The Art of Governance TJD Congregations Board Training

1. Annette Marquis Holston Valley UU Church February 26-27, 2010 The Art of GovernanceTJD Congregations Board Training

2. Workshop goals

3. Governance and Ministry Governance and Ministry Rethinking Board Leadership By Dan Hotchkiss

4. Governance as Leadership Governance as Leadership: Reframing the Work of Nonprofit Boards Richard P. Chait, William P. Ryan , Barbara E. Taylor

5. Adages of Good Governance Dan Hotchkiss, Governance and Ministry

6. Good Governance • A unified structure for making governance decisions: • Articulating mission and vision • Evaluating programs • Ensuring responsible stewardship of resources • A unified structure of making operational decisions • Program leaders (paid and unpaid) work harmoniously to create effective programs with the support of a structure that delegates authority and requires accountability. • A creative, open atmosphere for ministry • Members take advantage of the many opportunities to share their talents and interests in an atmosphere of trust and creativity in which structure, goals, and purposes are clear. Dan Hotchkiss, Governance and Ministry

7. Opportunities for Growth • TJD Annual Meeting – April 30 – May 2, 2010 • Standing on the Side of Love • Penn Center, St. Helena’s Island, SC • Weekly webinars • Right relationships and conflict – Dr. Helen Bishop • Governance and leadership – Annette Marquis • Faith development – the Rev. Sue Sinnamon • What Works? – the Rev. Jake Morrill • Southland UU Leadership Experience • August 8-13, 2010 - The Mountain • Anti-Racism Conference – October 8-10, 2010

8. Art, Not Science A congregation easily becomes an end in its own mind – recruiting people to an empty discipleship of committee service, finance, and building maintenance. Institutional management is a necessary but ultimately secondary function of a congregation. If souls are not transformed and the world is not healed, the congregation fails no matter what the treasurer reports. Dan Hotchkiss, Governance and Ministry

9. For tonight The end

10. Models of Governance Dan Hotchkiss, Alban Institute

11. Board-Centered Model • This is a functional system up to about 150 at worship. • The Board is comprised of • Officers and at-large members • Chairs or representatives of committees

12. Board-Centered Model Clergy

13. Board-Centered Model

14. Committee-Centered Model Clergy Board

15. Committee-Centered Model • Committees handle operations of the congregation in their area of specialty/interest • Finance • Facilities • RE • Membership • Staff report to committees, at least functionally

16. Committee-Centered Model

17. Committee-Centered Model Finance Board Clergy Building

18. Committee-Centered Model Finance Board Clergy Building Staff Add a staff member

19. Committee-Centered Model Finance Clergy Board Personnel Staff Building Staff Staff Add more staff

20. Staff-Centered Model • Strong ministry-led congregations • Ministers "cast the vision" • Congregation does not have meetings of any significance • The pastor can say yes or no • Teams are picked who are in favor of the task NOTE: Uncommon in UU Congregations

21. Staff-Centered Model Clergy Board Staff Staff Staff

22. Staff-Centered Model

23. Other Ineffective Ideas

24. Good Governance Dan Hotchkiss, Governance and Ministry

25. Governance and Ministry Minister and Board share the vision • Committees are used only in its original sense - to help a body to do its job - helps the board to do the boards work  Program teams, ministry teams rather than committees • Minister and board have unique responsibilities and joint responsibilities • Staff Team (as Ministers) • Practical work •  Board (as governors) • Fiduciary Work • Shared Functions (As discerners) • Planning work • Generative work

26. Governance and Ministry Governance Ministry Accountability Board Staff Policies Committees Teams Congregation

27. Governance and Ministry Roles of Board and Staff Governance Ministry Lay Leader Ministry Leader Board Staff Oversight Management Strategy Discernment Congregation As governors As ministers As discerners

28. Fiduciary Duties of Board Members

29. Board Policy Book

30. Governance and Ministry Dan Hotchkiss, Alban Institute

31. Policy Governance • Basis for the governance system is policies • Board has limited role. Their purpose is to answer three questions: • Whom do we serve? • For what reason? • At what cost? • Board handles their own governance • Sets executive limitations - a fence around the paid staff. Staff is free to act as long as they operate within those limits • Board speaks with one voice

32. Policy Governance A congregation and its lay leaders grant authority to staff in order for it to morally hold staff accountable for its actions.

33. Policy Governance Org Chart(Example only)

34. Policy Governance • Ends • An end statement is a big mixing bowl - an outcome to be achieved, for whom, and for what cost? A congregation might have 7 or so end statements. • Executive limitations • sit in smaller bowls inside the end statement in order to restrict actions in completing the end statement. • For example, can't misspend money to achieve the end. If it's not spelled out as a limitation, anything can be done once. Based on past history, board might create a limitation based on failure.

35. Policy Governance - Ends Our members and friends will enjoy a deeply, meaningful, transforming liberal religious experience through inspirational worship, education and individual spiritual practice. • Outcome: "will enjoy a deeply, meaningful, transforming liberal religious experience" • For Whom: "Our members and friends" • At what cost: "inspirational worship, education and individual spiritual practice" 

36. Policy Governance

37. From Models to Modes Richard Chait and his colleagues argue that we should shift emphasize modes over models in seeking to govern well. Richard Chait, William Ryan and Barbara Taylor, Governance As Leadership: Reframing the Work of Nonprofit Boards (Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, 2005)

38. Governance as Leadership Type 2: Strategic Type 1: Fiduciary Type 3: Generative

39. Type I: Fiduciary Governance

40. Type I: Fiduciary Governance

41. Type II: Strategic Governance

42. Type II: Strategic Governance

43. Type III: Generative Governance

44. Type III: Generative Governance

45. Type I, II, III Comparisons

46. Scenarios • Your facility is crowded on Sunday mornings and there is parking and limited space for religious education. • A Board member was arrested for public exposure in a children-focused restaurant. • Your canvass campaign was 10% over projections. • Two African American men were arrested in your community for protecting an African American woman from being beaten by a white man • You were left an undesignated bequest of $20,000. • It was just discovered that your treasurer has not made any deposits from the Sunday collection in 6 months. • Three youth were caught drinking in the building. • Your minister announced his/her resignation. • A member sent out an email to selective members of the congregation - the email used derogatory language to blast the president and the board.

48. Stages of Board Transition

49. Maxims

50. Special Thanks Special thanks to Dan Hotchkiss and Richard Chait for their valuable work in the area of governance and to the participants of the Art of Governance workshop for their commitment to improving the quality of governance in their congregations in order fulfill our grand Unitarian Universalist vision of world community with peace, liberty and justice for all.