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While our introductory workshops, Board Performance System™ and GPS System™ protocols meet the needs of most clients, Charney Associates also offers specific individualized services, as clients have distinct needs at different stages of their governance improvement efforts. While we recommend face-to-face sessions for most of our consultations, several of the options listed below could be presented in Webinar format. Custom Governance Webinars can also be created. Please contact us to discuss your training needs. Through our experiences assisting a wide variety of nonprofit, corporate and governmental boards (including self-perpetuating, elected and appointed boards), we offer the following services to meet these varied needs: New Board Member Orientation/Training: Boards committed to advanced governance find great benefit in providing professional training/orientation to new board members. This training, combined with the asset of having clearly articulated governing policies in place, enables new board members to be brought "up to speed" quickly, thus maximizing their contributions throughout their board tenure. (half to full-day) Board "Rehearsals": Using the "Board Rehearsal" model, initially developed by renowned author and consultant Miriam Carver and detailed in The Board Member's Playbook by Miriam Carver and Bill Charney, boards are led through mock board exercises. Utilizing a series of scenarios based upon actual or anticipated governance challenges, these exercises build the skills of board members, primarily by demonstrating how the use of existing policies identify logical and practical responses to nearly all governance challenges. (half-day) "Ends" Development Workshops: Policy Governance enables boards to focus their time and efforts on the future: learning about the needs of the "ownership," and identifying the organizational outcomes that will meet those needs. Annual/periodic planning sessions foster the board’s ability to articulate the priorities based upon their needs, thus forming the core of strategic planning efforts. (half to full-day) Achieving the Ends—Strategic Plan Framework Development: The Board has defined the Ends for your organization, now you—the CEO and staff—need to achieve them. This one-day session breaks down this large task into manageable and measurable components. At the end of the session, the CEO will have a clearly defined vision of success and a framework for developing an action plan for each Ends statement. (half to full-day) Staff Training Workshops: Overall productivity is enhanced when staff understands the board's role and the specific steps their board has taken to ensure staff empowerment and accountability. In these sessions, staff also learns how to support excellence in their board’s governance efforts. (half-day) Mission Workshops: Similar to the Ends workshops described above, this workshop is appropriate for boards that have not adopted Policy Governance®, but want to clarify the criteria for organizational success. Far from the rhetorical, redundant rehashing of mission language which many board members may have experienced, this workshop provides a new look at an old topic with very exciting results. A full day is recommended for this training. Ownership Linkage Workshops: As trustees, board members serve on behalf of an identifiable public. Surprisingly, few boards engage in structured contact with those whom they serve! This workshop helps boards understand the importance of this demonstration of servant leadership and how to do it. Methods include identification of various linkage methodologies, formulation of goals for specific contacts and how to utilize the knowledge and wisdom gained in these sessions in the board's strategic planning work. Monitoring Assistance: One of the most under-appreciated elements of Policy Governance is its rigorous approach to monitoring performance. Through the preparation of brief, focused reports (thus consuming far less time for board oversight), boards are able to review policies and attain assurance that criteria have been met. These reports promote meaningful policy dialogue between board and staff by communicating how staff interprets the board's policy language, greatly reducing the likelihood of surprises down the road. 2-Hour The Legal/Fiduciary Responsibilities of Board Members: This 2-hour workshop enlightens board members about their primary legal obligations (Duty of Care, Duty of Loyalty, etc.) and how to avoid organizational and personal liability through fulfillment of these responsibilities, use of the Business Judgment Rule, etc. 90-Minute Sarbanes-Oxley: Reconciling Good Governance with Legal Compliance: This 90-minute workshop explores the intent and impact of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act on both corporate and nonprofit boards. Attendees will learn how the Act has changed expectations and “best practices” for all boards and the recent and anticipated changes to laws governing the nonprofit sector. Chairs and CEOs: Who Leads What? This 90-minute workshop explains the distinctions between governance and management leadership and the unique needs for the respective positions, with particular focus on why the board chair should be viewed as a “CGO” (Chief Governance Officer). The session focuses on eight traits of successful board Chairs. Additional governance workshop topics available include:
Additonal information regarding these workshops and seminars available upon request. |
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