Nothing really prepares you for what it’s like to become a board trustee of a charity you believe in; nothing, that is, until now. This book talks you through how to become a brilliant board trustee, carry out your roles effectively and even enjoy the experience. Written by a current board member, for boards and their trustees, each chapter outlines the key approaches to take to become part of an empowered and brilliant board. Discover the principles of Governing with Purpose, and find out why governance and leadership are core values for board trustees. Above all, it speaks to the value of your role in leading a charity to achieve its objectives. Brian Cavanagh has over 25 years’ experience of governance and leadership in the public sector in Scotland. He is the CEO of Calibrate, a mentoring consultancy specializing in strategic leadership and board governance for the charity sector in UK and Ireland. Brian chairs an SME in Scotland and is a board member of a housing association in Ireland.

Corporations with a Conscience Corporations today are embedded in a system of shareholder primacy. Nonfinancial concerns—like worker well-being, environmental impact, and community health—are secondary to the imperative to maximize share price. Benefit corporation governance reorients corporations so that they work for the interests of all stakeholders, not just shareholders. This is the first authoritative guide to this new form of governance. It is an invaluable guide for legal and financial professionals, as well as interested entrepreneurs and investors who want to understand how purposeful corporate governance can be put into practice.

School boards have the potential to build an extraordinary future for our children. The leadership of the school board can launch the potential in every child and educator in their schools, or it can cripple and discourage learning communities. Elected trustees play a critical role in today's school systems. As policy-makers, governors and community representatives, they influence the direction and achievement of schools within their jurisdiction. Administrators new to the school board table must quickly acquire comprehensive knowledge of the mandate and purpose of the school board, and how to work with trustees to lead the school district to attain its educational goals. Exploring facets of school board governance such as the role of democracy, public finance, accountability, purposeful meetings, and how to work with the personalities at the table, this book offers foundational training for board members and general knowledge for persons interested in knowing what school trustees actually do. Thoroughly understanding the purpose of the school board, and what it means to 'guard the trust' on behalf of the citizenry is critical to improved schools and quality education.

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.

There are lots of books and articles on governance in general. Many can be helpful, but few, maybe very few, actually show or explain a cohesive and comprehensive system of governance. Without a unified and encompassing system, boards will never be able to maximize their contribution to the organization and its purpose for existence. The purpose of this book is to make sure that they can.There is only one system that we have found which does address the above problem. That system is Policy Governance®.If you are on a Policy Governance board or any other type of board, this book will empower your governing.Based on input from multiple boards and ten's, and possibly more than a hundred, training sessions with boards we have determined that Policy Governance concepts make a positive change in a board's impact and that two specific insights can amplify that impact: 1.To understand and maximize the system's benefits, a board must deeply understand the principles of the system, the implications of those principles and their "1+1=5" synergy when used as a set.2.For a governing board to sustain this particular system, it needs to own it. The model must be truly owned by the board, using both ongoing study and diligence. It must become the board's culture, not just its governing system. This book will provide insight into the importance of the principles, their synergies as a whole, and, ultimately, amplifying the board's value and empowering the organization's purpose.

A new framework for helping nonprofit organizations maximize the effectiveness of their boards. Written by noted consultants and researchers attuned to the needs of practitioners, Governance as Leadership redefines nonprofit governance. It provides a powerful framework for a new covenant between trustees and executives: more macrogovernance in exchange for less micromanagement. Informed by theories that have transformed the practice of organizational leadership, this book sheds new light on the traditional fiduciary and strategic work of the board and introduces a critical third dimension of effective trusteeship: generative governance. It serves boards as both a resource of fresh approaches to familiar territory and a lucid guide to important new territory, and provides a road map that leads nonprofit trustees and executives to governance as leadership. Governance as Leadership was developed in collaboration with BoardSource, the premier resource for practical information, tools and best practices, training, and leadership development for board members of nonprofit organizations. Through its highly acclaimed programs and services, BoardSource enables organizations to fulfill their missions by helping build effective nonprofit boards and offering credible support in solving tough problems. For the latest in nonprofit governance, visit www.boardsource.org, or call us at 1-800-883-6262.

Build your nonprofit into a high performer with this practical approach to purpose, strategy, operations, and governance Planning is vital to achieving your nonprofit's purpose too bad most nonprofits are strapped for time. Not anymore. Using a lightning-fast and inclusive process, Results Now® puts purpose, strategy, operations, and governance into one user-friendly, comprehensive plan that your board can pass in a single vote and your organization can maintain as a regular part of its business throughout the year. Results Now for Nonprofits relies on accountability and performance measurement to increase the level of effective decision-making. This "big picture first, details next" planning process helps you: Use the Results Now master plan as a centerpiece of board meetings and as a standard part of board meeting advance information Foster a welcome climate for give-and-take strategic thinking Clarify the organization's story for the community and keep people on point about what's important Develop team cohesion Orient newer leadership members and recharge seasoned ones Attract new funders who reward nonprofits who plan A must-have for all nonprofit executives and directors, members of boards and trustees, and nonprofit managers, Results Now for Nonprofits is a results-driven, practical tool that will help your organization achieve its mission, values, and destiny.