Board micromanagement

Onboarding the New Nonprofit CEO: Who’s In Charge?

Onboarding the New Nonprofit CEO: Who’s In Charge?id-100423604

By Eugene Fram                  Free Digital image

When the chair of the search committee announces that a new CEO has been selected, there is visible relief in the boardroom. After the stress of a waning—or even absent executive at the helm, directors tend to relax, engaging in a series of social events that provide a pleasant if superficial acquaintance with the new executive.

What actually lies ahead is much more serious and vital to the future of the organization. Call it orientation, acculturation or transitioning; it is the board’s responsibility to see that the CEO is grounded in every aspect of the organization. And that requires a plan that is carefully structured and may take a year to complete. Major responsibility for the plan and its implementation rests with the board chair and one or more senior board members. While there are many formats to achieve this goal, the best, in my opinion, is what has been described as a customized format.

Under a customized format the nonprofit board tailors a program that helps the new executive develop a solid base in the organization and an understanding of its unique climate and culture.
Biweekly meetings should be scheduled. However, both sides should be wary if the time required does not decrease considerably as the year progresses. The CEO will then operate more independently, perhaps even making modest mistakes from which he/s can easily recover. Those handling the orientation must take care to delegate responsibility incrementally, based on the CEO’s background and experiences. Every custom designed orientation program should include nine steps. Some must be taken in sequence, while other steps can proceed concurrently. (more…)

Going For Impact: A Non-Profit Blueprint For the Second Half of the Year  

 

Going For Impact: A Non-Profit Blueprint For the Second Half of the Year

By Eugene Fram     Free  Digiatl Image

For organizations and individuals, the end of the calendar year is the traditional planning period – the time used for self-assessment, strategizing and putting in place “game plan” for improvement and growth for the 12 months to come.

For many nonprofits, June 30th is the end of the fiscal and planning year. Yet the blueprint also offers the same opportunities to focus on improvement and growth.

But in today’s volatile, hyper-competitive and uncertain environment, this one-a-year exercise isn’t enough.

It just isn’t. Especially for nonprofits. And their boards of directors.

Here’s the good news: The year’s midpoint – upon us now – is a great point for an interim review. It’s a good time to review your game plan. Develop a vision goes beyond reviewing current budget projections against actuals and other compliance requirements.

I have identified five areas of focus – the last being a kind of “action plan” you can use to implement what’s of interest. Adopting just one of the many suggestions can yield a substantial return on investment.   They are: 

  • Your Leadership
  • Your Talent Pool
  • Your Fundraising
  • Your Impact Data
  • Your “Fix-It” Points

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Once Again: How to Keep a Nonprofit Board Informed.

 

Once Again: How to Keep a Nonprofit Board Informed.

By: Eugene Fram    Free Digital Image

 

With high performing nonprofit boards, directors will rarely be invited by the CEO to participate in operational decisions. As a result, management will always have more information than the board. Yet the board still needs to know that is happening in operations to be able to overview them.
The name of the game is for the CEO to communicate the important information and to keep directors informed of significant developments. Still, there’s no need to clutter regular board meetings by reporting endless details about operations. (more…)

Nonprofit Board Members—Are They Aware of Their Independent Director Duties?

Nonprofit Board Members—Are They Aware of Their Independent Director Duties?

By Eugene Fram     Free Digital Image

The vast majority of nonprofit board members serve as independent directors. They are not members of management, have other occupations as their major focus, but have some significant responsibilities to a community, profession, government or professional/trade association. Mary Jo White, Former Chair, U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission, outlined the responsibilities of fund board members who also are independent directors to overview the investment dollars made by 53 million U.S. households. Many of her comments, in 2016, easily apply to nonprofit board members and their responsibilities as Independent directors. Note: The italicized materials following are White’s direct quotations. * (more…)

Two Nonprofits Merge: Synergy or Collision Course?

Two Nonprofits Merge: Synergy or Collision Course?

