Toolkits: Board Governance
Much like for-profit, corporate governance boards, association boards of directors develop long term strategies that guide their organizations. Learning the nuances of association governance, including non-profit board structures, behaviours and processes, allows association managers to improve the overall quality and efficiency of their organizations.
The Association Board of Directors Toolkit provides a research-based, comprehensive guide to reforming and refining non-profit board structures. Using the Toolkit's proprietary "Board Diagnostic Tool", association managers and board chairs will learn how to establish appropriate roles for board directors and staff, streamline their board nominating process, and maintain independent boards with the ability to select their own objectives.
John Dinner, the founder of John T. Dinner Board Governance Services and a "National Award in Governance" winner, has worked extensively with both corporate and non-profit boards of directors to meet organizational objectives through excellence in board governance. In this Toolkit, Dinner applies his proven techniques to all aspects of association governance.
Complete with non-profit board assessment tools, templates, and examples, The Association Board of Directors Toolkit assists association managers in developing a governance strategy that is unique to their organization. Whether association board members require guidance in management processes, board structures, or non-profit board behaviours, Dinner supplies success criteria and improvement methods for a wide range of board governance issues. These issues form the basis of Dinner's approach to association governance, which incorporates the following key concepts:
Structure Issues
- Shared Mission
- Roles and Accountabilities
- Non-Profit Board Leadership
- Meeting Effectiveness
Process Issues
- Selecting the Right People
- New Director Orientation
- Ongoing Training and Education
- Information and Empowerment
- Measuring Board and Director Performance
Behavioural Issues
- Board Independence
- Mutual Respect and Trust
- Non-Profit Board of Directors/Management Relationship
Both corporate and non-profit boards of directors must be equipped to participate in strategic decision-making, handle conflict, and use meetings as forums for constructive questioning. The Association Board of Directors Toolkit relies on governance methods fashioned in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors in order to offer well-rounded instruction on association governance.
