Governance Inspection
Explore the structures, roles, culture and practices guiding your association.
Inspect Your GovernanceCategory: Origin Story
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Nearly 15 years ago, a gentleman by the name of Stan Phelps entered my world. He had worked for years in marketing and had recently written a new book. He was looking to make an entry into the association community. His book? Purple Goldfish. There have been numerous books that have stayed with me over…
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This week, I will travel to Durham, North Carolina, to sit down with key leaders from three nonprofit organizations whose mission is to help move people experiencing the crisis of homelessness into stable housing as quickly and responsibly as possible. These discovery conversations are part of a project I am working on through Moss &…
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Am I the only one who still geeks out walking the aisles of Office Depot or Staples? It completely takes me back to my days of going back-to-school shopping. I remember hoping to find the Trapper Keeper in my favorite color or the cool Matchbox-branded pencils with the case and built-in pencil sharpener. And there…
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Football fanatics have the Super Bowl and now the expanded college football playoffs. Basketball fans have the Sweet Sixteen and the Final Four. Golfers have the Masters and the U.S. Open. Music and film lovers have the Grammys and the Oscars. Well, for me, as an association geek who truly geeks out on membership statistics,…
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Several months ago, I unveiled my House of Governance™ framework during a webinar hosted by Ed Rigsbee, CSP, CAE. During the Q&A portion, Ed asked me about one of the domains of the House: Culture, Candor & Accountability. The question was really more like a challenge. “How do you maintain a positive culture on a…
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Over the last few weeks, I have been talking about the role of the interim in a nonprofit organization. I have broken down what an interim does, and does not do. I have talked about the costs, not just to the bottom line, of not having an interim. And I have touched on why a…
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When an organization experiences the loss of its CEO, whether by retirement, death, resignation, or termination, it is not only an operational issue. It is emotional as well. The board may feel pressure to project stability, protect the organization’s reputation, reassure staff, keep members calm, and move quickly. In that moment, hiring an outside interim…
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In the last 20 years, I’ve had the chance to guide several nonprofit organizations. During that time, I’ve seen transitions handled well, handled quickly, handled internally, and handled under pressure. Each situation has taught me that the real cost of transition is not always visible on the balance sheet. The following are not stories about…
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Often, when board members or other nonprofit leaders hear the term “interim,” they immediately think of a placeholder. And that’s not surprising. It’s not unusual for a board, upon hearing they are losing their CEO, to make a knee-jerk reaction and appoint a past board chair or an internal staff member as the interim. While…
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There are times in life when something new gets added to your story and you immediately realize it was not really new at all. It was just another piece of the puzzle finally finding its place. Recently, I was officially certified as an interim executive through Armstrong McGuire’s Interim Management Institute. After sharing the update…