Role of the Board Chair Series

Leading a group of governance volunteers can be challenging as well as rewarding. Serving as the chair of the board is not a role for the uninspired and undecided. In this workshop, participants will learn about the chair’s responsibility in strengthening and improving the leadership work of the board as a whole.

This course is a great primer for new board chairs and excellent refresher for more seasoned board members! Whether you’re a current chair, chair-elect, or head up a committee, this workshop covers leadership skills every board member needs. Topics include: leadership characteristics of effective board leaders, key relationships in and out of the board room, your leadership legacy, facilitating meetings that matter, and ways to engage individual board members.

Learning Outcomes

You will leave with:

A better understanding of the board chair’s responsibility in strengthening the work of the board as a whole.
Strategies that can help you lead more effectively as a board chair.
Ways to more effectively structure board meetings and engage individual board members at meetings.

Course Outline

Part 1: What Kind of Leader are You?

• The Changing Landscape of Nonprofit Leadership – What’s Important Now
• Characteristics of Great Board Leaders –How do You Measure Up?
• Your North Star – What Will Your Legacy Be?

Part 2: What’s Your Job as Board Chair?

• Common Mistakes and Frustrations
• The Do’s and Dont’s of Effective Chairmanship
• How to Make the Most of Key Relationships, including the Board Chair – ED partnership

Part 3: Meetings that Matter

• The Bone structure: A Masterful Agenda, Meeting Mechanics, Strategic Information, Ways to Evaluate Meetings
• Shaping Powerful Questions that generate great discussion

Part 4: Presiding vs Facilitating

• How to Develop Facilitative Leadership
• Communication Tips for Effective Listeners
• The people side of things – managing meeting dynamics and conflict