I was recently talking with a board member whose nonprofit had gone through a pretty elaborate strategic planning process that had, so far as I could tell, generated some respectable planning products, such as an updated vision statement and a set of long-range strategic targets with measurable indicators for monitoring progress.   “So,” I said, “tell me about the board’s role in the process.”  “That’s simple,” she said, “we were asked to bless the plan at the tail-end when staff presented it in a special work session.”  She went on to say, “It’s just another example of not making a big difference in our work on the board, and I’ve about had it with being treated like a high-level audience; that’s not what I signed on for.  And don’t think it’s just me.  We’re all pretty discouraged about the role we’re playing.”

The bottom line, which I see all too often:  good staff work; a decent product; a tremendous missed opportunity to strengthen the board-CEO partnership; and erosion of the partnership as a result.  If the CEO in this case had been wearing his Psychologist-In-Chief Hat, he would have recognized that board members who find their governing work ego satisfying and feel like owners of the work make better partners.  And if he’d been wearing his Chief Process Designer Hat, he would have taken the trouble to map out practical ways to involve his board members in the strategic planning process that would provide them with ego satisfaction and foster feelings of ownership.

To take a simple example, many CEOs these days who are sensitive to the psychological and emotional dimension of their relationship with their board design into their strategic planning process an annual board-executive retreat as a way of involving board members at a high level early in the process when they can make a real contribution, rather than just serving as an audience for a finished plan.  By using breakout groups led by board members to brainstorm vision and values, strategic issues, and possible strategic targets, they not only generate serious front-end board input that builds board ownership of the ultimate strategic plan, they also provide board members with an ego-satisfying experience.  And these board-savvy CEOs also well know that if their board has a planning committee that is responsible for overseeing the strategic planning process, they will add a large dollop of ego gratification and ownership.  Bottom line:  a stronger board-CEO partnership that is better able to withstand the inevitable stresses and strains at the top of the organization in these really challenging times.

A closing observation from my experience over the years:  CEOs who spend their time worrying about board “micromanagement” and obsessing about the need to keep the board out of their business are very likely to miss relationship-building opportunities because of their defensive mind-set.  The two hats I’ve talked about are very unlikely to be tried on, and the board-CEO relationship will suffer as a consequence.

The Good Samaritan Health Clinic of Pasco is what you’d call a “volunteer-driven” nonprofit.  The Clinic’s five paid staff - two full-time and three part-time - couldn’t serve even a small fraction of the 3,500-some patients who receive medical and dental services from the clinic annually.  Volunteers – physicians, dentists, physician assistants, nurses, pharmacists, and clerical staff – make the Clinic run, and they are a present-day embodiment of the Good Samaritan in the parable that Jesus tells in Luke’s New Testament Gospel.

Over the past couple of years, I’ve had the privilege of serving – on a pro bono basis – as “governance counsel” to the Clinic’s Board of Directors and CEO.  In this capacity, I’ve worked closely with the Board President, Dr. Steve Goldman, Vice President Ellie Paladine, and CEO Melissa Fahy, along with other Board members serving on the Clinic Board’s Governance Task Force, helping them clarify the Board’s governing role and put a modern committee structure in place.  As I’ve worked with the Clinic, I’ve been impressed by the hundreds of hours that Steve, Ellie, and other volunteers devote to serving the Clinic’s patients, who lack health insurance, don’t qualify for Medicare or Medicaid and can’t afford to pay for medical or dental care.  And I’ve been amazed that these incredibly busy community leaders can carve out any time at all for the Clinic from their crowded schedules.  They’re not only true Good Samaritans, they also embody the spirit that fuels America’s thriving and essential nonprofit sector.  Can you imagine what it would be like for millions of Americans without the modern Good Samaritans who volunteer precious time and energy in nonprofits of all shapes and sizes all over this country?

I was deeply touched a few weeks ago, when Barbara Krai, my wife and close professional associate, and I attended Good Sam’s annual Nurses Gala.  I was bowled over when, to my utter surprise, Ellie Paladine invited me to the podium after dinner, and I was presented with a lovely engraved crystal platter in recognition of my pro bono service as the Clinic’s governance counsel.  I felt honored, but I was keenly aware that my contribution paled by comparison with the many hours that Steve Goldman, Ellie Paladine, and many other volunteers give to Good Sam day after day after day.  They are, indeed, latter-day Good Samaritans.     

     Doug Eadie and Ellie Paladine

Doug Eadie and Barbara Krai

Kurt Foreman and I will be presenting a “webinar” for the International Economic Development Council on June 16:  Building High-Impact Board-CEO Partnerships in Challenging Times.”  Kurt is the president & CEO of the North Louisiana Economic Partnership, and we’ll be featuring the work of NLEP’s Governance Task Force.  The task force spent four months, with my consulting assistance, coming up with a number of recommendations for strengthening the NLEP Board’s governing capacity, including adopting a “Board Governing Mission” that lays out the major governing responsibilities and functions of the Board and putting in place a structure of standing committees to help the Board do its detailed governing work.

