The Practitioners Guide to Governance as Leadership: Building High–Performing Nonprofit Boards

Praise for The Practitioner′s Guide to Governance as Leadership "With wisdom and insight, Trower has written the seminal guide for nonprofit boards. This is a must–read for every current and incoming nonprofit board member." — Joel Allison , president and CEO, Baylor Health Care System "For nonprofit chief executives who are ready for more engaged and purposeful boards and for board members who want to work more meaningfully and be true partners in leadership, Trower shows the way. She brings Governance as Leadership to life with case studies, theoretical frameworks, board exercises, and practical advice." — Susan Whealler Johnston , executive vice president, Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB) "It has never been more critical than it is today for nonprofits to engage their boards in ways that capture the full talent, experience and resources of those who govern the work.?Yet, too often, we see organizations facing a substantial board–engagement gap.?In this book, Trower shares the pathway forward for nonprofit and philanthropic leaders seeking to transform their boards in ways that will have an exponential impact on everything from strategy to fundraising. I′ve learned much from Trower′s work on board leadership over the years—I′m thrilled she′s now sharing it broadly through this valuable new resource for our sector." — Robert B. Acton , executive director NY, Taproot Foundation "At BoardSource, we value Governance as Leadership as a groundbreaking publication that has helped thousands of board leaders view governance in a new way. With this new book, Trower has taken on the important task of connecting the dots back to the boardroom, where nonprofits of all sizes are struggling with leading their organizations through these challenging times ... she deftly combines business, psychological, and sociological principles to help board members examine their own thought processes and raise the level of thinking and discourse in the boardroom." — Linda C. Crompton , president and CEO, BoardSource

List of Exhibits, Figures, and Tables xiii Foreword xvii by Richard Chait Preface xxi CHAPTER 1: THE GOVERNANCE AS LEADERSHIP MODEL 1 Premises 2 Underlying Assumptions 2 Governance Reform 3 The Three Modes or Mental Maps 4 Why Three Modes? 14 CHAPTER 2: GETTING STARTED AND GAINING TRACTION WITH GOVERNANCE AS LEADERSHIP 21 What Is Optimized at Board Meetings? 22 What Is Different about Generative Governance? 22 Moving to Higher Purpose and Optimizing Performance: Beginning the Conversation 23 Moving to Higher Purpose and Optimizing Performance: Getting Started 26 Moving to Higher Purpose and Optimizing Performance: Getting Traction 33 CHAPTER 3: ENCOURAGING CRITICAL THINKING IN THE BOARDROOM 47 Critical Thinking and Metacognition 48 Getting on the Balcony 50 Ways of Thinking 51 Impediments to Critical Thinking 54 Cognitive Biases and Board Workarounds 62 Social Loafing 70 Groupthink 71 Avoiding Groupthink and Its Close Cousins 77 CHAPTER 4: TURNING YOUR BOARD INTO A HIGH–PERFORMING TEAM 85 Social Systems 86 Groups and Teams 87 Boards as Teams 89 Effective Board Teams in the Context of Governance as Leadership 91 CHAPTER 5: CREATING A GOVERNANCE–AS–LEADERSHIP CULTURE 125 Culture 126 Three Toxic Cultures 128 Culture Change 131 Culture Conducive to Governance as Leadership 132 Tools to Support a “Governance as Leadership–Friendly” Culture 143 CHAPTER 6: WHAT GOVERNANCE AS LEADERSHIP REQUIRES OF LEADERS 169 Leadership 170 CHAPTER 7: MEASURING AND SUSTAINING GOVERNANCE AS LEADERSHIP 187 Measuring Board Performance 188 Sustaining Governance as Leadership 211 EPILOGUE 215 REFERENCES 217 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 221 THE AUTHOR 227 BOARDSOURCE 229 INDEX 231

Cathy A. Trower , PhD is a senior research associate at Harvard University′s Graduate School of Education. She is author of the second edition of Richard Chait′s book, Govern More, Manage Less . Cathy is nationally known for her expertise on board policies, leadership, structure, organizational change, best governance practices, and strategic planning. She is in high demand as a speaker, consultant, and advisor and works with nonprofit boards independently through her consulting firm, Trower and Trower, Inc.