This week Cathy Brothers, CEO of Capacity Canada joined us. Cathy works to increase the impact of Canadian non-profits. We jokingly call her the governance doctor because she works with so many organizations, she has a pretty good idea of what makes boards healthy and what ails them. (Her other nickname, earned in her many years of assisting boards, is the “governance queen”. ) We were fortunate she was able and willing to sit down with us.
So, what did we learn?
Importance of Role Clarity
In previous podcasts, we’ve identified role clarity as a principle of good governance. Cathy says that some questions of governance and role clarity “may seem intellectual” but they have critical implications. Role clarity helps a board recruit good members because candidates can more clearly assess whether the role is right for them. Additionally, nomination committees have clear expectations against which to assess candidates.
Clear expectations help board directors understand and perform in their roles. What do board members need to be clear about? Their role is oversight and strategy. Cathy encourages boards to look at “what’s coming down the road” and develop a vision of how we can serve the community better. Our benevolent service sometimes isn’t enough. Clarity about who makes decisions and how those decisions are made helps focus efforts and prevent conflict.
Intentional Board Recruitment, Development and Evaluation
Andrew asked a damn good question. What should boards do when they have a problematic board member? Toxic board members damage organizations by driving away others and distracting from the board’s important work. Cathy urges us to prevent problematic board members through recruitment, development, and evaluation.
When recruiting board members, go beyond the standard skills matrix and also look at behaviours. Someone may be a successful CEO/lawyer/accountant/star volunteer, but they may also be a huge pain in the ass to work with. All things being equal, choose or find a candidate who is a delight. Recruitment should identify those who work well with others, understand the role of the board, think critically yet constructively contribute to strategy. Purposely recruit board members who have the potential to take on leadership roles. The only thing worse than not having anyone who wants to be Chair is only having one person who wants to be Chair who doesn’t have the confidence of their colleagues. Cathy suggests putting board succession planning on each agenda so that it stays an active item.
Board education can help improve performance of individual members and the overall Board. Maybe someone isn’t performing at a high level or they are being disruptive because they don’t understand their role. Education and frank conversations about board performance may be enough to improve board cohesiveness and performance.
Regular evaluation gives the board an opportunity for members to understand their own performance and to offer feedback on each other. Cathy says board members can either make improvements based on their evaluation or “weed themselves out” because “most of us won’t hang around where we’re not making a contribution”. Regular board evaluation is critical.
Why We Care About Governance
Finally, a story Cathy told brought me back to why I care about governance. Cathy said she got into governance because she volunteered for organizations to make a difference and eventually realized that there was a considerable amount of time and resources being squandered because there weren’t effective decision-making processes. Good governance should offer us the opportunity to maximize our impact as individuals and organizations. Check out our conversation with Cathy here.
The Governance Guys 