We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."
Greetings!,
Is your board facing the same problems over and over? Are you finding that you're moving from one challenge to 
the next with the oversight of your school without effecting long-term school improvement? Many times a board needs to step back and take a fresh look at their challenges and realistically understand their current circumstances and how to incrementally make changes to move your school in a new positive direction.
Simply put, effective schools have effective boards. In many cases though, boards have inherent dysfunctional habits that are carried over from board member to board member, without recognizing that your actions are counter-productive to good governance and overall school performance.
There are number of key expectations for effective board and there appear to be a number of common mistakes that poor performing boards continue to make. These an include in no particular order or magnitude:
- Failing to understand their fiduciary duties
- Failing to provide effective oversight and long-term planning
- Deference to the Executive Committee, Board Chair, or the School's Founder
- Micro-managing staff
- Avoiding the hard questions and solving today the problems of tomorrow
- Insufficient conflict of interest management or lack of understanding your roles
- Lack of awareness of laws governing tax-exempts
- Operating with outdated, inconsistent governing policies or bylaws
- Airing disagreements outside the boardroom.
- Failure to cultivate capable and interested board members
RESPONSIBILITIES OF AN EFFECTIVE BOARD
A non profit's board of directors is responsible for defining the school's mission and providing overall leadership and strategic direction for the school. Their responsibilities include:
- Determining and articulating the school's mission, vision, and values
- Recruiting and selecting the school's Head of School
- Supporting and assessing the performance of the school's Head
- Ensuring that the school engages in planning for its future
- Determining the programs that the school will deliver to implement its strategies and accomplish its goals; monitoring the performance of these programs to ensure their value
- Ensuring that the school has financial and other resources adequate to implement its plans
- Ensuring the effective management and use of the school's finances
- Enhancing the school's credibility and public image
- Ensuring organizational integrity and accountability
- Assessing and developing the board's own effectiveness
GOVERN MORE AND MANAGE LESS
Do you have a "great" board? What makes an effective board...what's their secret to long-term success? Research shows that great boards have a set of common attributes that clearly separates them from others. Effective boards need to govern more and manage less and focus on:
- Developing a strategic plan and following it through an action plan
- Linking board agenda to strategic agenda
- Monitoring success of the school's initiatives and adjusting course as needed
- Developing clear expectations and plan of action for Trustees to support the plan
- Directing the Head of School to prepare strategically via an annual operational plan
- Establishing committees to monitor goals
- Structuring meetings to policy and strategy, not day-to-day operations
- Annually assessing the performance of the board and committees based on the plan's priorities
- Focusing on policy, organizational strategy, and the relationship between budget and priorities
- Using board committee to monitor strategic initiatives and reporting to board for action
Every board should take the time to fine tune their practices to ensure that they leading the school effectively and coordinating the combined resources of their board members and Head of School. Is your board firing on all cylinders?
PRACTICAL WORKSHOP TO IMPROVE BOARD PERFORMANCE
If you'd like to proactively improve your board's performance for the coming school year or plan a retreat to fine tune your board for this fall, you should seriously consider our board governance workshop. Our workshop will provide feedback to analyze and develop a clear set of strategies to guide your school's leadership with ongoing development. Whether you require training in strategic board structure and function, need an objective expert opinion on a particular issue, or would like our assistance in formulating your board's agenda, the workshop will move your Board forward.
OUR ONE-DAY WORKSHOP INCLUDES:
- Facilitation of a one-day workshop that assists your board in developing strategies and tactics to close your performance gap for the governance of your school.
- A comprehensive 360° online "Board Performance Self-Assessment Survey" that candidly and anonymously assesses your board's performance.
- An interactive presentation on best practices of school governance.
- Participation in hands-on case scenarios that highlight effective board practices and engage discussions on parallel issues of your own school, which apply research to your own situation.
- Utilize the results of your Board Performance Self-Assessment Survey to build a profile of your board's performance gaps based on a comprehensive analysis of your confidential responses to the online survey and identify areas needing immediate improvement.
- As part of the process, Board members will candidly discuss and reach consensus on issues surrounding the performance of the board and lay the groundwork for long-term improvement.
- Board Performance Report: This will include working with board members to development a "Board Performance Report" that provides a comprehensive overview of the board's survey results, issues, and a plan of action for improvement. The report identifies areas needing immediate focus and the 'roll-out' of a set of multiple strategies to enhance the board's overall development.
