Customized board training program
The board of a provincial member-based association needed more than run-of-the-mill director training. The organization was created in a complex governance environment, with multiple roles, legislative requirements and roles that confused the board’s oversight with self-interest. The board wanted a clearer, more confident understanding of how to govern effectively within that context, which called for customized education grounded in its real structure, obligations and challenges.
SECTOR
Non-profit sector association, created by a special Act
Size
14 directors, 6 committees
Pathway
Learn → Building Governance Capability
Engagement
4 months, 2024-2025
01
The Situation
A provincial member-based association had unusual governance needs: board training for directors who wear multiple "hats," and a governance model - board size, representation, and election processes  that were baked directly into the legislation that created the organization.
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Those complexities couldn't be addressed with a run-of-the-mill governance training session.
02
Our Process
Over four months, we customized our Board Leapfrog(r) director training curriculum for this organization, in order to tailor it for the association's specific legislated mandate and the reality of its directors who interact and engage in several other ways besides sitting on the board – many holding more than one role at once.
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We approached the customization through a series of activities:
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Reviewing the relevant Act and the organization’s governing documents
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Running our Board Healthscore(tm) rapid diagnostic tool to identify opportunities for greater governance effectiveness
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Making ten recommendations to the board, some of which were agreed right away and built into the training
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Designing a custom, easy to implement program:
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A full-day, in-person customized Board Leapfrog(r) workshop
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Our ‘Four Hats’ activity: experiential learning using a real-life scenario that challenges directors to think through their multiple roles, while emphasizing their director role specifically
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Access to two online learning modules on financial oversight and legal essentials for non-profit directors
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03
The Outcome
We heard recently the board now references one of our training techniques, the "Four Hats," whenever a discussion touches on their overlapping roles. That tells us the learning stuck long after our engagement ended.
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And this year, we're training the organization's own staff to deliver their customized Board Leapfrog® program directly, giving them the flexibility to onboard new directors with the right perspective and understanding, and more broadly, the in-house capability to support other organizations in the same sector needing governance support.
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The Outcome
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