ASAE: Engaging Your Board in Strategic Conversations

2009 Toronto

Ideal Board

• Less micromanaging

• Bigger vision for the future

• More decisive

• Board members need to focus on their association’s agenda, not their personal agenda

Strategic Boards…

• Shape the priorities

• Allocated time/resources

• Align the Board agenda with goals and priorities

• Focus on governing rather than managing

Does the Board agenda address…

• Big questions• Future questions• Core the missions• Relate to the strategic plan• High level policy decision?• Red flag flying or watch dog• Does the ED want/need the Board’s

support?

Boards often lack the capacity

• To operate strategically– Practitioners in their day job– Lack experience serving on Boards– Board turnover

Board Self Assessment

• Understand your culture– Membership– Leadership– Staff

• Inventory of capacities– +/- of staff– +/- of board– Resources– External Factors

• Strong Board and Staff Development– Training for new Board members

Opportunities for Improvement

• Make data driven strategies a habit

• Increase capacity for dialogue and engagement

• Increase capacity to ensure better alignment with products and services to mission

• Strengthen the customer service culture

Start with Staff

• ROSE– Resources– Opportunities– Services– Evaluation

ROSE

• Five years of data on every product, service and activity of the association– Assess financial performance– Assess strategic contribution

• Engage leadership second

• Research– Future group studies (what is on the horizon?)– Blue ribbon commission on ______________

Different planning approach

• Member value proposition

• Blue ocean analysis

• New overarching strategy

• Reinvest the CORE membership– Non-dues revenue– Sell beyond the membership

• Expand service markets now and membership categories later

• Culture trumps strategy

• Stress response is reactionary

• Members resistance to change is embraced by the Board

• Measures are a system