Improving Board Performance Bryan McQueeney Executive Director, Ride On

Why do we want a board? Legal, effective, independent Complex organizations demand it. We can do more with a high performing board than we can without.

Tell me about yourself Your role in organization How long involved Age of organization # of riders/budget # of board members What is your board IQ?

Is there a disconnect between board function and organizational needs?

How are we doing versus what do we need? We will examine –Board nuts & bolts –Board functions –Changing stages of life for a board –Elements of a Team –Organizational culture

You will need: Vision – to know where your organization is going Vision – to spot troublesome patterns and behavior To hone the ability to break problems down into small, easy-to-win, tasks To Be consistent To Be persistent

Board Nuts & Bolts Roles vs. Job Description Composition Matrix –Looking at diversity and skill sets The Orientation Manual –What are you expecting The Statement of Agreement –What will I do?

How do you attract Board Members? Your pool of candidates Find a fit between what they want and what you need You don’t have money so use vision and inspiration Create an attractive mission Run an effective organization

How do you attract Board Members? Run Great Meetings –Respect their time –Give them something meaningful to do –Give them tools and training –Give them support

Board functions Governance Set Policies & Procedures Financial Oversight Resource Development Community Relationship Building Duty of Care Duty of Loyalty Duty of Obedience

Organizational Change over time Stage of Life Imagine and Inspire Found & Frame Ground and Grow Produce and Sustain Review and Renew Board Changes From friends to community From “who can I get” to “who is right” From doing to delegating From informal to formal From managing to governing

Elements of a Team In the non-profit world, vision unifies the team.

Elements of a team Trust Conflict Commitment Accountability Collective Results Patrick Lencioni, “Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team”

Improving Team Performance Building Trust: Personal History stories before a meeting Managing Conflict: Behavior profiles self- assessment and group discussion Achieving Commitment: Writing down commitment; communicating commitment to outsiders; agreement on core values.

Improving Team Performance Embracing Accountability: team assessment of each individual’s strength and weakness Focus on Results: Clearly set out goals and measuring stick

What’s organizational culture? Patterns of activity that drive behavior and lead to consequences that are either good or bad

Examples of Organizational Culture Culture of programming excellence Culture of financial transparency Culture of building relationships for the long-term Culture of respecting roles Culture of accountability Culture of collective leadership

Organizational Culture Impediments to change Look for key behavioral patterns that tend to repeat Look for structural explanations of the pattern: –how decisions are made –How information flows –What values or norms are explicit and implicit

Organizational Culture Improvement Assign task to board member Assign staff support Set deadline Place on next agenda Accountability reinforced by praise/embarrassment if done/not done

Take this away Identify the problem. Then look at what your role is and change. Vision: This is the profit motive in a non- profit. Make the most of it. Build Trust: Establish a culture of learning about other team members with personal stories Accountability: Set Easy Goals and follow- up. Who Nags?

Take this away Commitment: Twice a year bring all stakeholders together to learn the course and speed Fundraising retreat beginning of the year “State of the State” at mid-year