LESSON 39 – Invest “10 Minutes for Governance” in Every Board Meeting

Welcome to Lessons From the Nonprofit Boardroom Blog, a 40-week journey through the new book, Lessons From the Nonprofit Boardroom, by Dan Busby and John Pearson. Each Wednesday, we're featuring a guest writer’s favorite snippet from the week's topic. John Walling is our guest blogger this week for the sixth of seven lessons in "Part 11: Boards That Lead and Boards That Read.”

LESSON 39 OF 40 - Invest “10 Minutes for Governance” in Every Board Meeting

We are all guilty of bringing our delightful dysfunctions into every new board experience.

THE BIG IDEA FROM THE BOOK: In Lesson 39, we’re reminded that the number of years served on boards may not be a good indicator of meaningful board experiences. That’s why board members must be lifelong learners. Consequently, many boards enhance the board member experience by featuring a “10 Minutes for Governance” segment in every meeting.

MY FAVORITE INSIGHTS from Lesson 39, pages 197-201: 
• Richard Kriegbaum: “Leadership is a complex field and no one resource can meet all the needs of every leader in every situation.”
• “Every board member carries unhealthy baggage into your meeting that passed as normalcy in a previous boardroom.”
• “In every board meeting, we want to remind board members that good governance does not happen by osmosis.”

MY COLOR COMMENTARY:
Over the last six years, the board of directors at Christian Community Credit Union has invested 10 minutes at each board meeting to enrich our governance competencies. Every board member takes his or her turn at facilitating this governance refresher exercise. And—we set an iPhone alarm so discussion (always lively!) stops at 10 minutes.

Typically, the 10 minutes is allocated as follows:
• 3 minutes of content from the facilitator
• 4 minutes of discussion (in groups of two or three)
• 3 minutes of group reports (1 minute each)

The facilitator prepares a one-page handout (from a standard template) and includes one or two discussion questions. The 10 minutes fly by—but it’s always a stimulating experience!

This year for our “10 Minutes for Governance” exercises, each board member is selecting their favorite chapter from Lessons From the Nonprofit Boardroom. I’m on deck at this month’s board meeting and will focus on “Lesson 27: Report Once and Report With Clarity”—a common struggle for every board I’ve served on! (Read Mike Pate’s commentary on this lesson here.)

THIS WEEK’S QUOTES & COMMENTARY BY JOHN WALLING:

John Walling served 45 years at Christian Community Credit Union, including 39 years as President & CEO. He retired in 2017. He has also served on other boards, including Payment Systems for Credit Unions, Inc. (PSCU). In 2012, his credit union peers from the California and Nevada Credit Union Leagues honored John with the "Unsung Hero Award" for his "valuable and significant contributions ‘above and beyond’ to the credit union movement within the state of California." Walling is married to Dr. Mary Lou Walling, a retired educator, and they enjoy frequent family gatherings with their two daughters, sons-in-laws, four grandchildren, and a grandson-in-law.

TO-DO TODAY: 

• Pilot test “10 Minutes for Governance” at your next two board meetings. Then evaluate whether you should add this to your standard agenda.
• Assess whether differing assumptions about board governance roles and responsibilities has created misalignment among your board members.

NEXT WEDNESDAY:
On Aug. 22, 2018, watch for the commentary by Dan Bolin on Lesson 40, "A Board Prayer: Dear God...let me tell stories and provide statistics that represent accurately."

Subscribe to this blog by submitting your email (just above the date/day). Visit the Lessons From the Nonprofit Boardroom webpage and order extra copies for your board members.

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LESSON 14 - If You Need a Board Member, Recruit a Board Member

Welcome to Lessons From the Nonprofit Boardroom Blog, a 40-week journey through the new book, Lessons From the Nonprofit Boardroom, by Dan Busby and John Pearson. Each Wednesday, we're featuring a guest writer’s favorite snippet from the week's topic. Bruce Johnson is our guest blogger this week for the fourth of four lessons in "Part 4: Epiphanies in the Boardroom."

LESSON 14 OF 40 - If You Need a Board Member, Recruit a Board Member

If you need a volunteer, recruit a volunteer.

THE BIG IDEA FROM THE BOOK: Here’s the big take-away principle from Chapter 14—the best volunteers don’t necessarily make the best board candidates. Great volunteers are often get-it-done people. They like rolling up their sleeves. Seeing things accomplished. They have skills for a particular project or initiative.  

Being an effective board member calls for the ability to work in committees, think strategically, overcome the temptation to manage the work—and instead, think at a higher level of oversight, policy, and governance.  

Bringing on board members with little governance experience (this should be the exception, rather than the rule) requires preparation and mentoring, which takes a commitment of time by them, the CEO, the board chair, and a culture of learning among the board. 

MY FAVORITE INSIGHTS from Lesson 14, pages 68-72: "Whoa, Nelly!"
As noted on page 69, “We expect restaurants to have competent chefs. We trust airline pilots to be trained up to the minute and highly competent. We expect theologians to be lifelong learners…Yet board members, not so much.”

Years ago I was mentoring a young ministry leader. He was so excited to tell me, “I just met a wealthy businessman who is a Christian. I’m going to invite him to join our board next week.”  

“Whoa, Nelly!” I thought (a phrase made famous by the recently deceased sports broadcaster, Keith Jackson). Success in business does not instantly translate to success as a board member.  Discerning, cultivating, and vetting who would be a good board member is one of the most important responsibilities of the CEO and board members.  

And high on the qualification list is knowledge of governance and the role of the board and board members for your organization.

MY COLOR COMMENTARY:
Identifying competent board members takes time. Do they really understand and are they passionate about the mission of your organization? Do they have the time? Will they “play well” in the board setting or will they drive their agenda? Do they bring knowledge and experience that will add to the board, not detract?  Do they understand how to lead by policy, rather than by operational directive?

And for your current board members, I affirm the authors’ suggestion on page 72, “Inspire a board member to help increase the board’s competencies in policy development by reading a book [or chapter], booklet, or article on Policy Governance®.”  

Ask a board member to take 10 minutes at an upcoming board meeting to review and discuss one idea about board governance. Create a culture of learning with your board. It’s a great way to give back to them. 

THIS WEEK’S QUOTES & COMMENTARY BY BRUCE JOHNSON:

Bruce Johnson is president of SIM USA, a global mission that brings good news to people living and dying without the gospel. SIM has multi-skilled workers of more than 65 nationalities serving together on six continents. It ministers among diverse people groups through Christian witness, community development, medicine, education, business, and more. Bruce has over four decades of leadership experience in Christian ministry, including three stints as an interim CEO.  For nearly a decade he had a full-time consulting practice to ministry and church leaders, helping them clarify and implement strategy, board governance, and leadership development.  Bruce and his wife, Mary, live in Charlotte, N.C. He serves on the board of ECFA and is an elder in his local church.

TO-DO TODAY: 

• Share with your board chair the idea of asking a board member (who gets board governance) to lead a 10-minute learning session.
• Make a list of what competencies are critical for potential candidates for your board.   
  

NEXT WEDNESDAY:
On Feb. 28, 2018, watch for George Duff's commentary on Lesson 15, "Cut Your Losses: Is it a $30,000 baseball or not?"

Subscribe to this blog by submitting your email (just above the date/day). Visit the Lessons From the Nonprofit Boardroom webpage and order extra copies for your board members.

ORDER THE BOOK