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NINE THINGS YOU CAN DO RIGHT NOW TO BRING YOUR BOARD & BOARD MEETINGS TO LIFE

Nancy R. Axelrod provides observations and practical solutions to challenges faced by boards, such as lack of engagement and ineffective meetings. Learn how to inform, engage, inspire, and mobilize your board members to create a dynamic and impactful organization.

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NINE THINGS YOU CAN DO RIGHT NOW TO BRING YOUR BOARD & BOARD MEETINGS TO LIFE

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  1. NINE THINGS YOU CAN DO RIGHT NOWTO BRING YOUR BOARD & BOARD MEETINGS TO LIFE

  2. What is the greatest challenge you are facing with your board today?

  3. The fix to most of these challenges begins with ensuring board members are: • Informed • Engaged • Inspired • Mobilized

  4. Observations by Nancy R. Axelrod “….below par and under-deployed” “…mind-numbing show-and-tell meetings with predetermined outcomes…” “…wondering how their presence makes any material difference…”

  5. FIVE THINGS YOU CAN DO RIGHT NOW TO BRING YOUR BOARD MEETINGS TO LIFE

  6. Number One • Facilitate a discussion at the beginning of the next board meeting around one of the following generative questions: • On what list would we rank #1? • On what list would we want to rank #1? • What three words best describe our organization? • What is the greatest opportunity you see us grabbing ahold of in the upcoming year?

  7. Number Two • Ask board members at the beginning of your next President’s Report, these three questions: • What is happening in our organization today that fills you with excitement? • What is keeping you up at night? • What is something about our organization that you don’t know enough about right now?

  8. Number Three • Have board members complete a report card on these five aspects of a great nonprofit board. Discuss. • Our Board: • Has a climate of trust & candor • Receives relevant, on-time & accurate information • Is comfortable challenging one another’s assumptions & conclusions • Engages in lively discussion on strategic issues • Regularly assess its own performance • Research by Sonnefeld, 2002

  9. Number Four • Randomly & anonymously assign the following roles at the beginning of the next board meeting: • Devil’s Advocate • Stakeholder Voice

  10. THREE THINGS YOU CAN DO RIGHT NOW TO BRING YOUR BOARD TO LIFE

  11. Number One • Be clear about your role on the board. • Are you a: • Staff-centered leader? • Funder-centered leader? • Board-centered leader?

  12. Six specific competencies of a “board-centered” CEO: • Facilitate interaction in board relationships • Show consideration and respect toward directors • Provide helpful information to the board • Initiate and maintain a structure for board work • Envision change and innovation with the board • Promote board productivity and accomplishments • Source: Herman and Heimovics (1991)

  13. Number Two • Invest in board recruitment.

  14. Number Three • Working with your Board, develop a Board Dashboard that tracks key performance metrics.

  15. RESOURCES The Alford Group, Evanston, IL Governance as Leadership: Reframing the Work of Nonprofit Boards. Richard P. Chait, William P. Ryan & Barbara E. Taylor (John Wiley & Sons, 2004). The Jossey-Bass Handbook on Nonprofit Leadership and Management, Second Edition. Robert D. Herman and Associates (John Wiley & Sons, 2005).

  16. Q&A. Thank you.

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