Why is Governance Partnership important to nonprofit organizations? Why is Governance Partnership important to Boards of Directors, Board Chairs, and Chief Executives?
Here is my answer to these questions.
It is important because nonprofit organizations and its leaders are concerned about making sure that the mission will make a difference in the community. It is important because nonprofit organizations and its leaders are concerned with improving organizational performance.
Much of the guidance offered to nonprofit leaders today comes from books, conferences and consultants. Books focus on the importance of leadership and management and its role in improving and revitalizing organizations. Conferences offer name brand speakers who offer hope and inspiration to nonprofit leaders in search for new methods and solutions to attain organizational excellence. Consultants focus on individual and organizational improvement strategies.
Much of this guidance is based on the following leadership premises:
- Organizations will be successful with the right leadership.
- If you can recruit, hire and/or equip the Chief Executive or Executive Director with the right vision, skills, abilities, and charisma, the nonprofit organization will not only be successful, it will thrive.
- Effective leadership leads to mission success and positive organizational performance.
These premises, according to the theory of governance partnership, are only partially true. They are only partially true because of its singular focus on the organizational leader. This focused approach excludes the board of directors. By excluding governance, the potential benefit and impact of the board of directors and what it has to offer is diminished. The current heroic model of leadership marginalizes the board of directors.
The theory of governance partnership is based on an alternative premise:
- Every nonprofit organization has two key leaders.
- The board chair is the leader of the board of directors.
- The chief executive is the leader of the organization.
- The board chair and the chief executive must work in partnership to lead the entire organization.
The theory of governance partnership offers a new leadership model for nonprofit organizations.
At the very core of governance partnership is the possibility of a dynamic relationship between the Board Chair and the Chief Executive. If the board chair and the chief executive are committed to constructing an effective and dynamic governance partnership, they will be creating the cultural context for the board of directors and the organization to be aligned around a shared mission and common commitment to organizational performance. The quality and strength of the partnership, according to the theory of governance partnership, makes impact the overall success of the nonprofit organization.
That is why Governance Partnership is important to nonprofit organizations.
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I absolutely agree with the concept of the “heroic” leader being predominant, especially in the way you describe it as marginalizing the board. It’s rare that the leadership role of the board is acknowledged, although it’s suddenly the board’s fault when things go wrong.
Although I think the role of the Board Chair is critical, the Board Chair is not the Board. Ideally the Board Chair leads the board, as a conductor leads the orchestra. The Board has one voice, and that can’t be just the Chair’s. By it’s very nature, the Board represents several, if not many, people working together as governors, and those governors have to learn to work as a consensus building group. It’s a challenge – and one that admittedly is often not met.
Alexandra — Your comments speak to the heart of one of the issues in the theory of governance partnership. And that is the role of the board chair. While there has been much work done to advance the role of the chief executive, less has been done for the role of board chair. I agree with you that the board must speak in one voice. On the other hand, the conductor also has a voice. So what is the place of the board chair when the board must be presented. What are your thoughts and what are organizations doing?
–Lloyd