Transcript Leading and Managing Governance Change

Board Governance and Change
Christine Johnson McPhail
A Leadership Summit Presentation
American Association of State Colleges and
Universities
and
Association of Public Land-Grant Universities
Washington, DC
June 9, 2012
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Session Overview
This session will provide an opportunity to discuss:
• Board Development and Training
• Board Governance and Change
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The Thin Line Between
Leadership and Governance
The Board’s Role
• Assume responsibility for the direction and financial
stability of the institution
• Select the CEO, and set the parameters within
which the president can lead.
The President’s Role
• Run the organization. The challenge is to achieve a
critical level of understanding of the difference of
the balance of authority between the Board and
the President.
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Why is Board Development a
Responsibility of the President?
• Overall, board development is about raising the
quality of the board’s operations.
• According to Peter Drucker, the responsibility for the
board’s effectiveness is ultimately that of the
President/CEO.
• What can the CEO do to improve the function and
leadership of the Board?
• The CEO must develop and lead the board as she
would university employees.
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What do Trustees
Need to Know?
• Roles and responsibilities
• The CEO must teach the Board how to be good
board members and how to respect the
parameters of management and governance.
• When roles are not clear and there are no systems
to guide trustees in their roles, there is the
opportunity for micromanaging.
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Understanding
Micromanagement
•
Micromanagement is an understandable response from a new
board member eager to contribute their ideas or from a trustee
with lots of management experience.
•
Micromanagement is understandable when there is nothing in
place, i.e. no policies, to guide trustees to do anything differently.
•
Micromanagement prevents boards from governing well and
prevents the CEO from being effective.
•
Micromanagement occurs when there is a lack of understanding
of roles and responsibilities.
•
The president is pivotal in establishing and maintaining the
balance of authority between the board and the President .
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What Causes Micromanagement?
• Micromanagement may be the No. 1 problem
afflicting higher education boards today.
Organizational consultants say 90 percent of boards
are bogged down in trivia.
• When boards get overly active in managing the
university, it’s (generally) because a level of trust has
broken down and they feel they MUST
micromanage in order to make sure the institution is
running properly.
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How to Curtail Micromanagement
• Board orientation
• On-going training on board operations and
effective board governance practices
• Board Retreat
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Why is Board Development
and Training Important?
• Board Development helps direct trustees to
appropriate board work.
• Board development reinforces the understanding of
how governance is different from management.
• Effective board development is an ongoing
process. It is an investment in the:
a) individual board members
b) board as a working group
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Board Training Provides
Board members with:
• a common frame of
reference
• knowledge and
experience to govern
• time to reflect and
problem solve
• skills to make informed
decisions
• the confidence to be an
advocate for the
university
• the motivation to sustain
their board roles
• the attitude to govern
appropriately
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Board Training and
Development Activities
• Board orientation
• On-going training on specific topics such as
strategic planning, decisions making, board
evaluation, or policy development
• Board retreat
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Board Orientation Training Topics
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
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Review of board policies and by laws
Overview of programs and services
Highlights of the university’s recent successes
Overview of governance roles, duties, and
responsibilities
Review current issues
Tour of facilities
Introduction to senior leadership team and Board
members
Review of planning documents and current budget
Review most recent audited financial statement
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On-Going Board Training
• Board training is about teaching boards skills to
perform their roles and responsibilities.
• The training reviews the role of the board and
elaborates on what members should do to fulfill
each of their duties.
• Board training is used to teach members about
strategic planning, decision making, dealing with
differences of opinion, evaluating the board, and
running effective meetings.
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The Board Retreat
• The Board retreat is an opportunity for the board to
work at its “ goals” and to achieve a new standard
of performance and satisfaction.
• Though the purposes for retreats vary, the main
point is to use this opportunity to accomplish
something that can’t be done through routine
meetings.
• Successful retreats are those that generate
“meaningful” discussion and practical action
agendas.
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What is Leading Change?
Leading change involves the ability to bring about
strategic change, both within and outside the
institution, to meet the university’s goals. Inherent to
this qualification is the ability to establish an
institutional vision and to implement it in a
continuously changing environment.
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Change Needs to Happen
• Where do you start?
• Whom do you involve?
• How do you see it through to the end?
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A strong and responsible board sets
policy, but it depends on the president to
carry out its policies and run the show.
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Impatient
Board members
may become
impatient because
of the ongoing
nature of change. It
is difficult to declare
a change
accomplished.
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Involvement
Many board members
are not clear about
their governing role,
and some board
members are underinvolved in key
decision-making
processes.
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A governing
board that is
serious about its
role in fostering
change must
walk the talk –
practice what it
preaches. Hold
the president
accountable.
Walk the Talk
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How to Think About Change
Essential Questions
Why change?
Who will be involved and how?
How should change be made?
