top of page

Becoming A Better Board 

We help the board understand their role and function in it so that the organization excels! 

Tom was a lawyer and on their Board. When a legal issue arose he quickly stated that the organization "must do _____________."

And while that guidance would seem appropriate and helpful, the Board Chair knew otherwise. He said, "Tom, I know you are a lawyer and a great lawyer at that! But Tom, you are not our lawyer. we have a lawyer, you are our Board member."

If the board that you are on or you report to has not had recent board training, I can guarantee that they are not performing at their highest potential and they are frustrating each other and the employees.

THE PROBLEM: 

 

There is one consistent issue we see with boards; rarely does anybody become a part of a board because they know how to achieve board excellence.

 

 

*Are they wise? Yes.

 

*Do they have specialized technical skills? Usually. 

*Do they know the difference between means and ends, and which to focus on?

 

*Do they represent a subset of the owners (either real or moral owners)? Very often.

 

*Do they know what high-functioning boards do? No.

*Do they receive regular board training? No.

 

*Do they receive any board training? Often they are just told or they see what others have done and are doing and they do more of that.

 

As a result, many, many, many boards spend far too much time working on "means" as opposed to "strategic ends."

WHAT YOU WERE NOT TAUGHT: 

A large number of those who sit on boards have received little to no training in:

 

▶ Governance

▶Policymaking

▶Emotional Intelligence

▶What's not OK even if it works

▶Board-executive relationship

▶Making meetings meaningful

▶Teamwork! 

 

All of that has a direct impact on the effectiveness of your organization, either positively or negatively. 

Many Boards Struggle With:

▶ Mining for divergence - uncovering bringing to the surface difference of convictions, beliefs, and opinions.

If you do not actively mine for divergence you will not have consensus regardless of what people say in the meeting. You will have board members agree in the meeting, only to leave the meeting and lack ownership of the decisions made. 

Look, most people do not know how to disagree without being disagreeable, so they disagree in silence.

 

 

YOUR SOLUTION:

 

You will receive a 1-hour FREE consultation to ensure that we can deliver on your goals. After our consultation, we will provide you with a written report on a few paths forward that we could take in your personal and leadership development. We will refine the path until you believe that it will provide maximum impact for you.

*We will agree upon the number of sessions to be provided before we start your board's journey to organizational greatness.

$150/hour

*We only charge for the time our sessions together take. 

*We do not charge for the desk time that we put in getting ready for our sessions.

If you are thinking about investing in the leadership of just one of your board members, check out our Personal & Leadership Development service. 

Or, if it happens to be summer, send them or yourself for our unique Leadership Coaching & Catfishing experience! 

 

Don Cruickshank, MALM (Masters in Leadership & Management)

*Certified in Team Leadership

*Leading From Your Strengths Certified Trainer, Coach, Consultant

 

- Empowering individuals and organizations towards creating successful futures

bottom of page