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Board Development for Non-Profit Organizations
Rachel WeberENMU-Ruidoso Community Education
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Agenda
Introductions
Format for Workshop
Board Development: Understanding Your Role
Board Development: Recruiting and Retaining Board Members
Board Development: Strengthening Your Board
Board Development: Best Practices-Communication
Format of Presentation
Be involved and engaged
Think of this as a two hour conversation about your board
Ask questions
Give your opinion
Introductions
Understanding Your Role & Leadership
Leadership-Best Practices
My favorite concepts from the “Change is Good” Video & how we can apply them to board
leadership:
“Forget for Success”-Don’t think about the ways that things have been done in the past….be innovative and don’t be afraid to embrace bold ideas
Focus on Strengths-Be proud of the strengths that you and your fellow board members bring to the organization
Leadership-Best Practices
Simplify your message-FOCUS on your mission
Let your actions speak-BE the voice of your organization everywhere in the community
Celebrate success-use every opportunity you can to share the news of your organization’s successes
Measure Results-”what gets measured, gets improved”
Understanding your Role
The Board of Directors should provide leadership for the organization
Roles, responsibilities, and powers are usually outlined in bylaws
Members should fully understand their roles and responsibilities
Members have diverse backgrounds but share common goals
Understanding Your Role
Every organization should have a formal Board Policy Manual
Board Members should be aware of current policies
Volunteer-Be a part of your organization’s events. Don’t just show up for meetings once a month
Look out for the best interest of the organization
Understanding Your Role
The Board of Directors should foster a transparent, consistent, and accountable culture
Always have your financial records audited by an outside agency
Focus on results. What is your mission? How can you measure progress?
Understand the importance of fresh perspectives
Develop a conflict of interest policy
Documentation: Minutes, notes, receipts, handbooks, presentations
Leadership Best Practices
Stay “Mission Driven”. What is our mission? Maintain consistency
Be strategic. Spend your time wisely. Focus on the things that are important.
Continuously review your Board of Directors’ best practices; evaluate your board’s performance and effectiveness
Board members represent the organization within the community
Understanding Your Role
Annually review your organization’s mission
Board orientation-continuing education
Report on programs and services & track progress
Actively solicit input from the community
Represent the organization to government, business, other agencies, funders, and the community at large
Support healthy and productive relationships throughout the organization
Understanding Your Role
A strategic plan is guided by your organizational mission
Well-designed, effective committees
Know your fellow board members-foster a culture of cohesion and group vitality
How else can we demonstrate exceptional leadership within our organization?
Understanding Your Role
Ways To Increase Your Success As A Board Member
Attend all meetings of the board and committees on which you serve.
Come prepared to discuss the issues and business to be addressed at scheduled meetings, having read the agenda and all background material.
Work with and respect the opinions of peers who serve this board, and to leave personal prejudices out of all board discussions.
Always act for the good of the organization and represent the interests of all people served by this nonprofit.
Understanding Your Role
Represent this organization in a positive and supportive manner at all times.
Observe the parliamentary procedures and display courteous conduct in all board, committee and task force meetings.
Avoid conflict of interest between my position as a board member and my personal life. This includes using your position for the advantage of friends and business associates. If such a conflict does arise, declare that conflict before the board and refrain from voting on matters in which you have conflict.
Understanding Your Role
Determine the Organization’s Mission and Purpose
Select the Executive Director
Support the Executive and Review His/Her Performance
Ensure Effective Organizational Planning
Ensure Adequate Resources
Manage Resources Effectively
Determine and Monitor the Organization’s Programs and Services
Enhance the Organizations Public Image
Understanding Your Role
Serve as Court of Appeal
Assess its Own Performance
Assumptions
Board and board member responsibilities are fundamentally the same for all organizations
How boards and board member responsibilities actually fulfill their responsibilities will vary
There is no generic model
All organization undergo a metamorphosis
Board members begin to reach their optimal levels of performance when they exercise their responsibilities by asking good and timely questions rather than by running programs or implementing their own policies
From the Ten Basic Responsibilities of Nonprofit Boards. Washington, DC: National Center for Nonprofit boards. Ingram, Richard T.
Board Development: Recruiting and Retaining New Members
Question for the group: where does your organization look for new board members?
Board Development: Recruiting and Retaining New Board Members
“Luring them In” Get them to visit the site where the work of
your organization is being done Invite them to a board meeting Don’t just “sell” . Make sure they are a fit for
your organization and will be a good ambassador for the mission of the organization
Board Development: Recruiting and Retaining New Board Members
Determining a good fit
Explicitly ask them if they are prepared to use the skill you are recruiting them for
Have more than one person meet/interview them
Make sure they understand the job description
Develop a quantifiable rubric to compare candidates
Board Development: Recruiting and Retaining New Board Members
See
Rubric
Example
Board Development: Recruiting and Retaining New Board Members
If you are unsure, start them on a committee to see how they do
Consider a mandatory committee assignment prior to becoming a full board member
Questions to ask/Application Process
Do you have a protocol for the board member application process?
What Skills and Expertise do you look for? Is your application tool a good vehicle for finding these skills and expertise?
