
Tune

19. #3 openness, confidence, trust
Tune
Internally with other trustees and externally with staff & stakeholders
Understanding of why each trustee is present and the role
Training in the relationship between democracy, governance and operations
Involving trustees in agreeing clear cycle of business and other governance documents which can give trustees confidence in fiduciary decisions
Establishing clear expectations of senior staff reporting
Team building within the board to build trust. This is challenging in an environment of high turnover
Mentoring can help create confidence amongst less experienced trustees

20. #4 Supporting management
Trustees should play active role in the support of senior managers
Senior staff are an expensive investment and should be supported to lead the organisation
Trustees need to be conscious of roles and responsibilities; what do they want to delegate and when do they want to be involved and/or consulted?
In part it is about management, holding 121s and agreeing objectives.
In part it’s about backing ideas, being clear on responsibilities.
Tune

21. #5 Robust challenge Tune
Trustees manage senior staff and should provide robust challenge. Senior staff should be scrutinised by the board and have their performance managed. Trustees need confidence to do this.
Trustees need to be outcome focused. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are process tools for organisational improvement, focusing on significant measurements of outputs, outcomes and impacts
The chair of the trustee board plays an important role in appraising and managing the CEO – if this is a student it’s good to get this supported
Tune

22. Top 5 actions Work well together as a team
Boards that are focused on strategic issues
Operate in an atmosphere of openness, confidence and trust
Praising and supporting management
Offering robust challenge to management
What tune do you think best sums this up?! 22