Paying Attention to Board Governance
In my current assignment, I am working with a Board of Directors, reviewing their governance approach. As a result, I have been thinking about the various models that exist and how they have fallen in and out of grace over the years. First of all, let me say Ontario has been extremely well-served by volunteer boards. The vast majority of our human service agencies are governed by volunteers who bring their combined skills and wisdom to bear on the organizations they serve. Board members are often passionate about the services provided by their agency and well understand the fiscal climate they operate in. The agencies they oversee range from small community centres to large complex organizations with hundreds of employees. They serve vulnerable clients and exercise stewardship over millions of dollars usually derived from taxpayers. As volunteers, Board members most often have full-time careers in other sectors and lead very busy lives. They rely heavily on their Executive Directors/CEOs to lead their Agencies and achieve the objectives set out in their strategic plan. Most Executive Director/CEO’s have the same passion and commitment for the work of their agencies and exercise good leadership. One of the Board’s most important duties is to supervise and provide guidance to their Executive Director/CEO. Monthly Board meetings and occasional committee meetings offer limited time to provide the level of oversight being demanded by the funders (often government), the consumer and the public.
It is essential for Boards to review their governance and oversight approach from time to time to make certain they can satisfy the ever growing demands from funders and the scrutiny of third party reviewers.
There are many governance models that have been effectively adopted for the not-for-profit sector and there is an abundance of literature on each. I prefer a hybrid model that focuses the Board’s attention on defining mission; identifying strategic directions; ensuring leadership and prudent use of resources; focusing on results; and monitoring outcomes. The Balanced Score Card effectively keeps the Board current on key department priorities and progress towards achieving outcomes. The Score Card can also be used to help assess the Executive Director/CEO’s annual performance.
Ontario has built a resilient not-for-profit sector that is well managed by volunteer Boards. However, keeping our Board system strong in an increasingly complex society requires us to pay attention to their training and development needs. If we invest in our volunteer Boards, Ontario will most certainly continue to enjoy a huge return.