By: Eugene Fram     Free Digital Image

Having led a merger committee that resulted in a successful merger with another nonprofit, I thought my field observations might be of interest to others contemplating a merger. These comments center on a merger of two equal partners, which plan to form a new organization, not the acquisition of one nonprofit by another. (more…)

Can Groupthink Hamstring Change on a Nonprofit Board?

Can Groupthink Hamstring Change on a Nonprofit Board?

By: Eugene Fram        Free Digital Image

Dictionaries typically define groupthink as “…the lack of individual creativity, or a sense of personal responsibility that is sometimes characteristic of group interaction.” In my opinion, the process is as lethal to the nonprofit board as smoking can be for humans. It ties boards to past experience and discourages experimentation. Since many nonprofit charters require boards to “conserve assets” and board members are characteristically volunteers, the nonprofit culture inevitably defers to groupthink–it’s in their DNA! “One goes along to get along.”
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Can Nonprofit Management Usurp Board Responsibilities?

Can Nonprofit Management Usurp Board Responsibilities?

By Eugene H. Fram     Free Digital Image

On balance management will always have more information about the organization than volunteer board members. As a result, board members must be proactive in seeking information from management and a variety of other sources, even if they must involve employees other than senior management. Following are three field examples showing what has happened when boards failed to be proactive (more…)

Can Only Three Nonprofit Board Committees Engage Directors Meaningfully?

 

Can Only Three Nonprofit Board Committees Engage Directors Meaningfully?

By: Eugene Fram

Current research shows that the average nonprofit board has an average of 4.5 standing  committees, down from 6.6 in 1994. * I suggest three standing committees. ** This three-standing committee configuration is flexible. Its strength is that it generates a coordinated robust review of the past board experiences to drive an emphasis on policy development and strategic planning. Organizations know where they have been, are thinking about the future but are not mired in micromanagement

    A Policy/Strategy Focused Board

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How Can A Chief Operating Officer (COO) Advance Your Nonprofit Organization?

How Can A Chief Operating Officer (COO) Advance Your Nonprofit Organization?

By: Eugene Fram

In my decades of involvement with nonprofit boards, I have encountered several instances in which the CEO has failed to engage the services of a COO– when this addition to the staff was clearly needed. In each case and for whatever reasons, this reluctance to act left the nonprofit organizationally starved.

This means that the CEO continues to handle responsibilities that should have been delegated, some of which a predecessor may had assumed during the start-up stage. I once observed a nonprofit CEO with an annual $30 million budget personally organize and implement the annual board retreat, including physically rearranging tables/materials and cleaning the room after the retreat! When top leadership is deflected in situations as this, client services and the general health of the organization is likely being negatively impacted. (more…)

The 12 New Year’s Resolutions EVERY Nonprofit Board Should Make

The 12 New Year’s Resolutions EVERY Nonprofit Board Should Make

 

By: Eugene Fram   Free Digital Image by Stuart Miles

Now that we’ve moved into December, I’m starting to see a bigger and bigger number of articles on one specific topic – New Year’s Resolutions.

And I came across some interesting numbers.

More than 40% of Americans make New Year’s Resolutions – exceeding the 33% who watch the Super Bowl each year. But as many as 80% of those “self-promises” fail by the end of February, and ultimately only about 8% are actually kept.

There’s a solution, of course. The experts who understand these things – say there’s a much higher likelihood that you’ll stay on your New Year-inspired self-improvement path if you come up with resolutions that are clear, simple, tangible and observable (measurable). The goal, of course, is to create positive impacts for clients.

I have to tell you: Not only did this advice make tremendous sense to me; it also inspired me.

After all, if regular folks can make resolutions and find a path to success, why shouldn’t organizations do the same?

And that’s especially true of all types of nonprofit organizations – which will face one of their most-challenging environments in years in 2019.

So I devised a list of Resolutions every nonprofit leader should consider in the New Year.

And here’s how to do it: (more…)