The latest issue of our quarterly newsletter for member boards of directors is available. The focus is on high impact board meetings. See the article below. Check out all our past issues of “For Your Board.”
High Impact Board Meetings
Issue 4 | September 2017
Welcome to LeadingAge Kansas’ fourth issue of Guiding Governance. Each quarter, this publication focuses on a specific governance topic to help you, your leadership team and your board in planning, strategic thinking, and execution as you seek to sustain and amplify your mission.
Remember, exceptional governance does not happen by accident. If we want staff and volunteer leadership partnerships that add value to our organizations, we must intentionally focus on our governance practices – constantly refining and evolving.
Please let us know how you use this publication, if it proves helpful, what other topics you would like to see us focus on and how we can best serve you and your board. We would love to discuss facilitating your next Board or Leadership Team retreat, so contact Debra to learn more.
High Impact Board Meetings
Board members give of their time, talent and treasure so we need to ensure their time is spent in meaningful conversations. Governance is exciting and board meetings can be highly engaging, if we spend more time focusing on agenda development and outcomes.
How do you plan your board agenda? Do you take last quarter’s and simply change the date? Or do you start with a blank document and this question – what is it we need this board to deliberate/discuss/take action on now? Agendas based on outcomes lead to more impactful meetings.
75% of Board conversations should be focused on the future, with only 25% looking in the rear-view mirror. Consent agendas are a great tool to help you accomplish this. Send all reports, minutes, anything that doesn’t require board action or input out in advance and put them on the consent agenda. Approve it and suddenly you have freed up time to conduct strategic and generative conversations. And remember, anything can be pulled off the consent agenda if there is need to discuss it.
Another critical part of high impact board meetings is education. Education about best governance practices, trends in the field, mission moments, what’s happening in our locality, etc. result in better informed board members and richer conversations. Make sure to include board education as often as you can in your regular meetings.
Lastly, high impact board meetings allow boards to operate in all 3 modes of governance as outlined in Governance as Leadership: generative, strategic, and fiduciary. Boards who offer oversight, foresight and insight are engaged in the highest-level discussions.
Below you will find resources to help you develop high impact board meetings for your organization.
Starting the Conversation
- 5 Reasons Why You Want a High Impact Board by Bob Arciniaga
- Banish These Types of Board Meetings by Bob Arciniaga
- The Best Board Meeting I Ever Attended by Les Wallace, PhD.
- Generative Governance: Making Sense of Problems through Critical Inquiry by Makiyah Moody
- Reinvigorating the Board of Directors Through a Dynamic Strategic Thinking Process by Rebecca Neth Townsend, Ziegler
- Foresight and Governance: An Overlooked Connection? by Thom Wright
- Bringing “High Value Governing” to Not for Profit Boards by Gene Mitchell
- Want Better Governing Partners? Make Board Members True Owners of Their Governing Work by Doug Eadie and Richard Browdie
- Mission-Driven Governance LeadingAge Magazine
Tools & Templates
- The Consent Agenda from The National Council of Nonprofits
- How to Hold the Greatest Board Meeting Ever by Dottie Schindlinger
- Governance as Leadership by Chait, Ryan and Taylor
- The Practitioner’s Guide to Governance as Leadership by Cathy Trower
- Leading with Intent – 2017 National Index of Nonprofit Board Practices from BoardSource
- Ask Questions for 3 Level Thinking from Cathy Trower
- High Performing Boards: What’s On Their Agenda? by Chinta Bhagat and Conor Kehoe
- 2 Senior Living Trends Your Board Should Study in 2017 from 2016 LeadingAge Ziegler 150
Download this issue to present in your next board meeting.
