LESSON 22 – Whopper Mistakes Can Unravel Your Ministry

Welcome to More Lessons From the Nonprofit Boardroom Blog, a 40-week journey through the new book, More Lessons From the Nonprofit Boardroom, by Dan Busby and John Pearson. Each Wednesday, we're featuring a guest writer’s favorite snippet from the week's topic. Kecia Klob is our guest blogger this week for the third of four lessons in "Part 6: Boardroom Time-Wasters, Troublemakers, and Truth-tellers.” And during this COVID-19 crisis, the role of the board becomes even more critical. We pray that your board will have God-honoring wisdom as you spiritually discern next steps.

LESSON 22 OF 40: Whopper Mistakes Can Unravel Your Ministry
If stupidity got us into this mess, then why can’t it get us out? 

THE BIG IDEA FROM THE BOOK: In Lesson 22, the authors urge boards to be actively aware of what the CEO is doing within the ministry, particularly when it comes to the budget and funding. Oversight of the CEO is crucial (and must include financial accountability) and cannot be taken lightly—no matter how much you like the CEO, or how well he/she appears to be performing within the ministry.  

MY FAVORITE INSIGHTS from Lesson 22, pages 120-124:
• “Too often a ministry slowly and imperceptibly unravels for several years before the board wakes up to the reality.” 
• “The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality.” (Max De Pree)
• “When a ministry becomes unraveled, it is not time for rash action. It is time to step back and review how it happened, determine corrective steps, and move ahead—all with the help of the Almighty.” 

MY COLOR COMMENTARY:
What can a board do to prevent the financial unraveling of its ministry without its knowledge?

The authors suggest four ongoing, foundational commitments needed by the board to avoid a potentially devastating financial crisis in a ministry:
1) Conduct annual CEO reviews without fail. 
2) Assess revenue projections regularly in preparation for financial fluctuations. 
3) In a financial crisis, immediately reduce expenses and begin addressing sustainability. 
4) Do not sacrifice the integrity of your ministry by using restricted funds illegally to solve a financial crisis. 

The authors also point out that three of the biggest mistakes a board can make which will lead to financial instability in a ministry are: failure to diligently oversee its finances, failure to require the CEO to balance the budget, and failure to hold the CEO accountable for keeping restricted funds restricted!

In my own work on a nonprofit board I have seen there is great wisdom in the advice of the authors regarding financial accountability. It’s not always enjoyable (as a board) to be the boss of the CEO, but our responsibility is first and foremost the sustainability of the ministry and ensuring the mission is carried out effectively. So, while support of the CEO is important, it cannot be done blindly and without accountability.  

THIS WEEK’S QUOTES & COMMENTARY BY KECIA KLOB:

KECIA KLOB is Board Chair of the Women’s Health and Wellness Clinic of Walton (in Georgia). She has a master’s degree in Nonprofit Management which she obtained solely for the purpose of bettering herself for service in nonprofit work. She has served passionately on the board for four years and feels privileged to serve with others who love life and want to give unborn children a chance at life and help bring healing to their families. 

TO DO TODAY: 
• Assess: Are there any areas where our board has neglected to hold our CEO accountable?
• Assess: Is our board fully engaged in budget oversight?
• Visit the ECFA Knowledge Center and read and share the short chapter, Lesson 22, “Whopper Mistakes Can Unravel Your Ministry.”

NEXT WEDNESDAY: On June 10, 2020, watch for the commentary by Nate Parks on Lesson 23, “The Bully in the Boardroom. The board chair, the CEO, and other board members must neutralize the board bully.”

ORDER THE BOOK TODAY!

BULK ORDERS: Click here. For more resources and to download the book's Table of Contents, visit the book's webpage.

LESSON 5 – Dashboards Are Not a Secret Sauce for Sound Governance

Welcome to More Lessons From the Nonprofit Boardroom Blog, a 40-week journey through the new book, More Lessons From the Nonprofit Boardroom, by Dan Busby and John Pearson. Each Wednesday, we're featuring a guest writer’s favorite snippet from the week's topic. Reid Lehman is our guest blogger this week for the first of four lessons in "Part 2: Boardroom Tools and Templates.”

