Governance Articles

• Honey, I Shrunk The Board – Now What?
  Bruce Butterfield, CAE, APR President and CEO, The Forbes Group
  Board downsizing is conventional wisdom, but size isn't always the cause of board disfunction. It's usually board culture that's the problem.... more

• A View From The Outside In
  Perhaps the most revolutionary and most promising way to professionalize your volunteer board is to have a small number of outside members.... more

• The New Role For Association Boards: Thinking Strategically
  In a difficult and highly competitive age when the very survival of the organization is often at issue, association and nonprofit boards are casting aside the irrelevant and concentrating on the one responsibility that is uniquely theirs: creating a future for the organization.... more

• Is Your Board Turning A Blind Eye To Opportunity?
  For better or worse, there is a strong backlash against anything that smacks of affirmative action. This viewpoint can sometimes blind an association to its vital interests.... more

• Board Benchmarking
  Boards need to macromanage not micromanage. Bench marking, a technique widely used by for-profit firms, can help make the shift from being tactical to strategic. Board bench marking has three components - individual evaluation, board evaluation and organizational evaluation.... more

• Fiduciary Responsibilities Of Nonprofit Directors
  The duty of care requires the director to do what would be expected of any prudent person in the same position.... more

• Mergers: Look Before You Leap!
  Mergers, like marriages, are often more complex than they appear when both parties are starry-eyed with love. And, like a marriage, the merger is more likely to be successful and lasting if there is a reasonable period of courtship.... more

• Role Playing: When Do Board Members Step Over The Line?
  Some board members see themselves as representing all members of the association, while others see themselves as protecting the interests of their particular state or chapter. Some feel free to use their votes to further personal interests. Board members have three fiduciary responsibilities that determine how to handle these situations.... more

• Finding Good Volunteer Leaders For Association Board Officers Is No Accident
  No matter how good your intentions, you can't take your association where it needs to go unless you have the right board and officers. How you select the nominating committee and the guidelines under which it operates will determine what kind of leadership you will have.... more

• Shaping Up Your Board Requires Control, Planning
  

  The National Association of Corporate Directors has issued a set of guidelines for the conduct of corporate directors. There isn't a parallel set of guidelines for association directors, but here's what it ought to look like if associations are to continue to thrive in the future.

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• Who Is Driving Your Association? Defining Volunteer and Staff Roles by Building a "Chinese Wall"
  Defining volunteer and staff roles by building a "Chinese wall" that clearly delineates areas of responsibility of leadership, volunteers and staff.... more

• "Right Sizing" Your Board Of Directors
  Associations tend to believe that the best way to address member needs is to make sure that every geographic and special interest is represented on the board. Actually, the end result of this approach is gridlock followed by minority governance.... more

• Assessment Matters
  James G. Dalton, CAE Senior Counselor, The Forbes Group
  A governance survey and a balanced scorecard are just two of the many ways to measure what is important to your association.... more

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