As Kurt and I put the PowerPoint slide presentation together this week in preparation for the webinar, we talked about the factors that accounted for the Governance Task Force’s success as a change agent.  Without question, it was a highly effective vehicle for change, since the new committee structure is up and running, among other things.  So why did the Task Force prove to be such a powerful tool for getting significant change accomplished?

Kurt and I have talked about a number of reasons why the Task Force effort had turned out so well, such as really strong co-chairs, a diverse composition, and consulting assistance.  But what topped the list with no close second was the highly visible ownership of Task Force members.  By ownership, Kurt and I mean that all 10 members of the Task Force felt that the recommendations really belonged to them, and this was communicated clearly to their peers on the NLEP Planning Council, which unanimously adopted all of the recommendations.  This is the polar opposite of the traditional approach of hiring a consultant to come up with a report and merely present it to the decision makers.

Where did these feeling of ownership come from?  First, Kurt and I are convinced that involving the Governance Task Force from the very get-go in shaping the recommendations in its report ensured that Task Force members owned recommendations.  Yes, there was consulting assistance, but the Task Force was always in the driver’s seat, directing the consultant and thoroughly reviewing his work.  Second, Kurt and I agree that making sure members of the Task Force presented their recommendations to the Planning Council themselves – peers presenting to peers – not only cemented their ownership, but also strongly signaled it to Council members.  We actually held a “dress rehearsal” so Task Force presenters would feel comfortable with the PowerPoint slides they were presenting, and we made sure that the consultant played a back-up role and wasn’t ever on center stage during the presentation.

Kurt and I would be very interested in hearing how other public and nonprofit organizations have fostered feelings of ownership among their volunteer leaders to get significant change accomplished. 

You can register for the IEDC webinar, by the way, at:  http://www.iedconline.org/calendar_event.php?calendar_event_id=1269.

I was bowled over by the attendance at my workshop on April 10 at the annual meeting of the National School Boards Association in Chicago.  Thinking that 50 people would be a respectable turnout, I was delighted that over 200 showed up – standing room only, with many disappointed people turned away at the door.  Clearly, the subject of my workshop – “Taking Command of Strategic Change” – struck a real chord among school board members and superintendents.

I really shouldn’t have been surprised.  These are challenging times, and old-time strategic/long-range planning, with its pounds of paper and thousands of words, can’t cut the mustard where dealing with strategic issues in a rapidly changing world is concerned.  Judging from the questions participants asked and the evaluation forms that were submitted, the education leaders in my workshop thought that my Strategic Change Portfolio model for leading change made the best of sense.  In brief, the model involves identifying strategic issues in the form of challenges/problems (e.g., a looming revenue shortfall) and opportunities (a possible partnership with the business community), selecting the highest stakes issues, fashioning Strategic Change Initiatives to address the issues, and managing implementation of the Initiatives in a portfolio kept separate from day-to-day operations.  You might want to check out my paper on the subject – “Applying the Strategic Change Portfolio Model” – at www.DougEadie.com/resources/.

My workshop participants at NSBA-Chicago were very interested in a large-scale change initiative going on in the Hillsborough County Public Schools here in Tampa Bay, Florida.  The initiative – a large-scale effort to strengthen teacher effectiveness, supported by a $100 million grant from the Gates Foundation – is described in my column in the May issue of NSBA’s “American School” magazine:  “A Bold Partnership.”  You can also find the column at www.DougEadie.com/resources/.

I’d like to hear from you about your experience in managing strategic issues in your organization.  Contact me at Doug@DougEadie.com.  

I wish you could’ve traveled around Tampa Bay with the Blind Visionary Express on Friday, February 19.  In this and the following blogs in this series, I’ll be sharing highlights from this really power-packed day that saw Virginia Jacko, co-author with me of The Blind Visionary,   and I and our little entourage trekking from Tampa to St. Petersburg to Safety Harbor from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., introducing The Blind Visionary and Virginia to hundreds of new admirers. If you agree with me that the lessons in our book are worth sharing widely, I’d really like to have your thoughts about ways we might introduce Virginia and The Blind Visionary in your community.  You can send your ideas to Doug@DougEadie.com.

The Blind Visionary Express stopped first at Hillsborough High School in Tampa, where Virginia spoke to 150-plus student leaders in the Social Media Center.  MaryEllen Elia, superintendent of the Hillsborough Public Schools – one of the 10 largest districts in the country – gave Virginia a truly heartfelt introduction.  She focused on Virginia’s courage and tenacity in turning a tragedy – losing her eyesight to retinitis pigmentosa – into a triumph – becoming  president and CEO of the Miami Lighthouse.  By the way, as the mother of a highly accomplished son who also lost his eyesight to retinitis pigmentosa, MaryEllen not only easily relates to Virginia’s story, but she’s also passionate about meeting challenges head-on and about the responsibility of public schools to serve their blind students.