LESSON 5 OF 40 - Dashboards Are Not a Secret Sauce for Sound Governance
Too often the use of dashboards does not clearly communicate the past and give signals for the future.

THE BIG IDEA FROM THE BOOK: In Lesson 5, the authors note the importance of a simple, easy-to-understand tool to help the board understand where the ministry is compared to where it should be. First determine Key Performance Indicators for your ministry and how to measure them. Then provide the board with regular data along with context as to what it means, both for those key performance indicators and for the health of the ministry.   

Less is more. The more information you give the board, the less likely the board will be to understand what information is most important. 

MY FAVORITE INSIGHTS from Lesson 5, pages 28-34:
• “…a failure to make a conscious decision about what it is we’re going to measure often causes discombobulation and a lack of effectiveness and a lack of achievement.” (Max De Pree)
• “Data requires simplification…and becomes information only when it is shared in context.”
• “Without an effective dashboard, a ministry lacks a fast way to check on the basics so you can spend less time on where you have been and more time on where you are going.”  

MY COLOR COMMENTARY:
Why do we bury our boards in so much information? Carver’s Policy Governance™ template specifies that the CEO is not to “present information in an unnecessarily complex or lengthy form.” A recent monthly board packet for a large ministry contained 28 pages—including 10 pages of financial data and 14 pages of program data. There was little context and no indication of what was most important. And, sadly, the agenda contained no important decisions.  

Sharing a lot of information:
• Helps the CEO show the board how smart or gifted he/she is.
• Convinces the board of ministry complexity and may cause them to doubt their ability to lead.
• Is sometimes a way to bury bad news we hope board members won’t notice.
• Wastes the board’s time and keeps them from focusing on the few “most-important” things they should be paying attention to. Thus, they squander time on the minutiae of the past instead of focusing on future direction.  

Of the seven dashboard questions suggested by the authors, I’d like to highlight two:
#5. Are we providing the proper level of context? Board members want to focus on what’s most important. Helping them understand key indicators in context helps them to do so. 

#7. Are we using the best dashboard presentation approach for our ministry? If you don’t know how to graphically represent the data best, default to a simple approach with clear indications for whether board action, caution, or celebration may be needed. And remember the title of this lesson. A dashboard doesn’t mean the board governs well, but it does minimize detail so the board can use its time on things that matter.    

THIS WEEK’S QUOTES & COMMENTARY BY REID LEHMAN:

Until January 1st, REID LEHMAN was CEO of Miracle Hill Ministries, the largest provider of homeless shelter services in the Carolinas. More than 650 men, women, and children are housed nightly in Miracle Hill’s nine shelters.  

A Policy Governance™ Professional board consultant, Reid has provided board training and facilitation since 1992. He assists Citygate Network by training the boards of rescue missions across the country. Reid and Barbara live in Greenville, S.C. near their five grandchildren.  

TO DO TODAY: 
• Has the board identified its 3-4 key performance indicators (KPI’s) for the ministry? If not, let’s get it on the agenda soon.
• Make sure the board sees its KPI’s at each board meeting, with an understanding of whether the current data is within safe boundaries.
• Visit the ECFA Knowledge Center and read and share the short chapter, “Lesson 5: Dashboards Are Not a Secret Sauce for Sound Governance.”

NEXT WEDNESDAY: On Feb. 12, 2020, watch for the commentary by Andy Bales on Lesson 6, “Enhance Harmony by Clarifying Your Participant-Hat Expectations. Understand the three board hats: Governance, Volunteer, and Participant.”

ORDER THE BOOK TODAY!

BULK ORDERS: Click here. For more resources and to download the book's Table of Contents, visit the book's webpage.

LESSON 3 – The Productivity Payoff of Intentional Hospitality

Welcome to More Lessons From the Nonprofit Boardroom Blog, a 40-week journey through the new book, More Lessons From the Nonprofit Boardroom, by Dan Busby and John Pearson. Each Wednesday, we're featuring a guest writer’s favorite snippet from the week's topic. Rick Alvis is our guest blogger this week for the third of four lessons in "Part 1: The Powerful Impact of Highly Engaged Boards.”

