Use the following as a sample of Director standards with which to inform and assess each Director on the Board as well as incoming candidates or volunteers.

“In camera” is a Latin term which can be understood to mean an "in private" session in this context. It involves a confidential meeting, or a portion of a meeting, taking place with only Board members present.

Strategic awareness rarely features in modern textbooks on management, yet is something that can fundamentally change conversations and decision-making at the Board level. 

In essence, strategic awareness is the...

Removing a Director should occur either by performance management (e.g. Board evaluation results), structural management (e.g. term limits or constitutional and/or legal requirements invoked), or by perception management (e.g. offering a position on an advisory committee)

Many CEOs we have worked with can recount a situation where they have been involved in an AGM (not necessarily their own) that have dissolved into farce and acrimony, leaving the organization in confusion and Board and staff unsure what to do next.

Have you ever had (or heard of) the situation where one or more Board members were either consistently late, or were not turning up on a regular basis (with or without pre-warning)? 

The strategic planning process is often too operational, inefficient and not nearly strategic enough. Employ these seven tips to give your planning team the best running start for your next strategic plan.

Strategic planning sessions can be conducted remotely, without the need for people to meet in person. This article outlines the four key components of any strategic plan and the process for the most effective strategic plan facilitation sessions.

Action planning should be viewed as the architecture of your strategic goal setting. Without a realistic set of incremental steps, overarching strategies are not likely to form in the way you would like (if at all).

The role of scenario planning is crucial for any business – it opens a constructive space with which to index all the environmental risks which could disrupt your organization, and discuss how your resources could be allocated to minimize their impact should they play out.

Have you ever had (or heard of) the situation where one or more Board members were either consistently late, or were not turning up on a regular basis (with or without pre-warning)? 

The strategic planning process is often too operational, inefficient and not nearly strategic enough. Employ these seven tips to give your planning team the best running start for your next strategic plan.

Your organization's strategic plan sets the trajectory for its future. It is very important to make the most of this process and that starts with choosing the strategic planning team.

The strategic value of asking the right questions, especially during board meetings, is rarely tapped into. Start use the six most powerful questions below and watch the effectiveness of your board skyrocket. 

One of the most powerful tools for creating strategic awareness in your nonprofit organization is your Vision statement.

Your Vision statement is more than a catch phrase: it's a call to arms and one of the most powerful innovation tools available. But you need to know how to use it. The real question is: How well do we map our existing business, services and programs against the key elements of our Vision statement, and how well do we “walk the talk”?

Have you ever been trapped in a Board meeting that has totally lost its focus? Do you dread Board or staff meetings that achieve little or nothing? Sometimes, without even knowing it, any Director can waste the time of the Board by leaning into operations rather than strategic governance. So how do you handle the toxic trap of micromanagement?

With current increased uncertainty and complexity, it may be tempting to put off the board meetings for your board or committee because you can’t meet face-to-face. But do you really need to cancel or simply pivot?

Given the pace of change and complexity in today’s business environment, Advisory Boards are often underutilized resources for strategic, high-value information and guidance.

For many corporate and nonprofit organisations alike, the need to evaluate the Board of directors, the strengths, weaknesses and skills gap at any given time, is critical to managing its effectiveness. Leverage these strategies and put your crosshairs on the areas that need the most improvement. 

How you view the role of the Board can have a big impact on its effectiveness. Does your Board meet to tick the boxes on compliance? Or is it about choices and creation? This free white paper, Choices, Future, Communities, is a wake-up call to anyone who thinks they are too small to make a difference. 

Despite the challenges of regulatory uncertainty and economic pressure, a space to begin proactive discussions around mergers, acquisitions and other forms of sustainable growth has been created for organisations which are willing and prepared.

How prepared an organization is to detect, respond and recover from a cyber attack will determine its resilience following the inevitable data or security breach it will suffer some day. Are you preapred for the inevitable? 

Reasonable people can disagree on important issues. But what do you do if you firmly believe the consensus decision is wrong and that the Board is veering toward a decision that could be extremely damaging?

Use the following as a sample of Director standards with which to inform and assess each Director on the Board as well as incoming candidates or volunteers.

If decision making around the Board room is likely to recede into the weeds its productivity and effectiveness is greatly diluted. The Board induction program is the first and greatest opportunity to set personal expectations from the beginning of a Director’s tenure. 

