25 May 2005

Governance questions and issues from AEO conferees

Welcome back!

In a seminar at the Association of Enterprise Opportunity, I asked those in our group to define what issues and questions they have about board governance. We used these as starting points for hitting the important issues of governance and specifically, Policy Governance (r).

  • We are a new organization and we are wrestling with building a program and establishing policies and procedures that support smart, sustained growth.
  • How do you get the board to do what it is supposed to do (manage the board, bring awareness to organization, fundraise, legal oversight, financial oversight . . . ) and not what it isn't supposed to do?
  • How to have a board not managed by the executive director?
  • Forming a new board, how do we establish distinct functions for board members and staff?
  • We are re-organizing a dysfunctional board--there are inappropriate board members, original stakeholders whose relevance has been passed by.
  • How is the board to deal with issues of --staff compensation, board stipends, broad range development vs narrow range development, board size.

I'll address these and other issues here. We provide day long training for boards and consulting to create and install consistent and comprehensive policies at the board level.

Your ideas matter here! Please leave a comment.

16 May 2005

Questions and Issues from the AEO conference session on Board Leadership Governance Excellence

In a seminar at the Association of Enterprise Opportunity, I asked those in our group to define what issues and questions they have about board governance. We used these as starting points for hitting the important issues of governance and specifically, Policy Governance (r).

  • We are a new organization and we are wrestling with building a program and establishing policies and procedures that support smart, sustained growth.
  • How do you get the board to do what it is supposed to do (manage the board, bring awareness to organization, fundraise, legal oversight, financial oversight . . . ) and not what it isn't supposed to do?
  • How to have a board not managed by the executive director?
  • Forming a new board, how do we establish distinct functions for board members and staff?
  • We are re-organizing a dysfunctional board--there are inappropriate board members, original stakeholders whose relevance has been passed by.
  • How is the board to deal with issues of --staff compensation, board stipends, broad range development vs narrow range development, board size.

I'll address these and other issues here. We provide day long training for boards and consulting to create and install consistent and comprehensive policies at the board level.

12 May 2005

Harambee in NW Pasadena

Welcome back!

Rachel and I visited many of the projects together. I really didn't wear the suit that often, we must have visited a bank or a funder on this same day.

Here Rudy Carrasco of Harambee is showing us around the center. MEDA provided support to help their board of directors make some good decisions for a great future for Harambee Christian Family Center and Harambee Prepatory School.

Harambee reorganized the board, defined its role in relationship to the executive director, and combined resources with a related organization that shares the same facility. Rudy told me that the work with the consultant helped him and the board get on the same page in a significant way.

Your ideas matter here! Please leave a comment.