“Go Terriers!”  Virginia’s opening words – greeted by enthusiastic cheers – got the students’ attention, and, looking around while she was talking about her amazing journey from Purdue to the Miami Lighthouse, I could tell that she wasn’t ever in danger of losing her audience the least bit – a testimony to the wonderful stories in The Blind Visionary and Virginia’s skill in telling them.  Virginia touched briefly on each of the four lessons from Part Three of The Blind Visionary – reaching out aggressively; taking action; not giving in to fear; and keeping things in perspective – telling a vivid story from our book for each lesson.  You could’ve heard a pin drop, for example, when Virginia explained how she decided, on her way out the door of the president’s office at Purdue University, that she couldn’t keep going in her job and needed start all over at the Miami Lighthouse as a vocational rehabilitation student.  I could tell that her core message was really hitting home:  Take Action!  Don’t let yourself be a victim!  Overcoming challenges, whatever they are, is what gives life meaning, so go for it, boys and girls!

The Blind Visionary Express was even more special to me because of the family members who climbed aboard and worked really hard to make February 19 a great day.  In addition to myself and Virginia, our entourage included my wife, Barbara Krai, my son, William, representing our publisher, Governance Edge, who flew in from Cleveland and my sister Kay Sue Nagle, who flew in from Chicago for the party. 

From Hillsborough High School, the Blind Visionary Express headed to the Lions Eye Institute in Tampa, where parents and students were participating in the Braille Challenge.  But I’ll tell you about that in my next blog.  Don’t forget:  I want your ideas for getting out the word far and wide on Virginia’s amazing journey and the powerful lessons in it for all of us.

“Don’t let fear win.”  That’s the third lesson that Virginia Jacko and I discuss in Part Three of our new book, The Blind Visionary, which is due out in mid-January 2010 from Governance Edge Publishers.  You’ll recall that The Blind Visionary is about Virginia’s incredible journey. It begins at Purdue University, where Virginia slowly but surely goes blind while working as a senior financial executive.  Virginia’s journey continues at the Miami Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired, where she starts all over as a vocational rehabilitation student and only four years later is the Lighthouse’s president & CEO.

I think you’ll really like what Virginia has to say in The Blind Visionary about not letting fear defeat you.  Here’s just a small sample:

“Maybe it’s kind of too obvious to mention, but I really do think that being a positive thinker has helped me get over fears.  It’s really close to the idea of believing in myself.  I don’t think I’m being – what do you call it? - a Pollyanna, when I try to see the glass half-full.  To me, it’s simple:  You waste precious time and energy on negative thoughts.  You’ve only got so much energy and you’ve only got so much time.  And so you can choose how you spend your time.  You can choose how you spend your thoughts.  And so spending much time on something negative is not really productive.  And I really think it comes more from that attitude than that I’m such a bubbly, Everything’s Okay!, type.  Because I don’t think that really is me; I’ve always been a pretty hard-headed realist.  But that doesn’t mean I’m negative.  I just think that when you see a bump in the road you assume you can deal with it, you don’t expect it to defeat you.  So you tackle the bump realistically, you get over the bump, and you go on.  Because that’s your life.  That’s life.  That’s what it is.”

That’s pretty good advice, isn’t it?  You’ll find lots more in The Blind Visionary.  Check it out at www.GovernanceEdge.com. 

So I told myself to let go of Tracker, since it’d be tremendously difficult to get him out of the Bay on a ladder, and I resigned myself to having a swim, just like in a pool.  Indeed, the tide was in and the water was deep, so it really was like falling into a swimming pool.  When I came up, a gentleman who was standing on the sea wall looking down at me yelled, “Virginia, I’m a friend of your husband’s.  How can I help?”  By the way, I was a little embarrassed since I was sure he’d heard the expletive that popped out of my mouth when I got my breath – understandable, but not my normal style.  Bobbing in the water, I looked up and said calmly, “Oh, why don’t we get a ladder so I can climb back up.”  That’s what he did, and I climbed back up to the sea wall, to the applause of a crowd of onlookers that’d gathered for the unplanned entertainment.  What a sight I must have been!  Someone was nice enough to walk with me and Tracker back to my apartment. Tracker had just stayed on the edge watching the show, by the way.  I thought to myself, “Virginia you’ve got to change your clothes pronto and get back out there and walk around.”  And that’s exactly what I did.  You see, Doug, for one thing I didn’t want to get scared and lose my confidence.  And I wanted people to see I was alright and not to worry.