Annette MarquisHolston Valley UU ChurchFebruary 26-27, 2010

By Dan Hotchkiss

Governance and MinistryRethinking Board Leadership

Governance as Leadership:Reframing the Work of Nonprofit BoardsRichard P. Chait, William P. Ryan , Barbara E. Taylor

Dan Hotchkiss, Governance and Ministry

A unified structure for making governance decisions: ▪ Articulating mission and vision▪ Evaluating programs▪ Ensuring responsible stewardship of resources

A unified structure of making operational decisions▪ Program leaders (paid and unpaid) work harmoniously to

create effective programs with the support of a structure that delegates authority and requires accountability.

A creative, open atmosphere for ministry▪ Members take advantage of the many opportunities to

share their talents and interests in an atmosphere of trust and creativity in which structure, goals, and purposes are clear.

Dan Hotchkiss, Governance and Ministry

TJD Annual Meeting – April 30 – May 2, 2010 Standing on the Side of Love▪ Penn Center, St. Helena’s Island, SC

Weekly webinars Right relationships and conflict – Dr. Helen Bishop Governance and leadership – Annette Marquis Faith development – the Rev. Sue Sinnamon What Works? – the Rev. Jake Morrill

Southland UU Leadership Experience August 8-13, 2010 - The Mountain

Anti-Racism Conference – October 8-10, 2010

A congregation easily becomes an end in its own mind – recruiting people to an empty discipleship of committee service, finance, and building maintenance. Institutional management is a necessary but ultimately secondary function of a congregation. If souls are not transformed and the world is not healed, the congregation fails no matter what the treasurer reports.

Dan Hotchkiss, Governance and Ministry

The end

Dan Hotchkiss, Alban Institute

This is a functional system up to about 150 at worship.

The Board is comprised of Officers and at-large members Chairs or representatives of

committees

Clergy

Clergy Board

Committees handle operations of the congregation in their area of specialty/interest Finance Facilities RE Membership

Staff report to committees, at least functionally

Clergy

Finance

Building

Board

Clergy

Finance

Building

Board

Staff

Add a staff member

Clergy

Finance

Building

Board

Staff

Add more staff

Personnel

Staff

Staff

Strong ministry-led congregations Ministers "cast the vision" Congregation does not have meetings of

any significanceThe pastor can say yes or noTeams are picked who are in favor of

the task

NOTE: Uncommon in UU Congregations

Board

Staff

Clergy

Staff

Staff

Dan Hotchkiss, Governance and Ministry

Minister and Board share the vision Committees are used only in its original sense -

to help a body to do its job - helps the board to do the boards work  Program teams, ministry teams rather than committees

Minister and board have unique responsibilities and joint responsibilities Staff Team (as Ministers)▪ Practical work

 Board (as governors)▪ Fiduciary Work

Shared Functions (As discerners)▪ Planning work▪ Generative work

Board StaffStaff

Committees

Committees TeamsTeams

Governance MinistryAccountability

Policies

Board StaffStaff

Governance Ministry

Oversight Management

Discernment

Strategy

As governors

As discerners

As ministers

Roles of Board and Staff

Lay Leader

Ministry

Leader

Ministry

Leader

Dan Hotchkiss, Alban Institute

Basis for the governance system is policies

Board has limited role. Their purpose is to answer three questions: Whom do we serve? For what reason? At what cost?

Board handles their own governance Sets executive limitations - a fence

around the paid staff. Staff is free to act as long as they operate within those limits

Board speaks with one voice

A congregation and its lay leaders grant authority to staff in order for it to morally hold staff accountable for its actions.

Ends An end statement is a big mixing bowl - an outcome to

be achieved, for whom, and for what cost? A congregation might have 7 or so end statements.

Executive limitations sit in smaller bowls inside the end statement in order to

restrict actions in completing the end statement. For example, can't misspend money to achieve the end.

If it's not spelled out as a limitation, anything can be done once.

Based on past history, board might create a limitation based on failure.

Our members and friends will enjoy a deeply, meaningful, transforming liberal religious experience through inspirational worship, education and individual spiritual practice.

Outcome: "will enjoy a deeply, meaningful, transforming liberal religious experience"

For Whom: "Our members and friends"

At what cost: "inspirational worship, education and individual spiritual practice" 

Richard Chait and his colleagues argue that we should shift emphasize modes over models in seeking to govern well.

Richard Chait, William Ryan and Barbara Taylor, Governance As Leadership: Reframing the Work of Nonprofit Boards (Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, 2005)

Type

1: Fi

duci

ary

Type 2: Strategic

Type 3: Generative

1. Your facility is crowded on Sunday mornings and there is parking and limited space for religious education.

2. A Board member was arrested for public exposure in a children-focused restaurant.

3. Your canvass campaign was 10% over projections.4. Two African American men were arrested in your community for

protecting an African American woman from being beaten by a white man

5. You were left an undesignated bequest of $20,000.6. It was just discovered that your treasurer has not made any

deposits from the Sunday collection in 6 months.7. Three youth were caught drinking in the building.8. Your minister announced his/her resignation. 9. A member sent out an email to selective members of the

congregation - the email used derogatory language to blast the president and the board.

Special thanks to Dan Hotchkiss and Richard Chait for their valuable work in

the area of governance

and

to the participants of the Art of Governance workshop for their commitment to improving the quality of

governance in their congregations in order fulfill our grand Unitarian Universalist vision of world

community with peace, liberty and justice for all.