THE BELL CURVE OF A BOARD MEETING

LESSON 3 OF 40 - The Productivity Payoff of Intentional Hospitality
Create hospitable and productive board environments. 

THE BIG IDEA FROM THE BOOK: In Lesson 3, the authors note that it is highly important for a board to get to know one another in order to make board meetings even more productive. Board meetings are likely more productive if board members know where others are coming from.

MY FAVORITE INSIGHTS from Lesson 3, pages 13-19: 
• When boards fail to take the time and effort to nurture hospitality and a productive environment…mission-focused governance can naturally become lost.
• It is important to discern who on your board or staff is specially enabled by God to practice hospitality—use them. 
• Max De Pree: “Many people seem to feel that a good board structure enables high performance. This is simply not so. What’s crucial is the quality of our personal relationships. The [board chair] and the [CEO] set the tone for good relationships….”  

MY COLOR COMMENTARY:
Not until I read this chapter had I ever thought about boardsmanship and how it relates to hospitality. Board meetings are for business. In my mind hospitality happened outside the board meeting. Not so. Hospitality can start in the boardroom and hopefully expands further outside the boardroom. Nurturing strong personal relations inside and outside the boardroom is of high importance. This includes working seriously at the growth, needs, and potential of board members—and not just the board members, but the CEO as well. 

Creating an impactful board agenda can keep a board meeting fresh. Unfortunately, some boards have fixed agendas—and don’t you dare challenge it or change it! Max De Pree’s “Bell Curve of a Board Meeting” makes lots of sense. Keeping critical agenda items in the high energy part of the meeting ensures meaningful engagement. We can structure our board meeting agendas more creatively—and thus maximize the time in our meetings when members are most productive.

Saying thanks to the board and practicing servanthood are also of utmost importance. De Pree says it well: “The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The second is to say thank you. In between the two, the leader must become servant and a debtor.” Leaders need to remove the cap of arrogance, and instead, wear the cap of humbleness, learner, and servant. 

THIS WEEK’S QUOTES & COMMENTARY BY RICK ALVIS:

RICK ALVIS is President/CEO of Wheeler Mission Ministries, Indianapolis, Ind. He has served the homeless and addicted for 40 years. He began his career with the Evansville Rescue Mission where he worked for 13 years before coming to Wheeler Mission in 1990. In his tenure in Indianapolis, he has directed a path of growth and outreach to the neediest citizens of Indiana, increasing the number of services offered and extending programs to men, women, and children. Under his leadership, three organizations have merged with Wheeler Mission in order to provide more effective care for Hoosiers in need of vital services. Setting Wheeler Mission on a solid financial path has allowed Wheeler Mission to expand programs and the number of staff by growing a balanced budget from around $650,000 in 1990 to over $15 million in 2019 and an increase in staff from 16 in 1990 to nearly 200 today.

Rick has served Citygate Network (formerly the Association of Gospel Rescue Missions) in several capacities, including Secretary/Treasurer, Vice Chairman, and Chairman of the Board from 2003–2009, the longest serving Chair/President in the Association’s history. He has served on the Board of Directors of ECFA as Secretary and is a 2016 Sagamore of the Wabash recipient.

TO DO TODAY: 
• Review your next board agenda closely. Are you allowing for hospitality, such as providing space for board members to get to know one another? 
• Is prayer just bookends to the meeting? Or, do you pause during the meeting to pray for people, pray for events, and give praise to the Lord for what He is doing through this ministry?
• Visit the ECFA Knowledge Center and read and share the short chapter, Lesson 3: "The Productivity Payoff of Intentional Hospitality.”

NEXT WEDNESDAY: On Jan. 29, 2020, watch for the commentary by Wes Willmer on Lesson 4, “Guarding Your CEO’s Soul. Wise boards invest time—up front—to ensure their CEO’s soul is not neglected.”

ORDER THE BOOK TODAY!

BULK ORDERS: Click here. For more resources and to download the book's Table of Contents, visit the book's webpage.