In this episode of THEBOARDCHECKUP, Dr. Cafik interviews Executive Director, Angie Bush about her experience with the practice of performance assessment and the impact it had on the leadership and governance of Hospitality House. Some of the lessons I learned from the Hospitality House experience with the practice of performance assessment are: It helped the board shift focus from a working board engaged in day to day operations to a governing board that thinks and acts strategically. It resulte...
Dec 07, 2023•37 min•Season 1Ep. 5
For many people, especially those new to board work, the belief is that the main work of the board takes place at official, formal meetings. In fact, a great deal of important work takes place outside of board meetings. Nevertheless, boards are required to hold formal meetings and the quality of those meetings can make a considerable difference to board effectiveness. Meetings that are poorly organized, go on too long,, go off on tangents instead of sticking to the point, or feature too many per...
Jun 08, 2023•58 min•Season 2Ep. 6
All boards have some formality that specifies and supports the way the board governs and operates. Once structures and procedures are in place they often come to be taken for granted and their influence on the board goes unrecognized. The result is that they are rarely reviewed in assessments of board performance and updated. This episode explores board structures and procedures, defining what they are and the role they play in board governance. The episode also explores common challenges boards...
Mar 01, 2023•39 min•Season 2Ep. 5
It is commonly accepted "best practice" that a major role for boards ought to be thinking about the "big picture" of how the organization is doing and where it ought to be heading in the future. It is usually recommended that this kind of thinking be captured in a "Strategic Plan" which can be used as a guide by all in the organization in making specific policy decisions. In this webinar, the Board's Role in Planning is discussed, challenges boards commonly experience, why they occur, and what b...
Feb 10, 2023•51 min•Season 2Ep. 2
While virtually everyone agrees that the role of the board in nonprofit organizations is to enable them to achieve their mission, differences arise when it comes to specifying exactly what the board's authority and responsibilities should be. In fact, this is one of the most frequently written about topic in the literature on nonprofit organization boards. Since most nonprofits have a paid top manager, the question arises: What should the board's role and authority be compared to that held by th...
Feb 10, 2023•58 min•Season 2Ep. 1
Effectively performing the board's role in fundraising and developing resources for the organization is the most common challenge reported by both board members and those with whom they interact. Dissatisfaction can come from lack of clarity of the board's role in fundraising, activities related to fundraising, and/or lack of capability to engage in fundraising. This webinar explores the main reasons for dissatisfaction with the board's role, how to diagnose fundraising challenges, and what boar...
Feb 10, 2023•29 min•Season 2Ep. 4
In Season 2, the nine dimensions of board effectiveness assessed in the Board Checkup are explored with nonprofit leaders. Each webinar explores a dimension assessed in the instrument. Board effectiveness is defined theoretically and common issues that can challenge board effectiveness are presented and discussed along with theories about why they exist, and change boards have implemented in response to them. The podcast will be of interest to board chairs, CEOS, and directors looking for access...
Feb 10, 2023•3 min
Board of nonprofit organizations are required to exert due diligence in ensuring that the organizations they govern are achieving their missions effectively and efficiently. But what about due diligence assessments of board performance to ensure the board is governing effectively and meeting accountability objectives. In this podcast, Professor Yvonne Cafik, PhD explores what due diligence looks like in the board performance assessment context, the issues that challenge boards, why they exist, a...
Feb 10, 2023•49 min•Season 2Ep. 3
In this episode of THEBOARDCHECKUP, Mr. Maurice O’Connor, Chair of the board of MS Ireland and Ms Jacinta Kelly, Vice Chair discuss the practice of self-assessing board performance. The episode begins with important background information on the mission of MS Ireland organization, characteristics of the organization and board, and changes in the regulatory environment affecting charities in the Republic of Ireland, including a new charities regulator, governance code and accountability to comply...
Jan 10, 2023•55 min•Season 1Ep. 4
In this episode of THEBOARDCHECKUP, the focus is the Case for Board Performance Assessment to Prevent Child Abuse in New York State. Mr. Timothy Hathaway, Executive Director of Prevent Child Abuse New York, Dr. Vincent Palusci, Board Chair, and Mr. Zakhar Berkovich, Treasurer share their experience with the practice of performance assessment and how it helped the board and staff work more collaboratively as a team to advance the mission of preventing child abuse by building strong families and c...
Jan 26, 2022•49 min•Season 1Ep. 3
In this episode of THEBOARDCHECKUP, I speak with Chief Development Officer of Corner Stones of Care, Dr. Chad Harris about his experience helping the boards he is associated with grow in leadership and governance effectiveness through the practice of board performance assessment. I think you will find Chad’s approach to the practice holistic and leadership of the process helpful, particularly for boards that are going through a merger and rethinking their governance arrangements. It will also be...
Nov 12, 2021•38 min•Season 1Ep. 2
In this board performance case study series, I interview boards who self-assessed performance for the very first time using an online application known as Board Checkup. In Episode 1, The Case of the Board of EIL Ireland, I interview the CEO and Board Chair to explore what motivated them to self-assess board performance, how they coordinated and implemented the process, what they found and discussed, the changes they made, lessons learned and advice for other boards considering the practice. Fol...
Sep 21, 2021•1 hr 4 min•Season 1Ep. 1
