Board Leadership Transition & Development

1. Board LeadershipTransition & Development With Robert Ballantyne www.ballantyne.com

2. Why is there a board? • Governing the entity - unlimited power • Your role as a board member • The servant-leader • What it means to be a fiduciary • Know the people for whom you speak • Insist on integrity and transparency of purpose • How you can promote a vision or concept • The board’s voice

3. Followers, managers, leaders • Everyone should have the opportunity to experience / learn each of those roles Leadership in the organization • Knows the values of the organization • Has a clear vision of what must be achieved • Can communicate the concepts • May or may not be statutory leaders Leading from behind • You don’t have to be in the driver’s seat to lead • Don’t create factions

4. Accountability • Distinguish between accountability and blame • Always be clear about accountability • Board is accountable to the community • Management is accountable to the board • Staff & volunteers are accountable to management • Although the board may not be paid, they are not part of the volunteer structure • Clarity is best when it is written

5. Styles or methods of governance Traditional governance vs. Policy Governance ® (only if the group is interested) Other styles of operation • Working boards • Joint management / board teams • Line management boards • Strategic Planning and the board • Advisory boards • For profit and non profit boards In all cases, track and clarify accountability

6. Transition & Change • Change is difficult for management • People expect/want consistency • People resist change • Change is easy for the board • The primary work of the board is producing words • As fiduciaries, the board should be in touch with the people they represent • When the board perceives a need for change, it must act • Boards are in the goalpost moving business

7. Change at the level of the board • The nominating committee is the reproductive organ of the society • Governing is not intuitive, it must be learned • An organization that invests in board development: • Improves the quality of its governance • Contributes to the whole community by developing people who will serve and lead in many other roles • Teach that no one is indispensable and change the personalities on the board

8. Invest in board developmentThe authority and wisdom of the board comes only from the members’ knowledge of those for whom they speak • New board members seldom know how to govern. It is not intuitive! • New board members need to learn the board’s culture • New board members need to learn the scope of the organization’s activities • New board members need to achieve familiarity with the community they represent • New board members need to learn how to govern effectively

9. Board LeadershipTransition & Development With Robert J. Ballantyne Ballantyne & Associates Box G-48 Bowen Island British Columbia, Canada, V0N 1G0 604.947.0815 Online resources: http://governing.ca http://www.ballantyne.com