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?
3 ways to handle a board decision you disagree with (even if you are the lone voice)
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?
The Case for Nonprofit Board Succession Planning
In a recent study, less than half the nonprofit CEOs surveyed said they did not have an adequate succession planning process in place. If building a board leadership pipeline is among the most important areas for board improvement, why does it routinely fail to take priority?
The 10 duties and responsibilities that every Director must understand
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.
How to cut down wasteful Director micromanagement with a good Board induction program
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.
What is an in camera session? How to maintain confidentiality in the Boardroom without generating fear
“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.
What is strategic awareness? 8 ways you can begin to use it in business and in life
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...
Before you alert the press: How to evaluate merger opportunities for the greatest compatibility
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.
The responsibilities of the Honorary Treasurer are too much for any one individual. Try this instead.
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.
How do you stop a great CEO from leaving? Change their performance management
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.
How to strengthen the most important relationship in your nonprofit
The relationship between the nonprofit Board Chair and the CEO is arguably the most important relationship in the organization.
What do you do when a Board member steps over the line?
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.
For the board savvy CEO: your 8 steps to building an unbreakable relationship with the board
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.
How to attract more money and resources to your not-for-profit
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 powers of nonprofit boards VS members: What you need to know
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.
The responsibilities of the Honorary Treasurer are too much for any one individual. Try this instead.
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.
11 engagement techniques to improve your board attendance rates
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)?