This manual has been written specifically to give incoming board and committee chairpersons the information they need to be effective leaders. It will provide a new chair with a wide range of tips, strategies, and suggestions about how he or she can make the job easier, how to run an effective meeting, how to make sure board and committee members fulfill (and dont overstep) their responsibilities, how to deal with problem members, how to promote a good relationship with the administrator, and how to effectively represent the organization in the community. All these ideas have been successfully used by board and committee chairpersons across the U.S. and Canada! When you order this manual, well personalize it with your new board or committee chairpersons name free of charge!

THE PRACTITIONER’S GUIDE TO GOVERNANCE AS LEADERSHIP The Practitioner’s Guide to Governance as Leadership offers a resource that shows how to achieve excellence and peak performance in the boardroom by putting into practice the groundbreaking model that was introduced in the book, Governance as Leadership. This proven model of effective governance explores how to attain proficiency in three governance modes or mindsets: fiduciary, strategic, and generative. Throughout the book, author Cathy Trower offers an understanding of the Governance as Leadership model through a wealth of illustrative examples of high-performing nonprofit boards. She explores the challenges of implementing governance as leadership and suggests ideas for getting started and overcoming barriers to progress. In addition, Trower provides practical guidance for optimizing the practices that will improve organizational performance including: flow (high skill and high purpose), discernment, deliberation, divergent thinking, insight, meaningfulness, consequence to the organization, and integrity. In short, the book is a combination of sophisticated thinking, instructive vignettes, illustrative documents, and practical recommendations. The book includes concrete strategies that can help improve critical thinking in the boardroom, a board’s overall performance as a team, as well as information for creating a strong governance culture and understanding what is required of an effective CEO and a chairperson. To determine a board’s fitness and help the members move forward, the book contains three types of assessments: board members evaluate each other; individual board member assessments; and an overall team assessment. This practitioner’s guide is written for nonprofit board members, chief executives, senior staff members, and anyone who wants to reflect on governance, discern how to govern better, and achieve higher performance in the process.

Successful CEO board relations are universally guided by certain overarching principles and considerations. Inside this handbook, you will find practical advice on achieving successful CEO board relations, including how to appoint and elect candidates and develop new recruits, strategies for communicating effectively and addressing compromised board relations, and best practices for hiring and evaluating CEOs. Basic structures, functions, roles, and responsibilities of CEOs, boards, and committees are also detailed."

Holding the Gavel lifts the veil on being the chair or president of a nonprofit board of directors and provides best practices and real advice for nonprofit board leaders. Too often people are asked to lead a board without a guidebook or a mentor. Holding the Gavel lays out the job, what is expected and how best to contribute. Even seasoned leaders can lack specific knowledge areas and skills to successfully lead, govern and champion their organization. Get the candid, inside scoop and learn from experienced board chairs. With Holding the Gavel, current and prospective board leaders and the staff they work with finally have the real information needed to help their organizations thrive. Topics include Responsibilities of the Chair; Working with and Evaluating the Executive Director or CEO; Board Committees, including the Executive Committee; Preparing for and Conducting Board Meetings; Recruiting and Onboarding New Board Members; Financials and Audits; Your Role in Fundraising; Board Evaluation and Development; Hiring and Firing the Executive; Succession Planning; Time Management; Managing Difficult Board Members or Executives; Conducting Due Diligence; Fostering an Abundance Mentality in Your Nonprofit Team; Finding Your Voice and Defining Your Vision; and more!