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SERVICES...

B. For Organizations:

Customized Implementation of Policy Governance®*

*Policy Governance® is an internationally registered service mark of John Carver. Registration is only to ensure accurate description of the model rather than for financial gain. The model is available free to all with no royalties or licence fees for its use. The authoritative website for Policy Governance is www.carvergovernance.com.

Policy Governance® is the world's only comprehensive, universal system of board governance. Developed by Dr. John Carver more than 30 years ago, this system emphasizes the production of meaningful outcomes (ENDS policies) and true accountability in board leadership practices. The other parts of the policy framework (MEANS policies) enable boards to achieve owner accountable, ethical and effective governance… while mitigating risk.

'We are a policy governance board' is a common refrain. Many boards who say this do so because they create or use policies. In actual fact Policy Governance® boards govern on the basis of 10 value based, universally applicable principles, the same ones upon which Policy Governance® was created more than 40 years ago. (Contact Susan for a copy of these principles in the Policy Governance® Source Document)

One of the greatest advantages of governing by principles is that board, committee and the CEO roles, responsibilities and relationships are clarified in perpetuity. This means that performance expectations of both Boards and their CEOs are crystal clear and easy to measure. Another exceptional advantage of this principle based governance system is that it obligates boards to govern on behalf of a higher authority, that of its legal and/or moral owners or shareholders, and to create and sustain proactive and meaningful dialogue with them.

A change to governance by Policy Governance® principles is a paradigm shift, not merely a set of incremental changes to the status quo. And contrary to some myths, Policy Governance® is appropriate for ALL boards, regardless of whether they have a CEO or no staff at all!

Using a combination of workshops and governance coaching, ROGERS Leadership Consulting will facilitate a customized version of the following transformation process with your organization's board of directors and CEO and sometimes the senior leadership team. Each step of this process is designed to meet the unique needs and culture of your organization.

  1. INTRODUCTION TO POLICY GOVERNANCE®: …usually a half to one-day workshop introducing the basic concepts and principles of Policy Governance®. Some organizations request an additional introductory workshop for their senior staff to explore the potential impacts of Policy Governance® on the operational team.

  2. DEVELOPING A POLICY FRAMEWORK: …usually one, two or three days of customized policy development and/or coaching specific to your organization. This step in the implementation process also assures that policies: reflect the latest thinking and best practices in governance and Policy Governance® applications, ensure oversight, mitigate board risk and accelerate results.

  3. MONITORING ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE: …usually a half-day or day long workshop and/or coaching (often for both the board and senior staff) to develop skills in producing measurable indicators of success, benchmarking, tracking and evaluating both board and CEO results. Developing the 'reasonable interpretations' and the 'rationale' of board policies is the step most frequently overlooked by boards that use Policy Governance®. Yet without the 'reasonable interpretations', data is often rendered useless and board discussion becomes bogged down, resulting in minimal progress towards the organization's Ends or outcomes.

  4. STRATEGIC GOVERNANCE PLANNING: …usually a half-day or day long workshop and/or coaching to develop the board's customized annual or multi-year work plan from which are drawn the the board's meeting agendas. This governance plan contains the Board's strategies and action steps to accomplish its governance job. Minimally this job is:
    1. creating and sustaining linkages with its moral ownership,
    2. creating and sustaining its framework of written policies, and
    3. assuring organizational performance.
    Other Board jobs range from annual general meetings, bylaw review, board evaluation, board education, teambuilding, and a host of others depending on the requirements or provincial or national legislation and incorporating documents. This strategic governance plan will incorporate all of these other responsibilities.

  5. POLICY GOVERNANCE® COACHING: …ongoing coaching support as needed to help the board and the CEO implement the new principles and policies into their leadership practices. Most client boards choose to retain ROGERS Leadership Consulting on a year-round basis as their governance coach.

Why Coaching Support?

Throughout the board's transition in governance practice, in the workshop and policy development process, a list of related issues and concerns usually emerges. This list often includes strategic planning, financial reporting, change management, membership or ownership concerns, board performance expectations of itself and the CEO, board attendance, bylaws and teambuilding.

At this point in the implementation or transformation process, the organization has invested significant human and financial resources towards achieving governance competence. 'Governance coaching' helps reinforce new learning, solve unforeseen challenges, and prevents slippage into ineffectual habits.

For both new and experienced practitioners of Policy Governance®, Governance Coaching helps to sustain owner accountable, ethical and effective governance. Customized to meet the needs and culture of the organization, this coaching support typically includes but is not limited to:

To explore the Implementation of Policy Governance® for your organization, please contact Susan Rogers at (204) 475-2488 or by e-mail at susanerogers@shaw.ca.

ROGERS Leadership Consulting

E-mail: susanerogers@shaw.ca

Phone: (204) 475-2488

101 - 478 River Avenue, Suite #717
Winnipeg, MB Canada R3L 0B3

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