This document discusses best practices for non-profit boards to be fulfilling, effective, and smart. It emphasizes the importance of having a common vision, clear roles and responsibilities for the board and staff, and focusing on strategic issues rather than micromanagement. Essential questions are provided to guide board members in investing their time to improve strategy, relationships, public standing and the position of the CEO.

1. Non-Profit Boards
Smart, Effective, Fulfilling


2. Ensuring Board are:
Fulfilling
Effective
Smart

3. Strategy
Board
Responsibility
Public
Standing
& Ethical
Integrity
CEO

4. Base assumptions
 Want to make a difference
 Prepared to make a difference
 Believe that the Library does & can make a
difference
 Best libraries have the best Boards
 Different perspectives & perceptions

5. Base assumption
 Boards lose the effectiveness & collective as well as
individual fulfillment when:
 Lack of common vision for the Library
 Blurring of Board/Patron/Operational responsibility
 As soon as you become a Board member you cease
being the Library client you once were & will be again
when you are no longer on the Board
 If staff come to you about issues, direct them to the CEO

6. Strategy
Board
Responsibility
Public
Standing
& Ethical
Integrity
CEO

7. Essential questions
 Am I willing to invest the time to create common voice for
our Board and a clear sense of strategy?
 Am I willing to work with the Board to focus on our roles?
 Am I willing to delegate to staff the means of
implementation? Am I willing to avoid micromanagement
and administration?• And I willing to be fair, consistent and
constructive in feedback to the CEO?
Thank you to Dr. Ken Haycock for these, & for teaching me about Boards

8. Essential questions
 Can I acknowledge that the CEO directs the staff, not the
Board?
 Am I willing to invest the time in planning meetings to ensure
success? [generate items; develop criteria; apply criteria]
 Am I willing to invest in improvement? [feedback; retreats;
process observer]
 Am I willing to model the behaviors that the Board values?
[consensus building? starting/finishing on time? moving the
agenda forward?]
 Am I willing to invest my time in improving the public standing
of the Library? Developing meaningful, effective relationships
with council and the Town?
Thank you to Dr. Ken Haycock for these, & for teaching me about Boards

9. Where are you?
Fulfilling
Effective
Smart

10. Strategy
•
Doesn’t happen overnight
•
Build generative or
strategic issue discussions
into every agenda

11. What’s an
issue for your
strategy?

12. Planefinder.net

13. Google searching

14. Topomapper.com

15. Wolframalpha.com

16. Mondowindow.com

17. Journaltocs.hw.ac.uk

18. Quixey.com

19. Emporis.com

20. “Rowing is the only activity in which people can sit on their
backsides, look backwards & still make progress.”
Ken Haycock

21. Public
Standing &
Ethical
Integrity
•
Financials
•
Council & City Relationships
•
Library Positive Positioning
•
Board Recruitment &
Succession Planning

22. CEO