See attached worksheet: “Questions to ask Potential Board Candidates”
Retaining Board Members
Board Manual Well planned, organized, pockets to hold
brochures, dated materials, current, updateable, easy to use, reasonable size, done with input & consultation by Board
Names & Bio of Board Members & Statements of Responsibility of officers
List of Committees History or fact sheet of organization Articles of Incorporation and ByLaws Mission and Vision Statements
Retaining board members
Strategic plan
Minutes
Policies
Annual & audit report from prior year
Current budget and latest financial statement
List of major funders and partners
Organizational Chart & Staff Info
Annual Calendar
Promotional and Website info
Strengthening your Board
Create a Collective Vision Board Members should be invested in the
success of the organization
Work on Communication Meeting Minutes Newsletters/Memos/Email Board Retreats Team Building
Strengthening Your Board
Be Proactive When times are easy, take care of some of those things
that have been neglected. Do bylaws need to be updated? Do you have a strategic plan?
Prioritize As a group, prioritize what is most important and follow
through. Be realistic about what you can accomplish.
Think about the future of your board Who will lead and serve the board over the next five years? What skills, knowledge, and other qualities will strengthen
the board? How will we foster and develop board leadership?
Strengthening Your Board
Tips for Keeping Strong Board Members Engaged Tighten up your board meetings:
Keep them to no more than two hours Keep to agenda Focus on the strategic, not the minutiae
Provide opportunities for board members to be engaged in the work of the organization
Conduct board member evaluations Conduct retreats and outings Develop a simple annual board building
program
Board Development: Communication
Effective communication
makes your meetings more
productive
Best Practices: Communication
What NOT to do? Lack of patience Poor behavior or “acting out” Not “seeing the forest for the trees” Personal or hidden agendas Getting stuck in alliances and coalitions
regardless of the issue Lack of ground rules Ways of speaking to other board members that
are hurtful or close down communication
Best Practices: Communication
(Lecturing, chastising, threatening, bullying, etc.)
Competition, turf, fairness, zero-sum games, winners and losers
Too much talking, not enough listening
Too little leadership and skills building
Disengagement from community
“Effective Board Building”, by Phillip Boyle
Best Practices: Communication
What do these “don’ts” lead to?
Unsatisfying communication
Diminished trust, respect, acceptance, tolerance
Increased stress
Loss of community respect, difficulty getting things accomplished
Lose sight of Purpose
Best Practices: Communication
WHAT TO DO:
LISTEN-don’t just “hear”: A study of persons of varied occupational backgrounds showed that 70 percent of their waking moments were spent in communication…
9% 16%
30%
45%
Communications
WritingReading TalkingListening
Best Practices: Communication
Unfortunately, even at the purely informational level, researchers claim that 75% of oral communication is ignored, misunderstood, or quickly forgotten.
Best Practices: Communication
Robert Bolton, People Skills author describes three listening skill clusters for enhancing
communications:
Attending Skills: A posture of involvement, appropriate body motion, eye contact, and non-distracting environment
Following Skills: Door Openers, Minimal Encourages, Infrequent Questions, Attentive Silence
Reflecting Skills: Paraphrasing, Reflecting Feelings, Reflecting Meanings, Summative Reflections
Best Practices: Communication
Meetings are central to an organizational board’s functioning. They can also breed arguments and long discussions that lead nowhere and fail to produce results.
Best Practices: Communication
MAKE YOUR MEETINGS MORE EFFECTIVE:
Ask Open-Ended Questions: this can help members to identify their own solutions to problems
Ask for specifics
Use writing as a communication tool
Turn “US” and “THEM” into “WE”
Listen attentively and acknowledge
Establish realistic expectations
Don’t pressure others to see things your way, but rather to be responsible for their own actions. “Effective Board Building”-Philip Boyle
Best Practices: Communication
MAKE YOUR MEETINGS MORE EFFECTIVE:
State objectives at the start of the meeting, follow your agenda
Make sure everyone knows they will have a chance to speak
Begin with questions related to the task
Periodically check to see you are on task
Best Practices: Communication
Don’t reinforce or explore off-task remarks
Use close-ended questions to address off-task remarks, then tactfully ask the person who has made it to relate their comment to the task at hand
Ask how to improve the next meeting, then incorporate one new idea
Summarize and reflect ideas
MODEL desired behaviors
Best Practices: Communication
Engage all board members
Restrict dominating individuals
Encourage honest search for consensus
Philip Boyle: Effective Board Building Creating and Maintaining a High-Performance and High-Satisfying Governing Board
Closing Thoughts on Communication
Questions to ask ourselves:
Are we clear about our purpose?
How satisfied are we with our communication processes?
Do disagreements become personal?
Do we share responsibility for leading our board?
Are we treating each other fairly?
Final Thoughts: Strategies for Improving
MeetingsSet the context for issues and discussions
Distinguish between routine and strategic issues
Distinguish between governance and management
Facilitate the discussion and monitor participation
Don’t delegate to committees until the board has outlined a process and set the context and parameters for the work.
Meetinghouse Solutions, 2006
Improving meetings-Minutes
Meeting minutes are a record of what was done at the meeting, not what everyone said.
Meeting minutes are legal documents than auditors and others may review. They should be accurate, brief, and easy to read
Format: Include the name of the organization, date, time and location of the meeting. Note whether it is a special or regular meeting. List those who are present and who are absent, as well as guests.
Meetinghouse Solutions, 2006
Meeting minutes continued
Specify the time the meeting was convened at the name of the presiding officer. Record minutes in accordance with the order of events. Note the approval and amendment of the minutes of the previous meeting as well as the review and acceptance of the financial report. Summarize the main points of discussion only if it sets precedent or is critical. Otherwise, simply note that “discussion ensued”. Identify problems and suggestions, record all motions and abstentions. Note the time of adjournment.
Meetinghouse Solutions, 2006