When it comes to up-leveling your organisational governance, and ensuring the good solid foundations that will see your Board move from merely surviving to positively thriving, there are three key things that I think can make a huge difference.
1. Good Succession Planning
In fact if you were only able to do just ONE thing at this stage to set your Board up for success, I would make it good, proactive, strategic, Succession Planning – it really does make such a difference!
One organisation I worked with last year particularly comes to mind as I write this article…
After years of little to no interest from potential new Board members when it came time to recruit new people each year, we worked together over a number of months in the lead up to their Annual General Meeting and Board elections, to do a really thorough job of:
– Analysing their needs
– Establishing good solid Board recruitment practices
– Networking them in with people who were looking to serve on NFP Boards, and
– Supporting them through the recruitment process.
The outcome was more quality applicants than they had vacancies, as Steve explains…(click here).
It was a great outcome for the organisation, and a real ‘fist pump’ moment for me to see my new focus on helping organisations with their Board succession activities bear fruit.
2. Board Development
The next most important thing I think is a commitment to ongoing Board development – both collectively and individually. It’s all well and good to come together once a month for board meetings to oversee the running of your organisation, but what do you do to keep your board inspired, enthused, and up to date?
Whether it is individual training for those who are new to governance roles, refresher training for those who have been around for a while, or a whole team session to revisit, refocus and refresh on what is important for the organisation overall, embedding Board development in your governance practice is critical to maintaining a positive Board culture and a thriving organisation.
This is something I am equally passionate about, and through my Good Governance training and my whole-of-Board Refocus and Refresh program, I delight in seeing individuals build their knowledge and confidence, and Boards come together and galvanise their team spirit and enthusiasm.
3. Board Evaluation
As a long-standing proponent of continuous improvement, as well as a former auditor, I firmly believe that we need to do a bit of soul-searching from time to time to critically analyse how we are performing as a Board and identify where there might be room for improvement, as there is always something we can do a little better for the people we serve. And bringing someone external in to have a bit of a look over our practices from time to time ensures that we get an objective assessment that is not coloured by our own internal biases.
From self-evaluation of the effectiveness of our monthly Board meetings, to internal reviews of our governance practices, to external evaluation our overall functioning as a Board – all these checks and balances ensure we are continually striving to maintain quality and contemporary leadership for our organisations.
If your organisation needs help with Succession Planning…or Board Development…or Board Evaluation…, but, like Steve and the WWAS team, doesn’t quite know where to start, then drop me a line on megan@mjbconsulting.net.au or 0421 525 048 and we can talk about how I might be able to help you take your Board from just surviving to really thriving.
I hope to hear from you soon!
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