You will find over a dozen of ways to improve your organization with trainings and consultations, in these categories: Organizational, Board, and Leadership Development.

Each will be customized to fit your particular context.

Dust collector or road map? Strategic planning done right gathers all the possibilities, then charts the course into the future with well-defined steps, engaging leadership and deepening their passion for service.

Outcomes:

• Customized survey to key leaders, stakeholders, staff, and board

• Comprehensive strategic plan

• Step-by-step work plan to ensure this investment turns into action

Working collaboratively as a staff is challenging—silos abound!   Staff members know their own work areas, but they don’t always see how that fits with the work of others, and the mission of the organization.  There are two ways to solve this issue:  a deep dive with work plans for all staff, or a general organizational calendar and a realistic work plan for the organization.  This is a customized service and makes a great staff retreat.   

 Outcomes:

• Organizational work plan

• Individual work plan

• Tools and templates

• Organizational calendar and timeline

Healthy organizations find their impact maximized by well-functioning boards.  Yet in many cases even seasoned board members have never been trained for their board service. Here are some ways I can advance your board to new levels of engagement:

Board members are sometimes thrown into the deep end of the pool without swim lessons, or even floaties! Members who are trained in their roles and responsibilities become more engaged and committed in their service, and lead the organization to higher functioning. Training topics and duration will be customized to the needs of the organization.

Training topics include:

• Mission and purpose

• Financial oversight

• Fundraising

• Human resource roles

• Legal and fiduciary responsibilities

A bike may have pedals and wheels, but if the chain has slipped off, you won’t get very far down the road. Get the many moving parts of board governance working together to reach optimum output.

Training topics include:

• Designing a board orientation process

• Defining a committee structure that works, including committee job descriptions

• Constructing agendas that drive meaningful conversations

• Establishing a formalized recruitment process

• Understanding your bylaws and where they might need revisions

Are you scrambling just days (or minutes!) before the meeting to pull together a board agenda and packet? STOP! This easy-to-implement process will help organize the workflow for board and committees. This consulting project offers a calendar process, outlines of agendas, a task list for all working committees, and this bonus: you gain the reputation of being “on top of your game”! You will never go back to last-minute planning.

Outcomes:

• Board calendar template

• Committee calendar template

• Committee task lists

• Outline for committee job descriptions

Do you have the right people at the table? This is the most important work of board and often done with the least amount of thought. Recruiting can be done year-round, not with haphazard end-of-the-year desperation. Let me help you build a comprehensive board recruitment and on-boarding strategy.

Outcomes:

• Process for identifying key board members

• Board profile worksheet

• Board job descriptions

• Nomination form

• Board commitment form

• Conflict-of-interest form

• Board evaluation

• Board orientation binders and agenda

Meetings, like houses, sometimes need a makeover. Do board members skip meetings, come in late, leave early? Redesign your meetings to bring fresh meaning and engagement to all the people at the table—it’s like the HGTV of board meetings.

Outcomes:

• Agenda template

• Meeting evaluation

• Meeting packets

Bumps on a log? Or productive advocates and friends of the organization? Simple procedures will teach board members to nail their elevator pitch, reignite their passion for the mission, and become more effective in opening doors to donors.

Outcomes:

• Fundraising culture assessment

• Getting inside the donor’s head

• Building an elevator pitch

• Fundraising team reflection

Investing in leadership pays big dividends!  Learning best practices, gaining fresh perspective, knowing how to create an engaged and confident team—these things can help leaders, both executive directors and board chairs, improve their skills for greatest impact. 

If the Board is struggling with its annual evaluation process, help is here! A proper job description, evaluation tool, and goals for the new year are all components that provide clear communication between the Board and Executive Director.

Outcomes:

• Executive Director job description review

• Tool for Executive Director evaluation

• Goal-setting template for the new year

Are you new to your role and need some guidance? Or have you been at this a while and find yourself at a crossroads with board and staff? Being an executive director can feel lonely and isolating. Gaining clarity by having a seasoned outside perspective may be what you need. Design a coaching plan that puts you on the road to success rather than believing you may need to look for your next job.

Do you have a board chair who is a great leader, but could be even stronger with some direction and encouragement? Invest in their leadership and you will be investing in your success.

Coaching on these vital skills:

• Managing the meeting

• Creating meaningful, engaging agendas

• Defining the relationship between the CEO/Executive Director and Board Chair

• Managing disruption

• Using meeting evaluations for improvement

The right person for the right time in the life of your organization is key. The next board chair or treasurer does not have to be the person working their way up the ranks, but someone with the needed skills for today’s challenges.

Outcomes:

• Leadership succession toolkit

• Leadership development assessment grid for incumbent and prospective officers and committee chairs

• Personal board leadership development plan

Have you prepared for the inevitable? There are multiple scenarios where Executive Directors leave a position. Some are unplanned and almost always untimely. Planning for the future is not an insult to current leadership. Succession planning ensures the right steps are in place for a smooth transition.