Transcript What is Trusteeship?

Building an Exceptional
Board: What Makes Great
Boards Great?
PNAIS Institutional Leadership Conference
October 26, 2008
Nancy R. Axelrod
Governance Consultant
Founding President, BoardSource
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Objectives
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To learn from recent research & actual case
studies regarding the key characteristics of
exceptional boards.
To identify some practical tools to build an
exceptional board.
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Guiding Assumptions
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Boards can be similar in their excellence and
different in their approaches to achieving it.
Good boards can always be better.
Boards are often reluctant to change.
The relationship among the Head, the Board
Chair, and the trustees will have an impact on
the education, performance, and culture of
the board.
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What behaviors or practices
would provide the best evidence
of an exceptional board?
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6 Key Characteristics of
Exceptional Boards
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Stewardship
Constructive Partnership
Strategic Thinking
Continuous Learning & Improvement
Intentional Board Practices
Culture of Inquiry
Sources: Twelve Principles of Governance That Power Exceptional Boards.
Washington, DC: BoardSource 2005; “What Makes Great Boards Great” by
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Harvard Business Review Sept. 2002; The Effective Board
of Trustees, by Chait, Holland, and Taylor.
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Individual Board Member
Legal Responsibilities
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Duty of care.
Duty of loyalty.
Duty of obedience.
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Individual Board Member
Responsibilities: 3 Board Member
Hats
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Governance
Designee
Volunteer
Other?
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Variables That Influence
Board/Head Relations
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Consensus on vision, mission, and value of the
board.
Agreement on mutual roles and expectations
Consensus on strategic priorities
Trust, candor, and respect
Communication in and between meetings
Constructive and regular performance assessment
process for the Head and Board
A climate for the Head to lead and depart
successfully
Tone at the top
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3. Boards Make Policy & Staff
Implement
The Staff
The Boards
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Strategic Thinking Boards
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Help shape the school’s priorities through the
strategic planning process.
Allocate time to what matters most to the
organization’s future viability and performance.
Identify metrics for oversight, monitoring, and
adaptation.
Knowledge, nimbleness, & trust.
Focus their meetings on governing rather than
managing.
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Board Structure
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Board size
Enlisting committees effectively
Making meetings matter
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Pre-Meeting Checklist
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Key objectives?
Desired outcomes?
Success metrics?
Potential issues?
Implications for meeting format?
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What feedback mechanisms have
your board used to periodically
reflect on its performance?
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Board Self-Assessment
Approaches
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Meeting Evaluations
Discussion of Critical Incidents
Periodic Discussions at Board Meetings
Board Member Interviews
Mini Board Assessment
Formal Board Self-Assessment
Others?
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3 Instructive Case Studies
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Eckerd
American
Enron
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Findings from Recent
Governance Research
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Chait, Taylor, and Holland
Jeff Sonnenfeld
Lawrence Prybil
The Source Principles
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Sonnenfeld’s Markers of Great
Boards
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Climate of trust and candor
Willingness to share information
Culture that invites multiple perspectives
Commitment to assessment of collective
board as well as individual board members
Source: “What Makes Great Boards Great”, by Jeffrey
Sonnenfeld, Harvard Business Review, Sept. 2002.
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Chait, Taylor, and Holland
Strong boards nurture the development of
board members as a group, attending to the
board’s collective welfare and sense of
cohesiveness.
Source: The Effective Board of Trustees
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Culture of Inquiry
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Foster a climate of mutual respect and trust.
Willingness to respectfully listen to,
acknowledge, and solicit different points of
view.
Encourage dialogue and constructive debate.
Gather information from multiple sources of
information to make decisions.
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If a good board is a victory -- not a
gift– what do/can we do to strengthen
our board?
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