“In camera” is a Latin term which can be understood to mean an "in private" session in this context. It involves a confidential meeting, or a portion of a meeting, taking place with only Board members present.

Strategic awareness rarely features in modern textbooks on management, yet is something that can fundamentally change conversations and decision-making at the Board level. 

In essence, strategic awareness is the...

The primary reason driving most mergers is to gain some type of advantage or to stave off some sort of disaster. The only way organizations can decide if a merger makes sense is to evaluate whether it significantly advances their vision and strategic objectives. Since these strategies are, presumably, designed to increase the ability of the organization to deliver against its vision, their accomplishment should, by definition, increase profitability.

Many nonprofit organizations elect or appoint an individual to the position of Treasurer and that person is deemed responsible for the financial management of the organization.

One of the key assets of any nonprofit organization is its CEO (or MD, EO, GM, Coordinator or any other title that represents the chief staff leader). A primary reason many great CEOs choose to leave their organization is due to poor handling of their performance management by the Board, or sometimes not at all.

The relationship between the nonprofit Board Chair and the CEO is arguably the most important relationship in the organization.

On the one hand, Directors have the right to access everything that goes on in the organisation (with some exceptions mainly related to privacy laws), as in the end, the Director is ultimately responsible.

Eight of our best steps you can begin to implement today, which promise to put you in good shape to becoming a Board savvy CEO. This will enable a productive relationship to take place, and is crucial for trust to be fostered and strategic outcomes achieved much faster.

When it comes to financing a nonprofit, there are many uphill battles. The two greatest factors that either create or limit prosperity and abundance in a nonprofit organization are...

Many CEOs we have worked with can recount a situation where they have been involved in an AGM (not necessarily their own) that have dissolved into farce and acrimony, leaving the organization in confusion and Board and staff unsure what to do next.

There have been too many examples where the functions of the Treasurer have been too much for one person, or there have not been the checks and balances on this position allowing the Treasurer to commit fraud, or remain ill-suited for the task at hand.

Have you ever had (or heard of) the situation where one or more Board members were either consistently late, or were not turning up on a regular basis (with or without pre-warning)? 

For innovation to thrive in an organization, the CEO plus Board of Directors must actively promote the right culture.

Risk is an often misunderstood concept in governance, especially when it is contained at all costs and never explored for potential gian. 

Why do some companies succeed in creating new markets while others fail?This question has driven the work of W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne over the past ten years and led them to conceptualize a framework for business innovation and success: Blue Ocean Strategy.

Strategic awareness rarely features in modern textbooks on management, yet is something that can fundamentally change conversations and decision-making at the Board level. 

In essence, strategic awareness is the...

This commonly accepted business practice tends to compel people to believe that they need to cut costs to improve revenue and profit, making expenses the focus of the business strategy, not revenue generation. This often leads management to make decisions that actually harm the organization.

When it comes to financing a nonprofit, there are many uphill battles. The two greatest factors that either create or limit prosperity and abundance in a nonprofit organization are...

The following list is a compilation of tactics and behaviors which may seem unconventional, but form the foundations of a resilient business that can sustain conscious growth.

Have you ever had (or heard of) the situation where one or more Board members were either consistently late, or were not turning up on a regular basis (with or without pre-warning)? 

For innovation to thrive in an organization, the CEO plus Board of Directors must actively promote the right culture.

The strategic value of asking the right questions, especially during board meetings, is rarely tapped into. Start use the six most powerful questions below and watch the effectiveness of your board skyrocket. 

One of the most powerful tools for creating strategic awareness in your nonprofit organization is your Vision statement.

What are you really saying when you present your board report as a commentary on how 'busy' you have been? This common approach should be abandoned in favor of board reports that focus on your strategic plan.

Removing an underperforming Board member is an exercise that must be handled with care especially if the director in question still feels passionately about the organization, but are unsuitable for future tenure. 

What's the best way to cultivate leadership qualities, regardless of your formal job title?

Risk is an often misunderstood concept in governance, especially when it is contained at all costs and never explored for potential gian. 

The relationship between the nonprofit Board Chair and the CEO is arguably the most important relationship in the organization. What does it take to nurture the relationship, even bring it back from the brink?

Biased information sources make it difficult for the correct decision to be made, but often it's the behavior of those in leadership positions who can be at fault. 

How can the typical Board evaluation be used to provide feedback to Board members and improve the overall work of the Board?