From the Boardroom: Questions Many Boards Never Think to Ask (Part I)
About Development
- Orientation of new and prospective board members.
Q#1: Does the Board orient its new members?
A: First of all, most boards fail altogether in providing any sort of orientation. Even if an orientation is provided, the board typically leaves such a ‘chore’ to its staff. Guess what? Whoever provides the orientation has a vested interest in training the new member in a way that makes sense from the provider’s perspective. If staff members orient new board members, you can bet that staff will tell them ‘the way things are’ in a way that makes life more easy for the provider. This enables a role reversal (the subordinate does the ‘training’ of the newbie) to the benefit of the staff, and not necessarily to the benefit of a board that intends to govern.
Follow-up Q: If it does provide an orientation…How does the board orient new members? Or in other words, if the board does not provide an orientation…How should it orient new members?
A: The board chair or designated board member(s) should share with new members the board’s own words – its beliefs about growth, its commitment to being both servant and leader, and its strategic approach to the job. Essential tasks include clarifying how the board distinguishes between the business of the board and that of staff, how it differentiates between the board as a body and each board member as an individual, and how it defines the line between its higher authority (in the case of a public board, the state and community to whom the board reports) and its customers (e.g., for a school board, the students and their families) whom the staff is employed to support. In describing the board’s strategic approach to its role, the chair can point out certain indicators of success in its approach that separate its own role from that of the superintendent or staff. The chair also may introduce a board protocol (again, one that has been previously written by the board) which describes the board’s expectations of its own individual members, their mutually agreed boardsmanship commitments and the competencies expected of board members.
- Continuing professional development of board members.
Q#2: Besides orientation of new members, does the board plan professional development for its members?
A: First, a word about ‘why’ – Professional development enables board members to periodically refresh and recenter their intended mindset, and renew their commitment to growth in the practice of boardsmanship. Professional development offers an opportunity to take advantage of the contributions an institutionally wise and experienced board can make to its individual members, who have various levels of experience and expertise. Routine and recurring professional development of board members can help members learn the chair’s role, including the responsibility of the chair for the board’s governing effectiveness, and the superintendent’s role, again using the board’s own words on the subject. Individual board members need to periodically relearn and refresh attributes of boardsmanship, how the board member effectively contributes to the effectiveness of the board as a body.
Follow-up Q: How does the board plan professional development of its members?
A: If the board has not already done this, it should consider describing a continuum of beliefs, knowledge, and behaviors that fit the way the board does business, and should base those attributes on values, priorities, and practices the board has adopted, especially those that may be unique to your board. Explain why those attributes are promoted, including any research that supports it. For example, board members with elevating beliefs and a growth mindset (seeing the cup as half full rather than half empty, and believing in the capacity of the organization to ‘fill the cup’) has been shown in research studies to be associated with higher levels of student achievement in schools. Sharing board-approved best practices in boardsmanship with new members, before problems arise, can help shape future behavior in a way that contributes to overall board effectiveness. Consider having observers (staff and members of the public) use it to provide feedback after meetings.
- Whole board development.
Q#3: In addition to individual board member development, does the board plan collective professional development for the board?
A: Again, even in the case that boards conduct some sort of professional development for its members, a cursory review of such development yields the conclusion that almost no one conducts development of the board as a single entity. For the most part, boards fail to accomplish this vitally important task of building its own capacity. The board depends on many collective tasks that are not the mere accumulation of individual board member behaviors, so the board should also plan professional development for the board, first learning, then refining, one collective skill set after another.
Follow-up Q: How?
A: Some examples of whole board development include refining the effective performance of those tasks that the board does only when convened as a body: Collective behaviors like deliberation and debate, group decision-making, superintendent evaluation, etc.). Think in terms of developing the board’s institutional memory (write down what the board considers important) when planning for and conducting whole board development. Focus primarily on the board’s collective competence, and secondarily on the contribution of individuals (individual board member and the CEO) to the performance of the board as a whole. What board routines make up an effective board meeting? Does the board have an approval process for policies that guide the district, the board, and its individual members in successful performance? The approval and documentation of these routines and expectations constitute collective tasks that only the board as a whole entity can perform. Deliberately practicing those tasks, assessing how well those tasks are performed, and adjusting to improve performance all constitute professional development of the board as a whole.