Leadership/Governance

“A Board Member ‘Contract’,” by Jan Masaoka, Blue Avocado, October 9, 2009. This article gives a sample contract that boards can adapt for incoming board members to help clarify expectations of both the board member and the organization. Reprinted with permission from Blue Avocado, a practical and light-hearted magazine for nonprofits. Subscribe free by sending an email to editor@blueavocado.org or at www.blueavocado.org.

“A Nonprofit Board or a Group of Dead Fish?” by David Simms, The Conversation – Harvard Business Review, June 29, 2010. The author discusses what makes for a truly engaged board and valuable, productive meetings: leadership, a great diversity of experiences, and board members who do their homework before each board meeting.

“Becoming a More Effective Nonprofit Board,” Bridgestar, 2006. This article focuses on board oversight in light of Sarbanes-Oxley, strategic direction, fundraising, community support, and governance process.

“Blue Ribbon Nominating Committee for Your Board,” by Jan Masaoka, Blue Avocado, April 2, 2011. This article outlines a relatively simple technique for recruiting the people with the skills you need on your board, even if your current board members don’t know them or have any connection to them. It’s a great way to avoid the limited perspective of only nominating people you know.

“Board Insurance: Do You Really Need It?” by Susan Bradshaw, Blue Avocado, April 25, 2011. This article includes some sobering statistics about nonprofit insurance claims and offers some great advice about what to look for in Directors and Officers liability insurance. There is also a short piece on frequently asked questions.

“Can Nonprofit Boards Vote By Email?” by Gene Takagi and Emily Nicole Chan, Blue Avocado, October 23, 2009. This article outlines both the legal and practical issues involved with conducting board deliberations and decisions via email. Reprinted with permission from Blue Avocado, a practical and light-hearted magazine for nonprofits. Subscribe free by sending an email to editor@blueavocado.org or at www.blueavocado.org.

“Character and Servant-Leadership: Ten Characteristics of Effective, Caring Leaders,” By Larry C. Spears, President & CEO, The Spears Center, Servant-Leader News, December 2008. In this article, Larry Spears identifies ten characteristics of servant-leaders and how they integrate not only to create effective, caring leaders but also to improve the quality of organizational life.

“Coloring Outside the Box…One Size Does Not Fit All In Nonprofit Governance,” by Kim Sundet Vanderwall and Ellen Benevides, September 2007. This report presents findings and recommendations from community and organizational leaders about ways to improve board functionality and effectiveness. It also proposes discussion questions to facilitate conversations between staff and board leaders about their roles and responsibilities in maintaining the culture and values of the organization.

“Daring to Lead 2006: A National Study of Nonprofit Executive Leadership,” Jeanne Bell, Richard Moyers, and Tim Wolfred, study funded by CompassPoint Nonprofit Services and The Meyer Foundation. This study is the result of a national survey of nonprofit executives and outlines in detail contributors to executive burnout, retention, and recruitment. It concludes with recommendations to help executive directors, board members, and grant makers strengthen and support current executive directors, build a pipeline of future leaders, and increase their overall understanding of the strengths and challenges of a group of leaders whose work is essential to changing lives and transforming communities. This excerpt is reprinted with permission from Daring to Lead: 2006 published by CompassPoint Nonprofit Services. CompassPoint Nonprofit Services, 731 Market St., Suite 200, San Francisco, CA 94103; 415.541.9000; info@compasspoint.org; http://www.compasspoint.org

“Daring to Lead 2011,” by Marla Cornelius, Rick Moyers, and Jeanne Bell, CompassPoint Nonprofit Services and the Meyer Foundation, 2011. This is the third report in a series of reports over the past ten years that examine nonprofit trends by interviewing over 3000 executive directors. The report lists three key findings (high executive turnover, financial unsustainability, high energy levels) and four calls to action (transition planning, financial planning, professional development for executive directors, board capacity-building).

“Dealing With Resistance to Board Self-Assessment,” BoardSource 2009. This article discusses some of the obstacles boards encounter in conducting a self-assessment and how to work around or through them – a very quick read! Reprinted with permission from www.boardsource.org. BoardSource, formerly the National Center for Nonprofit Boards, is the premier resource for practical information, tools, and training for board members and chief executives of nonprofit organizations worldwide. For more information about BoardSource, call 800-883-6262 or visit www.boardsource.org. BoardSource © 2009. Text may not be reproduced without written permission from BoardSource.

