Board Leadership, 2001 - Policy Governance in Action

Articles include: What Use is Business Experience on a Nonprofit orGovernmental Board? Most boards assume that business experience can be a greatasset in board members. And it can be--but as John Carver explains,not in the ways many managers may assume. Uncovering the Value of the Right Word by Caroline Oliver Most people join boards for selfless reasons, because theywant to "make a difference." Received wisdom tells us that making adifference is grueling and overwhelming work, and unfortunately themuddled governance procedures of most boardsseem to prove the case.In this article, Caroline Oliver, chair of the International PolicyGovernance Association, shows us why the Policy Governance boardmust disabuse itself of the orthodoxy that says that there is aone-to-one relationship between effort and effectiveness. Relyingon just a handful of concise policies, the Policy Governance boarddictates a whole range of organizational ends and so has more timeto govern than the board that busies itself with staff means. ThePolicy Governance board may have a more straightforward job thanthe traditional board, but it is also more effective.