What are the Executive Director’s Responsibilities?
I’ve been asked a lot lately what a chief executive officer or nonprofit executive director needs from his / her board chair. My response is pretty simple: someone who has…
Why Board Development is More of a Process than an Event
Attending a board meeting for the first time can be eye-opening, and maybe a little intimidating, for those who have never experienced one before. It quickly becomes evident how much…
The Roles and Rhythms of Board Leadership
Board leadership is a dance. Slow, fast, graceful, awkward – an activity that can invigorate, tone, and occasionally damage the body. The “body,” in this case, is the organization –…
A Board Member’s Take on Board Recruitment
Among the three cycles of board work, the Board Development Cycle is at once very important to the long-term health of an organization, yet also often overlooked or under-emphasized. More…
Your Board’s Effectiveness May be Related to its Members’ Level of Emotional Ownership
(Article originally for BoardSource by Drs. Fred Laughlin and Bob Andringa) Which of the following two quotes from chief executives is more likely to apply to your organization? “I’d like…
How Technology Can Help Your Board’s Executive Committee…or Help You Kill It Off
Does technology make Executive Committees better…or potentially make them unnecessary? The answer: yes. Last month, a session on “Transformational Governance” led by author and governance guru Katha Kissman at the…
Saved by the Bell: Sweet Briar College and the Shift in Nonprofit Governance
Much of the recent news around nonprofit boards relates to a situation with lessons for all of us, so how could we resist reference to the Sweet Briar College saga…
Part III: Fostering Circumspect Vision: Navigating Through the Windshield AND Rear-View
This is the final installment of our three-part series, “Leveraging Technology to Elevate Board Performance.” In this final segment, we examine how the board steers the organization toward success in…
Part III: Fostering Circumspect Vision: Navigating Through the Windshield AND Rear-View
Over the last two decades, governance -- the work performed by boards of directors – has become a more challenging endeavor than ever before. Overwhelmingly, resources are scarcer, requiring organizations…
When Good Boards Break Down
Sometimes, despite good intentions, nonprofit boards miss the mark. Even when organizational decline is obvious to external stakeholders, the board fails to recognize the problem or solution. While most of…