“Engagement Governance for System-Wide Decision Making,” Judy Freiwirth, Psy.D., Nonprofit Quarterly, Summer, 2007. This article defines an expanded notion of governance that is built on participatory principles and moves beyond the board of directors as the sole locus of governance. This framework views governance as shared amongst an organization’s key sectors. www.NPQmag.org

“Evaluating the Executive Director,” by Jan Masaoka, Blue Avocado, October 17, 2011. This article focuses more on the “why” rather than the “how” of evaluating executive directors. There are two reasons: a) the chance to reflect on the performance of the entire organization (not just the individual), and b) to spark a calibration of expectations and goals between the ED and the board, and it continues to outline how the ED appraisal differs from the typical employee appraisal.

“Executive Director Evaluation Survey Form,” by Jan Masaoka, Blue Avocado, November 13, 2011. This article contains an evaluation form for executive directors that can be downloaded in a Word format and edited to fit the needs of individual organizations. It also outlines a process for the board to follow in conducting an executive director evaluation.

“Five Questions Every Board Should Ask,” Sam Pettway, Boardwalk Consulting, October 2006. The five questions outlined in this article offer guidance to any board and will engage a board in forward-looking, proactive dialogue.

“Four Ways to Remove a Board Member,” by Jan Masaoka, Blue Avocado, May 16, 2011. The author offers details on the following approaches to removing a board member: personal intervention, leave of absence, term limits, and impeachment.

“Good Governance Practices for 501(c)(3) Organizations,” Internal Revenue Service. This paper outlines information in the following areas: mission statement, code of ethics, due diligence, duty of loyalty, transparency, fundraising policy, financial audits, compensation practices, and document retention policy.

“Governing for What Matters: A Model for Community-Driven Governance,” Hildy Gottlieb, Community Driven Institute at Help 4 Non Profits, 2005. This article outlines a model of governance akin to Policy Governance that first revisits the definition of a board and to whom and for what it is accountable. It discusses both ends and means and the need for community engagement. It offers a quick performance measurement scale to see how your board measures up, in addition to a link to an online board effectiveness quiz. This model is very forward-looking and outcomes-oriented.

“How Should a Nonprofit Board of Directors Be Structured?” BoardSource, 2010. The Q&A format of this article makes for easy accessibility. The article addresses issues of organization, size, length of term, committees, and the role of the CEO.

“How to Revitalize Your Board: Destroy Your Executive Committee” by Simone Joyaux, The Nonprofit Quarterly, May 26, 2011. Too often a board responds to weak board members by creating an executive committee or increasing its influence. The author emphasizes that a strong executive committee does not release the rest of the board from its responsibilities and, in fact, usually exacerbates the problem, leaving the rest of the board more confused and/or disengaged.

“Leading Boldly,” by Ronald A. Heifetz, John V. Kania, and Mark R. Kramer, Stanford Social Innovation Review, Winter 2004. Although this article is written from the perspective of the kind of bold leadership foundations can take to make lasting social impact, the ideas can be applied more widely to any organization trying to implement change. In the article, the authors distinguish between adaptive and technical problems and then go on to outline the necessary approach to solving adaptive problems, those that are complex with no known solution and no one person or organization that can solve it on their own. Bottom line is that these types of changes require changes in values, beliefs, and/or behavior.

“Practices of High Performing Boards” by BoardSource, 2010. This one-pager discusses how high performing boards focus on the following four fundamental concepts or practices: strategy, accountability, relationship building, and dynamics.

“Practicing Good Governance on a Nonprofit Board” by Ann Nash, Business Lexington Column, October 27, 2010. The author offers a list of fifteen best practices for board governance.

“Psst! Want Your New Executive Director to Succeed?” by Tim Wolfred and Jan Masaoka, Blue Avocado, July 16, 2011. The authors list 12 easy and important ways for board members to help a new executive get started fast and on the right foot.

“Questions to Ask Prospective Board Members,” by Jan Masaoka, Blue Avocado, December 5, 2011. This article lists not only questions a nonprofit should ask of prospective board members but also questions they should be prepare to answer. The article is short and to the point.

“Recruiting and Vetting Nonprofit Board Members,” Bridgestar 2009. This article is a must read for any board about to enter the nominations process. Topics covered include diversity on boards, identifying great candidates, conducting due diligence, and ensuring there’s a cultural fit.

“Starting Off on the Right Foot: How to Establish a Good ED-Board Relationship,” Bridgestar, 2010. This article offers insights from three CEOs and two board chairs about how to lay the groundwork for a strong ED/CEO-board relationship. Key points are to start before the job begins, make a personal connection, don’t dwell on the past, be frank about challenges, and base the relationship on trust and respect.

“Ten Dimensions That Shape Your Board,” by Kim Sundet Vanderwall and Ellen Benevides, October 2008. This publication is the workbook companion to the article “Coloring Outside the Box…One Size Does Not Fit All In Nonprofit Governance.” It gives a quick overview of the ten dimensions and directions for completing the self-assessment tool, in addition to the actual tool. The tool helps boards delve more deeply into the ten dimensions and determine strengths, challenges, and areas of focus. It also includes a facilitator’s guide and a list of helpful web-based resources. **Note- This file is 12 meg in size. You can download here or request a copy to be emailed directly to you. Click here to request the emailed PDF.

