board development for non profit organizations

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


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


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


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?


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.


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.


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


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


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


See

Rubric

Example


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


(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


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


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


Unfortunately, even at the purely informational level, researchers claim that 75% of oral communication is ignored, misunderstood, or quickly forgotten.


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


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.


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


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


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


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.


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.


THANK YOU

RACHEL WEBER

[email protected]

575.937.1768

mailto:[email protected]

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