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Our latest two day retreat with the Aspen Group allowed us to craft some new Ends statements that are second to none in the country in terms of providing the overall vision to our District administration. I believe that this vision has enervated the administration by providing this vision, and I see a new energy coming from that group. This could never have been accomplished without the leadership, direction, and facilitation of Randy Quinn and Linda Dawson. THEY HAVE SAVED OUR DISTRICT FROM MEDIOCRITY!."
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Larry W. Ishmael, Former Board Member
Issaquah School District, WA |
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Ask any board member to identify the primary function of the board. Chances are that eight of the first 10 answers you receive will be "policy." Now, ask those same board members to list the decisions they made at their last board meeting. How many of those decisions were policy-level decisions? Our experience: virtually none.
The truth is, boards don't operate at the broad and powerful policy level. Most boards make decisions at the operational level - the place where the CEO should exercise delegated authority, responsibility and accountability for day-to-day operations.
This preoccupation with operational issues by boards is what leads to confused roles, charges of micro-managing, wasted time, splintered vision and frustration.
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Governing models can be great theory. But do they work in Real Life?
The Aspen Group has devoted its busines to the task helping real boards make sound governing models work in real life.
The theoretical now is practical. | |
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The problem is not that boards resist functioning at the policy level. It is more due to the fact that boards simply haven't taken the time to assess their own performance and consciously discover how board decisions can be made at the broad policy level. It is much easier for boards to dabble in the day-to-day affairs of the organization, because these are the tangibles that readily can be addressed or "fixed." Creating an organizational vision and identifying long-term benefits for the people being served take more work - and thoughtful leadership. It is the most important work a board can do. Unfortunately, most boards have given away the best part of their jobs!
There is a better way. Boards can control operational decisions without helping the CEO make them. This delegation of authority, with accompanying monitoring for compliance, allows the board to focus its time and energies on the more important issue of whether the organization is making a difference for the owners or clients it serves.
We offer two governing models to help boards realize this potential: John Carver's Policy Governance® model, and our own variation, Coherent Governance. These are the two best tools we have found to help boards truly govern effectively, and allow CEOs to do the jobs for which they were hired. Both allow boards simultaneously to become more active and less intrusive.
For our public school board clients who choose the Policy Governance® route, we have adapted the model to reflect the special circumstances faced by these boards. This makes our product both unique and highly effective in this challenging environment.
The Coherenct Governance model, more fully described elsewhere, has similar features, but is designed to be even more "user-friendly" in many respects.
Policy Governance® is the registered service mark of John Carver. Carver's "Authoritative Website," is
www.carvergovernance.com |
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