1. Recruiting the Best Board Members for Your Organization

Session description: Recruiting the best board members requires attention, time and lots of work. It’s not about identifying people of influence and then asking them to sign on. Instead, you have to identify the necessary skills; think about the optimum behaviors; focus on networks; consider diversity; and articulate performance expectations. Then you conduct a screening interview and decide whether or not this is the best candidate for you. This workshop is useful for executive directors and anyone else who wants to contribute to the recruitment process.

Audience: Executive Directors, Development Officers, other members of the management team, volunteers.

Timeframe: Multiple versions available – keynote and various workshop length versions

2. Developing the Capacity of Your Board to do Governance

Session description: It is said by some that “effective governance by a board is a rare and unnatural act.” Whether it’s Enron or World Com or your own board – the respect for and execution of legal and moral accountability often leaves much to be desired. This workshop discusses the basic principles of governance, articulates the role and functions of the board, and presents strategies to enhance the operations of your board.

Audience: General audiences. Some experience required.

Timeframe: Multiple versions available – 1/2 day and all day versions. This training program is a “short version” of my Masters Course at St. Mary’s University, and a 15-hour training program developed for the Community Foundation of Greater New Haven, Connecticut and the Human Service Forum of Western Massachusetts.

3. Improving Your Board Through Evaluation

Session description: An effective board is at the heart of any successful not-for-profit agency. But do you have the guts to do board evaluation? Can you imagine evaluating the board against a set of standards? Can you imagine appraising the performance of the individual board member? This workshop proposes a set of standards for governance – the work of the board – along with a tool for self-assessment. Also on the agenda: strategies to appraise the performance of the individual board member.

Audience: Executive Directors, Development Officers, other members of the management team, volunteers. All levels but typically resonates most with those who have access to he board and who have credibility with the CEO.

Timeframe: Multiple versions available – keynote and workshop versions

4. Involving Your Board (and Board Members) in Fund Development

Session description: Sometimes it’s a struggle to get the board to do its fund development job. And it can be even harder to get individual board members to participate. Even if they understand their roles, they don’t want to do it. This workshop offers specific strategies to help engage your board and its members – including the rather curious “complain and whine session”!

Audience: Executive Directors and Development Officers. General audiences.

Timeframe: Multiple versions available – keynote address, 75 minute and 1 – 3 hour versions available

5. For advanced executives only: tough talk about you and your board

Session description: How many effective boards do you know? Let’s step back a minute. How do you define effective? What are your standards? How effective are you at enabling the board to be what it should be? This workshop offers senior executives the opportunity to talk about what true governance is, the act of a collective, without dominance by a board chair. We will discuss rogue board chairs and the use of limitation policies. We will explore Joyaux’ concept of a due diligence plan to enhance board performance, coupled with the elimination of executive committees. We will focus on the importance of the board meeting as the only time that governance happens. And the bottom line? If a board is less-than-effective, the problem starts with the staff and its ability to enable.

Audience: Advanced executives only. Must have experience working with a board and access to the board.

Timeframe: Multiple versions available – 3-hour, 1/2 day and all day