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Now … is no time to shrink from the challenge of effective governance. Boards, especially duly constituted public boards, are literally under attack. At school board meetings, for example, elected board members have come under vicious verbal and even physical assault from activists over mask and vaccine mandates, as well as other issues of the day.
Good governance is not an impenetrable shield against externally driven illegal, boorish, or nefarious acts, but it very well might help boards keep their hands steady on the wheel as they make their way through rough and stormy waters.
When times are tough enough already, board governance should not be made any more complicated or difficult than it already is. Board members need to be engaged and effective; not burnt out or running for the hills. With increasing threats to democracy, the need for wise and skillful board members to hold steady the wheels of public, private, and nonprofit institutions is greater now than ever before.
See also: Policy Governance Walk-Through: How to Write a Monitoring Report
About two years ago, a very insightful client of ours suggested we make the ‘flipped classroom’ concept available for Policy Governance orientation. According to Wikipedia, “a flipped classroom is an instructional strategy and type of blended learning that reverses the traditional learning environment by delivering instructional content, often online, outside of the classroom. It moves Continue reading →
If your board or organization is asked about why it uses Policy Governance, here are five main benefits to share. Results: Policy Governance focuses boards on ensuring that the organization achieves relevant results. Applying Policy Governance principles lets boards connect all the dots from owner input to board policy to policy interpretation to evidence of Continue reading →
One of the many benefits of adopting Policy Governance® (otherwise known as “the Carver model”) is the fact that more is published about both Policy Governance theory and practice than about any other approach to board governance. Thanks to the work of Dr. John Carver, Miriam Carver, Caroline Oliver, and many other writers, a wide variety Continue reading →
What is at the heart of Policy Governance®? Policy Governance is a set of ten principles that enables boards to lead organizations accountably and effectively on behalf of a moral or legal ownership. These principles help boards to organize and to clarify all expectations of the CEO1, board committees, and board members, and to make Continue reading →
Is your board fighting a losing game? Just as Lucy and Ethel struggle to keep up with wrapping the chocolates in this classic I Love Lucy scene, boards of directors can also find themselves fighting a losing game when operational activities, plans, budgets and decisions come at them faster than can be properly handled. A Continue reading →
“Good leaders must first become good servants.” – Robert Greenleaf Yes, we know you were elected or appointed to the board of directors because of your expertise, your skills, your background, your hard work, your personality, and/or your commitment to the company or organization. Or maybe you stepped up when nobody else volunteered. Regardless of Continue reading →
Policy Governance® offers many benefits to boards, CEOs, staff, owners, and key stakeholders, but not every organization is ready to invest in learning exactly what these principles are and how they work in practice. To find out if your board of directors is ready to learn more about Policy Governance, check their level of agreement Continue reading →
To paraphrase W. Edwards Deming, how many of you have deadwood on your board? Did you appoint or elect them that way, or did you kill them? Given the critical role that boards of directors play, it’s unfortunate to see so many boards struggling with “deadwood.” Then again, losing good people to boredom or indifference Continue reading →
The Governance Problem: How it Started A look at the root of the governance problem today, in response to a Jan. 24, 2013 Globe and Mail article about Bob Monks by Janet McFarland, “Storming the boardroom: Sound, fury and little else.” (Report on Business section, page B8). Opinions, ideas expressed in this video were formed and influenced Continue reading →