Without a solid foundation in compliance, even the best-laid plans can quickly unravel. Compliance isn’t just about ticking boxes or avoiding penalties—it's about ensuring that your organisation operates with integrity and is positioned for sustainable success.
Setting Your Strategic Board Agenda: A Tool for Future-Focused Governance
A well-organised board agenda is more than just a checklist for directors. It’s a critical tool that shapes the discussions and decisions made in every meeting, driving the future of the organisation.
Is Your Constitution Fit for Purpose?
One of the core responsibilities of board directors is to ensure that the organisation's governance structures are robust, relevant, and legally compliant. Yet, the importance of regularly reviewing constitutions is often overlooked until something goes wrong.
[Watch] Creating the Culture the Board Requires
![[Watch] Creating the Culture the Board Requires](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/51b64d8ae4b0c042edeecd7e/1632784504737-TF7OC5NS90GWFS0LJ06X/campaign-creators-gMsnXqILjp4-unsplash.jpg)
Research has found direct links between culture and performance of an organisation. In this video, Steve Simpson and Steven Bowman discuss UGR’s (Unwritten Ground Rules) that demonstrate how well an organisation’s vision and values are being lived in the workplace.
What's A Board Review And Why You Need It with Mary Hiland
Mary Hiland chats with Steven Bowman about the Board’s role in making the choices that create the future for the communities they serve.
What are the various kinds of people that make boards go off-track?
Learn to deal with bad behaviour instead of being too “polite”.
The importance of knowing your vision statement and its relationship to making decisions and asking questions.
What is the culture you need for the organization, and how do you know you’re meeting that goal?
“Are you doing this to prove, or are you doing this to create?”
How to improve Board Governance
Bowman’s main message was that each item for a board agenda would be linked to one of the fund’s strategic goals. He urged chairs to rigorously enforce this, partly as a means of preventing “personal gripes that go on for ages” from individual directors. Such a policy would also mean that agendas should not have an item labelled as “any other business”.
Using your Vision/Purpose to bring Board conversations back on track
A common theme for many Boards is not knowing how to deal with conversations that go off the rails. Here are some key strategies, including how to use your Vision Statement, to help bring Board interactions and conversations back on track.
Using your Vision/Purpose to unlock business and service innovation
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”?
Mentoring guidelines for new Directors
One of the key elements of a high performing Board, is the presence of a mandatory mentoring system for new Board members. If this is something you believe your new Board members would welcome, then here are some guidelines we have found useful when designing mentoring programs for new Board members.
Getting new Directors to where they need to be - Developing induction programs that work
The day a person joins the leadership team on a board of directors is the day they become liable for the decisions of the board. Preparing new board members for this responsibility is the function of a well-designed board induction program.
Ending micromanagement around the Boardroom: A primer for Directors
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?
How can we make our online board meetings more effective?
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?
Building your Board Director pipeline: Developing an induction program for prospective Directors
Have you ever dreamed of having a waiting list of high performing Directors who know about your organization, who know what it means to be strategic, and who ask questions from Day 1 that open up insights and possibilities for everyone on your Board?
Conducting strategic planning during social isolation
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.
3 Proven Tips for Integrating a Merger or Acquisition
Putting the issue of job security for senior and other staff aside, here are three very practical tips for improving your chance of successful integration.
The Strategic Advisory Board: Creation, Development and Extracting Advantage
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.
Three simple strategies to maximize your next external Board evaluation
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.
[Whitepaper] What's the True Role of Your Board of Directors? (Hint: It's Not What You Think)
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.
“Even the cockatoos in the pet shops are talking about mergers in the Nonprofit Sector!”
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.
“We will never be hacked” and other cyber security myths that are leaving nonprofits exposed
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?