Years ago, when I first found myself (inadvertently!) having taken on the role of Secretary for our local tourism association, I was pretty green when it came to best practice not-for-profit governance, and particularly when it came to the responsibilities of the key office-bearer roles on a Board or Committee.
But I was hungry to know more and to understand what it was I was supposed to be doing in order to fulfil the duties of my new role effectively, so I set off on a search that – when I think about it – probably influenced a lot of where I find myself today.
Back then, and I’m talking 25-odd years ago, I found it wasn’t that easy to find the knowledge and the support that I was seeking – especially all in one place and provided in a systematic, step-by-step fashion (that would have been ideal for me at the time). So in a lot of ways, back then, I think the seeds of the work I now do with not-for-profits were sown – leading me to go on and create a one-stop-shop that could provide that comprehensive information and support I was seeking but unable to find.
In my mind, the one-stop-shop needed to:
a) provide the key information that would increase people’s fundamental governance knowledge and awareness;
b) help people (and the not-for-profit organisations they serve) to take that ‘theoretical’ governance knowledge they now had and use it to inform a meaningful documented Plan that would support them move forward with the important work that they want to do to make a difference in the world; and finally
c) once they have that Plan in place, walk alongside of them to ensure that they do what they said they would and actually implement their Plan (as we know so many don’t – right?)
So from these three key imperatives was borne my holistic Good Governance for Not-for-profits framework that I still use with not-for-profit organisations to this day!
These three phases – or Stages, as I call them in my framework – that I think every organisation needs to consider undertaking periodically, start off with some high-level training on the primary elements of good governance – namely, good practice, compliance, planning, and risk. This type of training in the fundamentals of good governance ensures that those new to governance are at least exposed to the basics early on, and that those who have been around for a while are regularly refreshed and reminded as to what are the priority areas they need to be keeping an eye on. This regular training ensures that the whole team is on the same page going forward, and that in turn creates a level playing field from which your governance discussions and deliberations can be had.
The second Stage that I advocate is, once everyone is on the same page through their governance training, you put that Planning theory into practice and create (or update) a really meaningful, practical, and impactful Plan that will propel your organisation forward and enable you to deliver on the Purposes for which your organisation was founded. I really can’t understate the benefits and importance of having a great Plan that guides what your organisation does – it truly can make all the difference between thriving and merely surviving. And you know that old saying – we don’t plan to fail…we fail to plan! Too true!
Then the third and final Stage in my Framework is some sort of accountability mechanism. I think we have probably all seen organisations that spend a lot of time and effort (and money!) on putting together fabulous plans, only to have them never implemented properly. It is such a crying shame to see this (and I have seen it first hand a number of times), and I think some sort of external accountability and implementation support can make a huge difference here. Just the mere fact of knowing you need to report in to someone is often enough to get you moving to deliver on the things you committed to do through your Plan but which are perhaps being drowned out in all the day-to-day busyness of keeping the wheels turning in your organisation.
I hope that has given you some governance essentials pointer that you can implement in your organisation to maximise the impact of what you do through better governance practices.
And if you think I can help your organisation through my Framework to improve your governance knowledge, planning, and plan implementation, get in touch with me at megan@mjbconsulting.net.au, or book in a zoom Discovery Call with me HERE to find out more.
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