“The Chair-CEO Relationship: Ten Commitments for a Better Partnership,” by Michael Naufal, Ray & Berndtson, December 2005. This article was the result of a survey of nonprofit leaders that uncovered ten common commitments for creating a better partnership between board chairs and CEOs. It concludes with suggestions for improving current relationships and areas to pay attention to when recruiting for a CEO or board chair.

“The Four Cs of Leaderful Practice,” by Joe Raelin, Leverage Points, Issue 125, 2010. Leaderful practice is defined as leadership that everyone can participate in. The four Cs are concurrent, collective, collaborative, and compassionate. The author defines each of these with respect to leaderful practice and how organizations can shift their culture to support leaderful practice.

“The Governance/Support Model for Nonprofit Boards” by Jan Masaoka, Blue Avocado, September 19, 2011. This article will help any board clarify its role. It discusses the two roles that board members often find themselves in, that of governing the organization and that of supporting the staff, and outlines the roles for the perspective of the board as a whole and from that of the individual board member.

“The Leadership Deficit,” Thomas J. Tierney, Stanford Social Innovation Review, Summer, 2006. This article discusses the crisis looming for nonprofits as baby boom executives retire and offers creative ways of finding and recruiting new leaders from a wide range of groups, including business, the military, and the growing pool of retirees.

“The 7 x 7 Board Member Briefing,” by Jan Masaoka, Blue Avocado, May 30, 2011. The author describes a quick technique to use at board meetings that help board members learn about their fellow board members’ skills and experience. The intent is to help the board learn how to tap that expertise for the benefit of the organization.

“Three Instant Improvements for Board Agendas and Accountability,” by Jan Masaoka, Blue Avocado, April 24, 2011. This article is a quick read (about a page) with three easy items that should be included on every board agenda. Not only will these keep meetings on track, but they will also help prevent issues and commitments from falling through the cracks.

“True Leaders Are Also Managers,” by Robert I. Sutton, The Conversation – Harvard Business Review, August 11, 2010. The author makes his case that leaders need to be able to balance and integrate both the leadership and management functions in their leadership position.

“Saline Schools: Sustainable Structures, Sustainable Results,” April Flanagan, Sandra Nadig, and Gerard Pound, Systems Thinker Newsletter, Dec. ‘00/Jan. ’01. This article explores how the Saline School District in Saline, Michigan, transformed itself from a troubled and contentious atmosphere to one of efficiency and harmony by defining a new form of governance based on a collaborative bargaining process and respectful conversation.

“Should Staff Contact With the Board Be Restricted?” by Jan Masaoka, Blue Avocado, July 19, 2011. This article gives a quick review of the potential benefits and pitfalls of board-staff contact and includes some guidelines for how to clarify it.

“What to Do When You Really, Really Disagree with a Board Decision,” by Jan Masaoka, Blue Avocado, February 22, 2010. This article uses a question and answer format to give some practical advice to board members who feel they might be paddling upstream. Reprinted with permission from Blue Avocado, a practical and light-hearted magazine for nonprofits. Subscribe free by sending an email to editor@blueavocado.org or at www.blueavocado.org

“What to Do With Board Members Who Don’t Do Anything,” by Jan Masaoka, Blue Avocado, September 1, 2009. This article looks at short-term and long-term strategies for board members known as deadwood. Reprinted with permission from Blue Avocado, a practical and light-hearted magazine for nonprofits. Subscribe free by sending an email to editor@blueavocado.org or at www.blueavocado.org

“Who is Responsible for the Board Doing a Good Job?,” by Jan Masaoka, Blue Avocado, March 4, 2010. The answer to this question might be surprising. This article outlines what to do when there is a mismatch between the strength of the board and the strength of the executive director. Reprinted with permission from Blue Avocado, a practical and light-hearted magazine for nonprofits. Subscribe free by sending an email to editor@blueavocado.org or at www.blueavocado.org

“Why Boards Micro-Manage and How to Get Them to Stop,” Hildy Gottlieb, Help 4 Nonprofits and Tribes Institute, 2001. This article lists specific reasons why boards micro-manage and steps for helping them govern more effectively.

“Why Diversity Can Backfire On Company Boards,” by Jean-François Manzoni,Paul Strebel and Jean-Louis Barsoux, The Wall Street Journal, January 25, 2010. Although this article is aimed at corporate boards, it is also relevant to nonprofit boards and work teams in general. The authors illuminate the difficulty most organizations have in achieving that all-illusive synergy that diversity, in theory, creates and make suggestions for overcoming those difficulties.

Updated on January 9, 2012