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Posted By Clore Social Leadership,
01 August 2016
Updated: 07 December 2020
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John Williams is Vice Chair at the Association of Chairs.
It’s been a tough 12 months for Chairs and trustees. The charity sector has faced unprecedented challenge and criticism, and much of it has focused on apparent failings in governance and leadership. Chairs especially are under pressure to ensure their boards are responsible and effective, while continuing to deliver the maximum impact for their beneficiaries.
The Association of Chairs (AoC) was set up three years ago to support charity and other non-profit Chairs, and to champion good governance and leadership in the sector. Chairs tell us they find their role rewarding, but a surprising number say that they find it more lonely, demanding and complex than they expected. Even those with the most stellar CVs and broad skills and experience can find themselves outside their comfort zone.
Yet it is clear to us that there is neither a consistent nor sufficient level of support offered to Chairs, and this has been starkly confirmed by our recent survey.
Using our substantial database, we researched 360 respondents in a chairing role, including 140 AoC members. We found high levels of commitment to the role - 54% of Chairs spend four days or more per month on their chairing role - but there are significant gaps in support.
Overall 46% of boards have no budget for board development; only 19% had a formal allocated budget, with the remainder addressing development on a case by case basis. Perhaps more surprisingly is that only 34% of Chairs had an induction, arguably the most basic form of support.
The main support Chairs received was access to publications, conferences and events, and administrative support. Apart from publications, fewer than 50% had accessed any kind of development support in the last 12 months, with many restricting themselves to free sources of support.
It’s clear that there is too little financial and practical support given to Chairs for induction, training and personal development. A host of commentators and reports have argued that we need to raise the bar on charity governance. This is not optional - good leadership is critical to ensure charities achieve the social impact they seek. Both our experience and this research suggests that the appetite to learn and develop is there, but we need to find new and imaginative ways to step up that support. We will all benefit from this.
You can download more information regarding the survey results on the Association’s website.
We welcome your comments in response to this article which you can submit beneath this article, or contact John via Twitter.
Tags:
chairs
challenges
change
criticism
skills
trustees
value
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Posted By Clore Social Leadership,
15 June 2016
Updated: 07 December 2020
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It is common to hear that effective leadership requires conviction: acting in accordance and pursuit of one’s beliefs. I’m not sure this is right – at least not all the time. I think there is a lot to said for being a humble and courageous leader, grounded in evidence, rather than one driven solely by conviction.
The word ‘conviction’ is derived from the Latin convincere, from con- ‘with’ and vincere ‘conquer’. It implies that one’s mind is made up, and the job is to persuade or convince others.
Humility, on the other hand, implies that one does not know the answer. It suggests modesty and an acceptance that one’s own opinion or proposed course of action may not be the best.
A leader that embodies only conviction with no humility will likely polarise those they seek to lead and in some cases make poorly informed or biased decisions. On the other hand, a leader that embodies only humility probably won’t make any decisions at all.
So what is the way forward? I think it is humble and courageous leadership, with just a small dose of conviction where required. This means a starting point of intellectual curiosity, not a mind made up. It means adopting a scientist’s way of thinking in which one does not know the answer but is curious to find out. It means having the courage to question honestly one’s own convictions.
Evidence has a role. This may be drawing on the experiences of others that have gone before (and learning from it). Or it may involve going out to generate new data to test out ideas. The trick is to be genuinely humble and not do what many leaders (and politicians) do in cherry-picking evidence to support one’s own pre-existing conviction.
Sometimes evidence can point to a clear way forwards. Happy days. Often it is not so straight-forward - which leads us to courage.
Adopting a starting point of humility and engagement with evidence can surface some challenging scenarios. Probably the most likely scenario is that evidence does not point to a clear-cut way forward. Evidence may be sparse or it may be contradictory. This requires skill and courage to navigate uncertain waters. It is times like this when that dose of conviction is useful, tempered with a little humility.
Or sometimes evidence can challenge preconceived notions or convictions. It takes a braver leader to change course in light of new evidence than one that belligerently sticks to their guns.
You can share your views with Tim directly on Twitter via @tim_data_hobbs or post your comments below.
Tags:
change
conviction
courage
humble
value
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Posted By Clore Social Leadership,
18 April 2016
Updated: 07 December 2020
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Blog by Prue Skene, Leadership in Governance facilitator and Clore Leadership Programme Governance Associate.
I’ve led on board development for the Clore Leadership Programme for the cultural sector for some eight years now, and during that time have worked with dozens of arts boards. I’m now about to take some of that expertise and experience into the social sector, swapping from cultural to social leadership and devising a Clore Social Leadership workshop for Chairs and CEOsattending as pairs.
The first big question I have to ask myself when preparing for this is: What’s the difference between the two sectors as far as governance is concerned? And the answer seems to be very little. While Boards of artistic organisations often need coaxing to understand their role in artistic programming and risk, in the social sector they need to have great clarity about their beneficiaries and their causes. People might think that there’s more glamour about having access to first nights and private views but I’ve met very few Board members who put priority on such things. All Trustees need to leave vainglory at the door! I think fortunately for this country there are still a great number of souls who genuinely want to give something back and feel that joining a charitable Board helps them accomplish this.
The cultural world hasn’t had a Kids Company (yet!) but nonetheless that disaster raised the pressure on all charitable Boards. The need to be strategic and not operational, the responsibility each Trustee has for the financial health of an organisation and the understanding of the relationship between Chair and CEO applies throughout all of the charity sector.
There is much literature on and many weblinks to the roles and responsibilities of being a charitable Trustee. What is more difficult to find is how the relationships work: Chair/CEO, Board/executive staff, Board/membership or beneficiaries. How is trust formed? How do a disparate group of people who perhaps meet formally only four times a year arrive at strategic decisions for the future growth and wellbeing of their organisation? In any increasingly complex world, how are ethics, diversity and sustainability delivered while ensuring that the objectives of the charity are always adhered to?
None of these pertinent areas belong to any one sector. They all need addressing, not through a textbook but through discussion, understanding and good induction with some case studies of bad examples to give warning and some of good examples to encourage. That is what I hope my workshop will deliver, together with the hot topic of the role of the Board in fundraising and other practical advice. What all Boards in the charitable sector need to know is how to lead and support, while challenging where necessary. It’s an art in itself.
If you are interested in further understanding the role of your CEO or Chair and developing your skills in governance best practice, including risk management, income generation and the diversity of a Board, then you may want to consider attending our Leadership in Governance workshop on 21 May 2016 with your Chair or CEO. Call 020 7812 3770 to book.
Tags:
arts
challenges
change
culture
governance
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