THE ONE VISION/ONE VOICE OF GOVERNANCE

1. THE ONE VISION/ONE VOICE OF GOVERNANCE Lloyd Cowin, Executive Director; Julie Tubman, Board Chair Roger’s House, 399 Smyth Rd, Ottawa, ON K1H 8L2 BACKGROUND GOVERNANCE MODEL ROLES OF THE BOARD • Governance is the strategic leadership, stewardship and oversight of an organization. It provides direction & accountability to an organization. • - David O. Renz, Philanthropy in the U.S.: An Encyclopedia, 2004 • ROGER’S HOUSE Is an 8-bed pediatric residential hospice set in a homelike, family environment providing: • Temporary respite (planned and emergency) • Acute pain and distressing symptom management • Holistic “end of life” care • Temporary “transition to home” care • Grief and bereavement care GENERATIVE ROLE • Executive(s) and board collaborate from a perspective of high engagement • Focuses on framing the problem rather than solving it • Encourages a plurality of opinion • Cultivates the intellectual, reputational, political and social capital of board members STRATEGIC ROLE • Align internal strengths & weaknesses with external opportunities & threats • Are services meeting needs? • What do families want? • Where does the organization have a competitive advantage? • What are the organization’s core competencies? THE BOARD ESTABLISHING A NEW BOARD • Define who the organization is: mission, vision, values • Develop a common understanding and expectations among board members • Clarify roles of the board vs. staff • Educate the board about the organization and hospice care FIDUCIARY ROLE • Prevent theft, waste or misuse of resources • Ensure resources deployed effectively & efficiently to advance the mission • Maintain focus on mission, vision & values • Ensure directors and staff are operating in the best interests of the organization - Jim Nininger as adapted from R. Chait et.al., Governance as Leadership, 2002 SELECTION EDUCATION Skills required: • Board experience • Finance/accounting • HR • Legal • Family perspective • Clinical • Business/management • Construction/project management • Community/public service • Marketing • Various roles of the Board • Role of individual board members • Policies: confidentiality, conflict of interest, attendance, code of conduct • Committees and reporting structure • Board member orientation—resources • Time at the hospice GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE • Develops board policies • Orients new board members • Develops Board member reference binder • Responsible for Training and educating board members • Evaluates board performance • Recruits and nominates new board members • Grooms potential new board members (committee work) EVALUATION • Form completed anonymously by individual board members • Compiled by administrative assistant • Results reviewed by Governance Committee first, followed by discussion with entire board • Plan of action developed by Governance Committee • REFERENCES: • The High Performance Board: Principles of Nonprofit Organization Performance, Pointer and Orlikoff, Jossey-Bass, 2002 • Board Work: Governing Health Care Organizations, Pointer and Orlikoff, Jossey-Bass, 1999 • Governance as Leadership: Reframing the Work of Nonprofit Boards, Chait, Ryan and Taylor, Wiley, 2005 • Guide to Good Governance, Ontario Hospital Association, 2005 • Auditor General of Ontario Annual Report 2007-08, Chapter 3, Section 3.11—Hospital Board Governance • www.rogershouse.ca