‘Skip‐level’ meeting improves leadership

• Published date: 01 September 2017
• Date: 01 September 2017
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/ban.30523

4 Board & Administrator

DOI 10.1002/ban © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company • All rights reserved

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The manual is now kept in electronic form, and

all board members have a copy, Braun said.

A final tip from Braun: Thirty years after tak-

ing a CEO’s position, he stays on the board of one

other public benefit corporation. “One reason I do

this is it helps me see issues from the board mem-

ber perspective, which I believe makes me better

here,” Braun said.

The chance to observe other leadership styles

also improves his own, Braun said. ■

‘Skip-level’ meeting improves leadership

Taking the idea from a management consultant

he worked with over the years, CEO Rod Braun

(Pella, Iowa, rbraun@christianopportunity.org) holds

skip-level meetings with his employees.

The idea is to skip the manager’s-level employ-

ees and meet directly with staff members, Braun

said. What a great way to head off board/staff

communication issues!

The agenda for the meetings is employee-

driven, with a few ground rules. “That just

means they can’t be hit-and-runs where they

trash their supervisors or bash past decisions,”

Braun said.

The meetings are held in the regions the or-

ganization serves, with up to 15 employees in

attendance. Braun holds 12 skip-level meetings

annually.

Topics covered include suggestions for changing

policies to big-picture questions. “It’s wide open,”

Braun said. Sometimes employees bring up some-

thing that is “broken,” and Braun will ask them how

they would fix it, as they are closer to the problem.

Notes are kept from the monthly meeting, and

copies are sent to all employees.

The meetings keep Braun on his toes. “I may

perceive that communication with employees is

great but at each of these meetings I will get a

question and think to myself, ‘Wow, you should

never have had to ask that because the answer

should have been in our newsletter.’” ■

How does the board measure up?

Use the following ten questions to take stock of your board’s commitmemt: Yes No

1. All board members display a strong commitment to the organization’s mission. ❏ ❏

2. Members of the board always base their decisions on what is best for those we serve, not on

special interests, personal agendas or geographic interests. ❏ ❏

3. Board members understand that they can only act under the full board’s authority — not as individuals. ❏ ❏

4. Board members work at being good team players. ❏ ❏

5. Board members understand that they don’t have to agree on every issue to be a team, but that

they must support majority decisions. ❏ ❏

6. The board occasionally has a retreat or a special presentation to boost engagement. ❏ ❏

7. The board respects its administrator and practices “No surprises.” ❏ ❏

8. The board looks to the CEO for recommendations and input as it makes decisions which affect

the organization. ❏ ❏

9. Board members display a willingness to learn more about board service. ❏ ❏

10. The board has a code of ethics that it reviews annually. ❏ ❏