Table of Contents

• Date: 01 January 2013
• Published date: 01 January 2013
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/ban.20090

© 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company • All rights reserved

View this newsletter online at wileyonlinelibrary.com • DOI: 10.1002/ban.20090

Embrace the truth to x board problems

During her BoardSource Leadership Forum

2012 presentation, From Trouble to Triumph: The

Journey to a Meaningful Board Partnership, former

nonprot CEO Deirdre Maloney, makemomentum.

com, shared a personal horror story about a board

relationship that went bad on her from her rst

day of work.

“We had no policies around ‘Who does what?;’

nothing on the role of the board or even a board

member job description,” Maloney said.

Maloney said she and the board spent too much

time early on drawing lines in the sand over “Is

this yours or mine?”

Both parties quickly wore themselves out in

the turf wars, leading to a frustrated board and

staff. “We had apathy, tedious meetings and

struggled to get quorums,” Maloney said. “It took

us 10 minutes at meetings to approve the meeting

agenda.”

The board and administrator mess dragged on

for a year, Maloney said.

The board holds ultimate decision-making

power, while the executive director’s true role,

Maloney learned, is to bring solutions to the

organization’s problems to the board. “The board

brings perspective, but they don’t know the day-to-

day workings of a cash ow crunch, for example,”

she said. ■

Tips from funders

to improve strategic governance

The Good Governance Guide suggests that

boards looking to improve their governance

standards through strategic planning should ask

themselves these questions:

•  Has a strategic plan been developed? The

plan should be developed and approved by the

board — or the board should currently be in-

volved in developing a strategic plan — that sup-

ports the organization’s mission and vision.

•  What was the extent of the board’s in-

volvement in the development of the strategic 

plan? Ideally, the full board — guided by a board

strategic planning committee and with the par-

ticipation of staff — was involved in the develop-

ment of the plan including a review of the mission

statement, objectives and priorities. The plan was

developed for a three- to ve-year period.

•  How does the board monitor progress on 

the plan? Management should provide updates

to the board at regular intervals as appropriate

for the organization’s needs: at each board meet-

ing, quarterly, semiannually or annually.

•  How does the board use its plan to re-

spond to changing circumstances? The board

can respond by making the strategic plan a

working document that is updated periodically to

adjust for progress in achieving goals and objec-

tives, changes in the internal and external envi-

ronments and critical issues and opportunities

that arise.

For information, Good Governance Guide, www

.governancematters.org. ■

January 2013 Vol. 29, No. 5 Editor: Jeff Stratton

Supplement