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This Month's topic: Boards Who Cross the Policy vs. Management Line.
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| This Month's Topic: Boards Who Cross the Policy vs. Management Line. |
Each month, this area provides with a
number of my favorite and most helpful sites regarding the topic of the month.
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Management
Tip of the Month
Each issue, I start with a discussion
of my management perspective on the month's topic, and give you a few hands-on
ideas to consider.
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Recommended Publications
Here, I provide you with my
recommendations on the materials available that can help you
become more mission-capable in the area of Boards Who Cross the Policy vs. Management Line..
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Technology
I provide you with some good ideas for
uses of tech to better your organization in the area of Boards Who Cross the Policy vs. Management Line.
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Marketing
Tip
So much to say, so little space to say
it.....
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Next
Issue
In June, we'll examine an issue that is very important, and too often ignored: Employee Rewards.
|
Websites of the
Month
Here are my recommendations for websites of interest
on this month's topic, Boards Who Cross the Policy vs. Management Line.
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Top
Management Tip of the Month
Boards Who Cross the Policy vs. Management Line
There are two complaints I hear most from ED's about their boards, First: "I
just can't get my board to be active enough. They don't read their
materials, they don't attend meetings, they don't seem to care." Not today's issue.
The other, which is the subject of this month's edition is this: "My
board is looking over my shoulder all the time. They take on far too
many management tasks. I can't get them to stick to policy. It's
driving me nuts. What can I do?" Though common, this is a serious problem, for both the board and the management team.
Here are four things to consider. They are in priority order, but if
your organization is already in crisis on this issue, you may have to
take them out of sequence.
State clearly what the board is to do.
This starts in your by-laws, continues in recruitment, and finishes in
board evaluations. Establish a board job description, and then use it.
This gives you a benchmark against which to measure and evaluate.
Give them something meaningful to do:
Board members tend to be bright, committed, interested, people who are
taking time away from their lives to help your organization. If you
don't give them meaningful things to do at board meetings, they'll find something to do.
And that usually means falling into management work, since most board
members are more comfortable with management issues than with policy.
Set meaningful tasks for your board. Sit down with your President or
Executive Committee and talk about what tasks fit this definition. Talk
to other Execs about what they have their boards accomplish.
Confront the leadership: If
you are already in crisis on this issue, you have to sit down and
confront your leadership. I know that this is scary--they are your
bosses. But most board members don't have a clue that they've crossed
the management/policy line. Tell them, show them examples, and discuss
how to change the agenda and meeting to back away from management work.
Remember, you'll almost certainly need to have more policy work
(meaningful work) for them to do, and that's more work for you.
Bring in an outside expert:
You may need to bring in an outside expert to get you back on track. An
outsider can show your board what other boards are doing, and help ease
the path from where you are to where you need to be. Talk to your
United Way, your Community Foundation or your local Management Services
Organization about consultants who are experts in this area. Another
great source is the Alliance for Nonprofit Management website. There is
a Consultant/Provider Search page on the Alliance's website that will guide you to appropriate consultants in your area.
Boards need to do policy, not minutiae. I tell board members all the
time: you hired and you pay for good management. Let the managers
manage and report. You do policy. When that line is crossed and the
different roles get combined, the organization nearly always suffers.
Use these steps to avoid this issue, or to get back on track if you
already have this problem.
If
you found this hint helpful, there are lots more management, marketing, and
technology ideas for you in the "Ideas" section at
www.missionbased.com. Check them
out--they're free.
And, remember to take a look at the
Mission-Based Management
Blog.
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Print Resources
My recommendations for texts on improving boards sticking to their roleare
shown below. You'll see that there are no titles that directly address
the issue of the month, but these books are really excellent in
discussing the appropriate roles of board members in pursuit of
mission.
Governance as Leadership, by Richard Chait, William Ryan and Barbara Taylor
The Nonprofit Leadership Team, by Fisher Howe
Nonprofit Boards: Roles, Responsibilities and Performance, by Diane Duca
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Technology Tip
Can tech help you keep the board on the right side of the management/policy line?
