Extraordinary Board Leadership

by Eadie, Doug

• ISBN13: 9780763755430
• ISBN10: 0763755435
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-06-18
• Publisher: Jones & Bartlett Learning

Summary

Many nonprofits never take full advantage of their board members. Extraordinary Board Leadership: The Keys to High Impact Governing deals with an incredibly important topic "high-impact governing" which is at the heart not only of a nonprofitrs"s effectiveness, but also the key to a positive, productive, and enduring board-CEO partnership. This text offers practical, hands-on guidance, which is based on extensive real-life experience and can be put to immediate use. it goes beyond the old-fashioned "policy governance" approach in dealing with the board-CEO-executive staff partnership. The second edition of this successful book presents a more precise definition of "high-impact governing". it recognizes that the collaborative enterprise of governing requires a close partnership between a high-impact governing board and a truly "board-savvy" CEO, and it also discusses standing committees -- one of the preeminent drivers of high-impact governing -- in greater detail. The second edition also includes more case studies and new information aimed at public governing bodies, As well as more tables and charts to accompany a fresh new text design.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. ix
Preface	p. xi
Acknowledgments	p. xiii
The High-Impact Governing Model	p. 1
Governing a High-Stakes "Business"	p. 1
A Wild and Wonderful Universe of Boards	p. 2
Governing Work in a Nutshell	p. 4
The Nuts and Bolts of Governing	p. 5
High-Impact Governing Boards	p. 6
Falling Short of the Promise	p. 6
A Traditionally Neglected Subject	p. 10
Inheritance and the Passive-Reactive Model	p. 10
The Damage Control Bias	p. 12
Nongoverning Volunteering	p. 12
The Keys to High-Impact Governing	p. 14
Transforming Your Board into a Higher-Impact Governing Body	p. 14
Fundamental Governing Architecture	p. 15
Board Governing Mission	p. 16
Board Development Vehicles	p. 17
Continuous Governing Improvement via Standing Committees	p. 18
The Board-Savvy CEO	p. 21
Leader of the Strategic Governing Team	p. 21
You Need a Board-Savvy Team Captain	p. 22
The Board Must Choose Well	p. 22
Bringing the Right Attitude	p. 23
Making Governing a Top CEO Priority	p. 24
Chief Board Developer	p. 26
Building Board Commitment to Development	p. 27
Creating Board Development Champions	p. 29
The Psychological and Emotional Dimension	p. 31
Adding Spice to the Governing Stew	p. 33
Becoming Top-Notch Facilitators	p. 33
Board Standing Committees and Other Structural Questions	p. 35
Structure at a Glance	p. 35
The Value of Well-Designed Standing Committees	p. 36
Beware of Dysfunctional Silo Committees	p. 37
A Model Committee Structure	p. 40
More on the Governance (Board Operations) Committee	p. 44
Committees as Continuous Governing Improvement Vehicles	p. 45
Making Committees Function as Powerful Governing Engines	p. 48
Dealing with More Than One Board	p. 57
Employing Nongoverning Volunteer Bodies	p. 59
The Matter of Board Size	p. 59
Board Member Terms and Frequency of Meetings	p. 61
A Word on Technology	p. 63
Board Self-Management	p. 65
Joint Accountability	p. 65
People: The Most Precious Asset in Governing	p. 66
The Good News	p. 67
But on the Flip Side	p. 68
Some Common Pathological Symptoms	p. 70
The High-Impact Governing Solution	p. 71
Going for the Top: The Hunt for CEOs	p. 77
Developing the Profile of Attributes and Qualifications	p. 78
Significant Issues, Variations, and Potential Traps	p. 79
Identifying the Targets	p. 85
Fashioning and Executing a Strategy	p. 86
The Board Member Skills Development Program	p. 86
A Closing Word on the CEO Role	p. 92
Board Performance Management	p. 93
Developing the Performance Targets	p. 94
Assessing Performance and Taking Action	p. 96
Involving Your Board in Leading Change	p. 97
At the Pinnacle of High-Impact Governing	p. 97
The Stakes Demand Board Attention	p. 98
A Perfect Match	p. 99
And the Right Time	p. 99
Coming Attractions	p. 100
Bye-Bye Tractor Plans!	p. 101
Real Security in a Tough World: The Strategic Change Portfolio Approach in a Nutshell	p. 103
Formidable Barriers	p. 107
Board Involvement in the Portfolio Process	p. 108
The Retreat as an Involvement Tool	p. 111
The Strategic Framework: Values and Vision	p. 114
Your Core Values Statement	p. 114
That Vision Thing	p. 116
A Word on that Mission Thing	p. 117
Other Key Board Involvement Points	p. 118
Involving Your Board in Operational Planning and External Relations	p. 123
Overview	p. 123
Operational Planning in Theory	p. 125
The Budget Tail Wagging the Planning Dog	p. 125
Rising Above-and Directing-the Detail	p. 128
Limits to Board Involvement	p. 131
The Retreat as an Operational Planning Tool	p. 131
The Prebudget Operational Planning Work Session	p. 132
Performance Objectives and Targets	p. 134
Moving Toward Budget Adoption	p. 138
Passing the Baton to Performance Oversight and Monitoring	p. 139
Lack of Information is Not the Real Problem	p. 140
Designing Committee Role and Process	p. 141
Keeping Your Collective Feet on the Ground	p. 142
Starting with the Basics	p. 143
Going Beyond the Basics	p. 145
The External Relations Imperative	p. 146
The Case for Hands-On Board Involvement	p. 147
A Brief Note on Fund Raising	p. 156
Managing the Board-CEO Partnership	p. 159
A Precious, Codependent Bond	p. 159
But an Oh-So-Fragile Bond	p. 160
The High Cost of a Broken Bond	p. 162
The Keys to Maintaining a Healthy Board-CEO Partnership	p. 163
Additional Resources	p. 179
Index	p. 181
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