This may sound crazy, but it works. Want a great way to refresh your governance? Take a few moments to pull out your bylaws and read them. Do they still make sense? Are you following them? If your answer is “no” or “sort of” then work with your entire Board team to review and update them.

The review process itself is a great way to engage and educate your Board, especially when done in conjunction with Board term changes, re-elections, or a nominating process. You may even wish to set aside a small part of each board meeting for a "How We Govern" or bylaws-related discussion.

Fast Company Expert Blogger Alice Korngold recently posted 6 attributes of an effective nonprofit Board Chair. Here's our abridged take on her post. The Board Chair:

1. "Gets" the mission and actively shares it with existing and potential donors, partners, and others in community.
2. Partners with CEO to create agendas that drive strategic Board engagement.
3. Understands the importance of succession planning and developing next-gen board leaders.
4. Works closely with Board and staff leadership to identify and recruit qualified, and diverse, new Board members.
5. Makes a leadership-level financial gift and asks other Board members to do so as well.
6. Meets with other board members one-to-one to ensure max use of their skills and abilities, and max potential for the Board.

Read Korngold's full blog post here.

Now is the time of year when many nonprofits and NGOs dive into their goals, and almost every organization that I serve has a number of goals related to Board Governance. The Society of Corporate Secretaries & Governance Professionals has a terrific 36-page publication called "Governance for Nonprofits, From Little Leagues to Big Universities" that I encourage you to share with your Board either now, or after the holidays. It includes:

• Basic Board responsibilities and legal obligations
• Building and maintaining an effective Board, including personal qualities of effective Board members, Board structure and operation, and running effective meetings
• Making Board service fulfilling
• Templates and sample meeting rules and agendas, and
• Tips for basic meeting minutes and reports

In addition to the above, the guide also includes a Board evaluation tool, and a checklist for Board members to use to make sure that the Board is operating effectively and ethically.

View the full report here. (pdf reader required)

Contributed by Laura Deaton.

When attending conferences, I always seek out off-the-beaten-path learning opportunities so the session, "A Military Perspective on Board Leadership" caught my eye at the recent regional Building Better Boards training in Florida's panhandle. Brigadier Gen. Neil Snyder (Ret.) and RADM Rick Grant (Ret.) shared the Army and Navy points of view, and also covered the Marine's perspective on behalf of Gen. Robert Milligan (Ret.) who had a last minute emergency. 

As I expected, there was a fair amount of the "command-and-control" language that doesn't really translate well into effective nonprofit governance, but there were also a few pearls and gems to pass on.

Military Leadership "Pearl" - Expectations, Tools, Feedback

The first was a very practical look at common leadership styles across military branches and both presenters agreed that they carry these three fundamental principles with them as a result of their training:

(1) Ensure that expectations for actions and performance are clearly and explicitly communicated.

(2) Provide the tools that are needed to meet or exceed expectations.

(3) Use regular feedback to reinforce positive progress, and to allow for timely corrective action.

What if every Board of Directors did just these three things? Well, it would likely mean that:

(1) The Board and staff team would have clear vision-based goals, objectives, outcomes, benchmarks, and performance measures.

(2) The staff team would have the operational, financial, and human resources needed to provide high-impact mission-based programs and services.

(3) The Board and staff would regularly self-assess, celebrate successes, and re-trench if and when a Plan B becomes necessary.

Hard to argue with that result, isn't it?

Tactical "Gem" - 5 Paragraph Field Order

The second great "find" from this session was learning about the "5 Paragraph Field Order." I've never heard of it before, but according to Wikipedia, it is commonly used to convey critical military information during tactical field engagement. 

General Snyder discussed it in this way:

Paragraph 1: Current Position. Summarize the current position and situation of the troops.

Paragraph 2: Mission. Describe the mission, including the Who, What, Where, When and Why.

Paragraph 3: Execution. Summarize the execution plan. Include desired outcomes, planned tactics, and specific instructions for troop coordination.

Paragraph 4: Logistics. Describe available weapons (tools), resources, and back-up.

Paragraph 5: Command and Signal.  Summarize who is in charge, and how they will communicate their directives.

I've been thinking about the usefulness of the field order in enhancing communications in general, and I really like its concise format as a mini-strategic plan.  It creates clarity, and could be used effectively for a wide variety of communications, particularly for organizations going through transitions or challenging times.  In essence, it's a great quick gut-check for whether you are ready to take action, and just takes a few moments to create.

Can you see other applications for these or other military practices to the nonprofit sector?