Broward Center for Nonprofit Excellence has partnered with nationally recognized BoardSource facilitators to kick off a year long focus on building, strengthening, renewing, and invigorating your Board of Directors. Our 4 session series is designed for the President/CEO/Executive Director AND 2 board members, ideally the board chair and another executive board member. The 3 of you attend all 4 sessions together and take what you learn back to the rest of the members. To maximize your time and convenience, the first and last session are IN PERSON at Community Foundation of Broward, and the other two sessions are VIRTUAL via zoom. Commit your trio, your energy and ideas to all 4 sessions, and the Nonprofit Center will cover the entire cost of the program!

SESSION 2: Effective Board Structures

Board dynamics, the interpersonal relations between board members and board and senior staff, have a high level of importance to the Board’s governing effectiveness. Boards with high levels of trust will engage in more robust discussions that can result in better leadership decisions. Board member collaboration results in more positive impacts for the entire organization. Thus, exceptional boards govern in constructive partnership with the chief executive and staff, recognizing that the effectiveness of this relationship is interdependent.

The board is a powerful force supporting the organization, and the best CEOs see their boards as a strategic asset. Chief executives and boards excel when they understand that they are mutually dependent on one another to create a successful organization. This session explains how boards can create the culture that will foster engagement, trust and collaboration, as well as provide clarity around respective roles for a constructive partnership as well as ways to build genuine mutual respect. Participants will identify take-aways to strengthen the board culture at their organization.

Objectives

· Create a governance culture that encourages engagement, trust and collaboration

· Define constructive partnership

· Explain characteristics of effective partnership

· Understand shared leadership and succession planning

· Use board meeting and committee practices that contribute to effective governance

Facilitator David Styers is an independent consultant based in the greater New York area and has served as a Senior Governance Consultant for BoardSource since 2007. He brings nearly three decades of nonprofit consulting and training experience, as well as an extensive background working at the forefront of civic engagement in volunteer and leadership development.

David provides project management, consulting, and training services on best governance practices, emerging trends and developments in the nonprofit sector, and chief executive assessment and coaching. He is a Rapid Innovation Lab facilitator, Civic Change Leadership trainer, and Youth Leadership trainer. David has expertise in board responsibilities, fundraising, leadership and partnership development, outcomes measurement, strategic planning, and volunteer management. His clients have included local, state, national, and international organizations.

David is currently Director, Learning and Leadership Programs at the League of American Orchestras and the representative for volunteers at the United Nations. Through his work at Ascent Leadership Networks in New York City and the Presidio Trust in San Francisco, he has run fellowship and leadership education programs for corporate, nonprofit, and government leaders.

LEARNING LAB: Board Builders SESSION 2 VIRTUAL - Effective Board Structures