Articles

Lessons Learned from a Listening Leader

“Um, Jeremy, there’s an issue with the data in the Board paper.” So it began. I’d been in the role but days as the new CEO, taking over a team who were finalising a major meeting with our Board, including a significant financial decision that had to be made.** The words from one of my team stopped me in my tracks. Somehow, the data on which we were framing the paper was wrong.

Compliance and Creativity: the strategic obligations of directors

One of the main roles of a not-for-profit (NFP) board of directors is to develop and cultivate a long-term strategy for the organisation, which furthers the objects of that organisation.1 Despite the fact that directors appreciate that strategic planning forms part of their role on the board, directors often err on the side of caution when strategizing, or avoid developing a strategic vision for their organisation entirely. Reasons for this include:

The Discipline in Developing a Winning Culture

Culture is the buzzword of current day governance. A panacea for underperformance, inefficiency and conduct risk. Boards and executives are tasked with developing the right culture in their organisation. But we need to talk about what this means in practice for directors. There is increasing expectation that directors will get out and ‘kick the tyres’ to develop greater understanding of their organisation and its culture, empowering more active and meaningful leadership ‘from the top’ by boards.

Making Boards Fit for Purpose

Many successful organisations have not, until now, had to navel gaze – or change. Why worry if you can keep doing the same thing successfully, year after year? However, post Hayne and post Covid 19, the landscape has changed. “Good old boys drinking whisky and rye_“1 should no longer govern even the local cricket club. No organisation can ignore the requirements of corporate governance, risk management and the changed landscape – post Covid 19.

Diversity and Inclusion in the Boardroom

The twin concepts of diversity and inclusion were rising to overtake ‘culture’ as the leading ideals for organisations at the close of 2019. There is no doubt that they will take a back seat for a while as Australian companies respond to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. We will be changing many of our traditional ways of doing things (culture) on the other side of this pandemic. Now is the time to embrace D & I, meet its cousin ‘belonging’ and see if we can launch into the post virus world fully engaged with our stakeholder communities.

How to run remote board meetings securely and effectively

Remote meetings present technological, social, legal and security challenges. But they also offer convenience, an opportunity to expand your board’s membership and a catalyst to evaluate the effectiveness of your meetings. Access to technology and digital literacy are vital to successful virtual meetings. Provide any skills training board members need to confidently participate in video or conference calls. Security is a particular concern with remote meetings, so review your company’s security protocols and make sure you understand any risks involved with the technology you use.

Cultural Intelligence (CQ) for Not-for-Profit Organisations

If your not-for-profit organisation serves a diverse community, has stakeholders (staff, volunteers, donors) who come from a culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) background, or operates in multiple different locations, then cultural intelligence has a direct effect on the success of your programs and services. Culture refers to the total way of life of a group of people. It comprises everything that a group of people thinks, says, does and makes — deposit of knowledge, systems, beliefs, values, roles, art, habits, cuisines, symbols and attitudes.

An NFP Dispute: a Tale of Two Hugs

Summary This story concerns a cultural group that formed a church in a Melbourne suburb to promote their faith. During 2019 an “us and them” culture developed with a new church committee adopting an authoritarian populist governance style. I do not make judgment about that style but mention it to set the scene. I acted for certain members (the “accused” members) who faced accusations from the committee and the committee’s associates.

Evaluating the CEO: essentials for not-for-profit boards

Like any employee, your CEO needs a regular formal evaluation of their performance in the role. It holds the CEO accountable to their role, but also ensures that the board is actively meeting its duties to their organisation. The benefits of doing a proper CEO evaluation are invaluable. Growth Evaluations provide a CEO with an overview of their efforts. It helps them to understand their strengths and weaknesses and gives them direction for areas where they can continue to develop professionally.

Good Governance in remote Australia – it’s closer than you think

There are remote areas all over Australia, across Western Australia, Queensland, South Australia and NSW; but the Northern Territory classifies as entirely remote and very remote1. The population of the Territory is small, at around 240,000 people – that’s about the size of Wollongong. There are many highly skilled and experienced board members and potential board members in the Northern Territory. However, the small population and high transience of skilled professionals means that ensuring there is the right mix of skill sets (finance, legal, leadership, marketing, fundraising,) as well as member representation, local level knowledge, content expertise and regular board renewal – it’s a really big ask for many boards.