Both the Board and the CEO/staff make decisions relating to Ends and means. The board makes Ends decisions when it creates Ends policies, and makes means decisions when it creates Executive Limitations policies (i.e., about means the CEO/staff should not use or allow, even if they would be effective in achieving the Ends.)

The CEO/staff make Ends decisions when interpreting Ends policies, as well as when planning, achieving, and reporting accomplishments. The CEO/staff also make means decisions while carrying out day-to-day activities within the boundaries set by Executive Limitations.

Video transcript:

When it comes to accountability, clarity saves time. One way that Policy Governance principles enable clarity is in the distinction between Ends and means.

Ends policies describe a benefit, who experiences that benefit, and its worth or relative priority.

Means are everything else, and break down into means used by the board, and means used at the operational level.

Here’s an example of what an Ends policy at the global or broadest level might look like, showing the beneficiaries in red, the benefit in blue, and the worth in green. This language might be specified further in subsequent, lower levels of this policy.

Ends decisions are made on both the board and the operational sides. The board starts the process by creating Ends policies, and once the board is comfortable delegating any reasonable interpretation of the Ends, the CEO and staff take it from there.

Similarly with operational means decisions. The board creates Executive Limitations policies to start, and then the CEO and staff interpret and act in compliance with these boundaries.

So you can see, the board makes the upper level Ends and Executive Limitations (policy) decisions (shown in the blue oval), and then the CEO interprets and applies the policies (shown in the green oval). As such, both the board and the CEO make both Ends and means decisions.

Another Critical Step: Monitoring

There is one more critical step — the board will assess monitoring reports from the CEO to ensure that their interpretations of board policies are reasonable, and that evidence shows compliance or accomplishment.

Policy Governance includes ten principles, and they all work together to create a practical, logical system.

Our online learning program, the Board EXCELerator, helps people learn what these ten principles are, and how they work in practice. To get started, please set up a call with us at browndogconsulting.com.

This is Susan Mogensen, with Brown Dog Consulting.

See also: Strategic Planning, Policy Governance-style

What’s the Difference Between Vision, Mission, and Ends?

The Top Five Benefits of Executive Limitations