Where should the institution be headed in terms
of students, programs, services, finances, and
organizational structure?
o How is the organization performing?
o What is the leader’s roles in facilitating change?
o
o
o
o
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How Should
Change be Made?
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The Critical Point
The president and the board must first see eye-to-eye
about the need for change before they can agree
upon a strategy for change. This might require some
thoughtful discussion between the president and an
administrative or executive committee of the board.
Boards must agree to be patient enough to let the
change process unfold.
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Collaborative Leadership
• Leading change is not a one person show
• Some boards may have to modify assumptions
about leadership
• Leaders need to share responsibility to enable
others to engage in the change process
• Unless board members understand and support
collaborative leadership, they may not accurately
evaluate the president’s leadership role
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President’s Role in Leading
Change
• Focus the attention of the university and the board
on the change agenda
• Assist the board properly in assessing the university’s
readiness and need for change
• Assist the board in understanding and competing
demands on time
• Take time for intellectual and personal renewal
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President’s Role, continued
• Maintain visibility on campus and community
• Routinely and consistently monitor internal data
trends, alert to change and keep board informed.
• Ensure that the president’s evaluation takes the
“whole leadership” experience into consideration
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Governing Board’s Role in
Institutional Change
•
•
•
•
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Understand the values and mission of the university
Set direction, provide support, and monitor change
Refrain from micro-management
Hold institution accountable
Makes clear its process expectations and timelines
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Governing Board’s Role,
continued
• Allows the president to be the primary source for
the transfer of information about the university
• Be sensitive to burnout (at all levels) and support
risk-taking
• Be tolerant of mistakes
• Be willing to support the president when conflict
emerges
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Strategies for Creating an
Effective Climate for Change
• Hold inclusive conversations with faculty and staff
• Widely share data and other information about the
university and the community
• Connect solutions to problems and issues
• Assist the board in setting the tone for transparency
• Assist the board and internal constituents in
understanding reasons for change, the process to
bring it about and anticipated results
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Change Strategies, continued
• Update the board about what the campus is doing
• Avoid being a “good-news president” all the time
• Help the board and the college community
confront preconceived notions about the university
and the change process
• Work with the leadership team and stakeholder
groups to develop data-informed solutions to
problems
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Guiding Questions to Help
Boards Govern for Change
• Is the board amendable to changing the way it
conducts business?
• Does the board set goals for itself and monitor its
own progress?
• Does the board have a systematic way balances
making policy and involvement in the
administration of the university?
• Are board meetings organized and how well does
the board use its time?
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Show the Board
Evidence of Change
Visible Changes
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•
•
•
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Curriculum
Pedagogical approaches
Budget and resource allocation
Institutional structures
External Relationships
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Evidence of Change, continued
Less Visible Changes
•
•
•
•
New partnerships and alliances
New “conversations”
New decision-making processes
A different campus climate
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Summary
Board Governance and Change
•
•
•
•
Tradition
Management defines
problems and solutions
The board sets policy
which management
implements
Board Committee
structure aligned with
administrative functions
Board meetings are
process driven
•
•
•
•
New
Leadership and board
collaborative define
problems and solutions
Collaborative setting of
policy and
implementation
Board structure aligned
strategic priorities
Board meetings are
goal driven
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Concluding Thoughts
• The president’s role is to asses the environment create
the climate for change
• The Board must support he president and the
leadership’s team to accomplish the desired change.
• The board can be trained to become champions and
advocates for institutional change
• Collaboration is essential (internal and external)
• Charting the course for change is difficult and
unpredictable
• The need for change has to be continually reassessed
and reassessed
• Communicate, communicate, communicate
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Selected Readings on Change
• Good to Great (Jim Collins)
Collins makes a strong argument that a
commitment to innovation and change produces
greatness.
• Effective Governing Boards: A Guide for Members
of Governing Boards of Public Colleges, Universities,
and Systems (AGB)
This guide provides an overview of the important
responsibilities of serving on public boards.
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Readings, continued
• Leading Change (John Kotter)
Kotter presents an 8 step model for leading change that
really makes sense, and was one of the first authors to
really push the notion that change needs to be led, not
managed.
• Managing Transitions (William Bridges)
Bridges applies the concept of transition within the
context of organizational change and presents a model
for understanding how individuals deal with
change. This is an important concept for the leader, as
we all need to understand how each employee is
dealing with change on an individual level.
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The Future?
The future of HBCUs will depend on their ability to
support their institutions in addressing issues of
improving academic quality and outcomes,
competition for students, and securing resources.
Is change necessary?
Governance Challenges for HBCUs
James T. Minor, director, Higher Education Programs, Southern Education Foundation Joyce Roché,
president and CEO, Girls Inc., board chair, Dillard University, and AGB director
Sunday, April 22, 2012
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Contact Information
Dr. Christine Johnson McPhail
The McPhail Group LLC
P.O. Box 713
Amawalk, NY 10501
410.245.9955
[email protected]
http://www.themcphailgroup.com
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