Yes, and tech can be used for three things in this area: Keeping the
board well informed, educating the board, and getting feedback from the
board.
1. Use your tech to keep your board as informed about, and focused on, policy issues.
Put together a brief email update on policy issues at least once
between each board meeting. Keeping your board's eyes on policy will
keep their minds more on policy. And remember, the reverse is true. If
you fill your newsletter with management issues rather than policy,
your board will worry and think about management level concerns.
2. Provide backup information on your website.
If your board is going to be discussing a policy issue at the next
meeting, add background material to the board-only area of your
website.This allows board members to dig deeper, without getting on the
phone to you right off the bat.
3. Make sure that you have a space on your website for board feedback. One quick way to do this is a quarterly board satisfaction survey via one of the many HTML survey services such as SurveyMonkey.
Small surveys are often free. Feedback like this is invaluable in
finding out what your board members want (see the Marketing Tip below)
and making sure that they are satisfied with the impact they are having
on the organization.
If you found this hint helpful, there are lots more
management, marketing, and technology ideas for you in the "Ideas" section at
www.missionbased.com. Check them
out--they're free.
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Training Schedule for Peter Brinckerhoff
Below you'll see the date, location, and topics
of public training I'm scheduled to do in the next few months. For more
information on a particular speaking engagement, get in touch with the contact
person listed in the right hand column, or
email me.
For more information on my availability throughout
the next 12-18 months, available topics, sample agendas, and fees go to
www.missionbased.com/training.htm
| Date |
City |
Topic |
Contact |
| 6/08-09/06 |
San Francisco |
Business Development
|
NISH
Dave Wessel
dwessell@nish.org |
| 6/12-13/-6 |
London, U.K |
Cutting Edge Techniques for Trustees |
National Centre for Voluntary Organisations
Tesse Akpeki |
| 7/16/06 |
Chicago |
Board Stewardship |
Kellogg Executive Education
Ann Cohn Donnelly
a-donnelly@kellogg.northwestern.edu |
| 7/31/06 |
Chicago |
Mission-Based Marketing |
Annual Marketing/PR Networking Forum
Susan Hassell
susan_hassell@qhr.com |
Marketing Tip
Boards Who Cross the Policy vs. Management Line: is there a marketing angle?
Yes, and it's all about meeting wants.
Board members who are bored, or who feel that they are not getting
their own needs and wants met, tend to meddle more than those who are
satisfied with their board service.
So ask. I'm
always amazed by how many ED's recruit board members, grill them about
their experience, talk about board responsibilities and never, ever ask
the candidate (to say nothing of current board members) why they want
to give up their time and talent to serve on the board of directors.
What do they want from their
board service? If you can dig this out, you can make their time more
satisfying, they'll be more engaged, they'll have better attendance,
and you'll be happier as well.
Board members serve for a wide variety of reasons. Some people have
deep attachments to what your organization does: perhaps they or a
family member received services from your organization. Others just
want to understand charities better. Or, they are interested in helping
the community. Perhaps they were recruited by a friend who is already
on the board and are really (at least at first) just doing the friend a
favor. Finally, some board members are urged/coerced/expected to serve
by their employers.
Think about your board members. Which category would you put them in
to? Now go ask, and see if you are correct! By finding out their
motivation, you can address it and make them happier board members, who
are less likely to meddle in management.
If you want to see more about this in detail, take
a look at more about my book
Mission-Based Marketing; Second
Edition
If you found this hint helpful, there are lots more
management, marketing, and technology ideas for you in the "Ideas" section at
www.missionbased.com. Check them
out--they're free.
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Top
Future Topics for
The Mission-Based Management Newsletter....
| June |
Employee Rewards |
| July |
Saying "No" to Community Needs |
| August |
Board and non-CEO Relations |
| September |
Executive Transition |
| October |
Advocacy |
| Send me
your topic suggestions at peter@missionbased.com |
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You asked, so here they are:
Past Single-Topic Issues of the Mission-Based Management Newsletter...
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Copyright 2006,
Corporate Alternatives, inc.
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