Putting the Pants on Policy Governance

1
Putting the Pants on Policy Governance
http//www.governancecoach.com
2
A lie gets halfway around the world
before the truth gets a chance to put its pants
on. Sir Winston Churchill
3
Blame the model even if you werent using it!

• . . . Board of Education members say they are
  not returning to a system of handling their
  business called policy governance,. . . . some
  members said they want to get away from focusing
  on district operations during board meetings and
  spend more time focusing on academic achievement.
  Its a move that seems to teeter on the policy
  governance system the board has tried to distance
  itself from in recent years because of problems
  it created.

4
Policy Governance Fact

• Focusing on district operations
• during board meetings is not
• Policy Governance
• Focusing on Ends is consistent with the model
  (that would involve focus on academic
  achievement)
• It appears this board was not actually USING
  Policy Governance, so blaming it for problems is
  unfounded

5
No Dissent Allowed!

• The Carver governance model DICTATES THAT A
  BOARD SPEAK WITH ONE VOICE TO THE PUBLIC,
  silencing any board member who may disagree with
  a board decision.
• policy governance also was perceived as a
  system that MUFFLED DISSENT AMONG BOARD MEMBERS.
  Soon after it was put into practice, board
  members who disagreed with decisions made by the
  majority were chastised if they spoke out
  publicly. Dissenters were admonished that the
  board should speak with one voice by members
  whod voted in the majority.

6
Policy Governance Fact

• One voice in Policy Governance? does
• not mean that the board must speak
• externally to the organization
• (non-authoritatively) with one voice
• The board will speak authoritatively
• with one voice to the CEO
• This principle ensures that the board is
  providing leadership as a body. It is the board
  corporate that is accountable to the public. And
  the CEO is accountable to the board as a body.

7
Policy Governance Fact

• Nothing in the model requires
• the board to speak with one
• voice to the public, or
• silences a board member
• who disagrees with a board decision
• An individual board may choose to limit how and
  what individual board members say to the public,
  but the model does not require that they do so

8
Policy Governance Fact

• If a board allows any one of its members to give
  direction to the CEO other than that given by the
  entire board, it is breaching its accountability
  to the owners
• If a board member disagrees with a board
  decision, that member does not have the right to
  instruct the CEO differently, and must support
  that the CEO is bound by the directions given by
  the board as a whole

9
Mushrooms?

• Have you ever heard of the mushroom approach . .
  . . administration fed the board a lot of
  manure and kept them in the dark
• strict control of information flow and dissent
• we were making decisions without the broad range
  of information that we needed
• the new non-Policy Governance workplace
  culture will allow trustees to talk to
  administrators

10
Policy Governance Fact

• An individual board member cannot DIRECT staff,
  because that responsibility lies with the board
  as a whole
• When board members and staff understand this
  basic principle, any board member can talk with
  any staff member

11
Policy Governance Fact

• The model explicitly ENCOURAGES diversity at the
  board level and encourages the board to be open
  to knowledge from all directions
• Board decisions should be preceded by collection
  of a wide range of information, definitely not
  restricted solely to information from the CEO

12
Policy Governance Fact

• Boards properly applying the principles of the
  model actively search for diversity, to ensure
  that the best possible job is done of considering
  all perspectives when making governance decisions
  on behalf of the public
• Any practice that restricts information flow and
  dissent is most certainly not consistent with the
  Carver model

13
CEO has more power than board

• The model delegates virtually all significant
  responsibility to the director of education
• The model needs amendments to enhance the
  trustees role in the boards decision-making
  process
• Nothing happened without the superintendent
  being involved.

14
Policy Governance Fact

• When the model is properly used, the board has a
  total role in the boards decision-making
  process, but it would be clear which decisions
  were in the boards realm and which should
  properly be delegated with appropriate
  monitoring.
• If monitoring is being done, then the power
  remains squarely with the board.

15
Policy Governance Fact

• the model not only allows, but demands board
  involvement. (Carver)
• The model also provides a clear system to ensure
  that the boards involvement is used to maximum
  advantage in order to provide leadership and
  accountability without trying to do the job of
  management.

16
Abdication?

• Projects have spotty record of oversight,
  observers say
• We may lose control!
• Board has abdicated control to the CEO

17
Policy Governance Fact

• Its about controlling the right things.
• The boards role includes setting clear direction
  through Ends, setting clear boundaries of
  prudence and ethics, AND regularly monitoring
  to ensure that what has been delegated is
  actually happening
• Monitoring in Policy Governance is more rigorous
  than in any other approach
• The amount of control of the overall system is
  probably greater in PG than most boards have
• (John Carver on Board Leadership p. 428)

18
Isolates the governor from the governed!

• The Carver model is at variance with the role of
  the elected trustee because it isolates the
  governor from the governed. What is needed in
  education is a model which engages the public and
  connects the governor and the governed. It is
  through this connection that the system can match
  the goals and aspirations of the community and
  build trust in decision-making... Locally elected
  trustees are -- and must be -- accountable to the
  public for both the educational framework they
  provide, and the quality of the educational
  opportunities which result. They must be able to
  hold the system accountable for the way in which
  that is translated into programs and services.
  (website quote)

19
Policy Governance Fact

• Policy Governance clearly stating that the board
  obtains its authority from, and is accountable
  to, the owners
• The model requires boards to connect or link with
  owners in order to govern on their behalf
• Confusion of customer role and owner role may
  be the issue

20
Poor us its too hard!

• policy governance used unconventional
  terminology that confused people. For example,
  instead of the school board giving the
  superintendent a list of goals to accomplish, it
  gave him a list of executive limitations.

21
Policy Governance Fact

• Terminology is intended to allow precision in the
  meaning of terms
• Pilots and surgeons use unconventional
  terminology to ensure precision in their jobs.
  Why should the job of governance be any
  different?
• Having clarity about the job, and precise ways
  of going about it is only common sense

22
Were just volunteers

• Our board members are volunteers we cant
  expect them to be that disciplined

23
Policy Governance Fact

• Being accountable for an organization is an
  important job
• Whether or not the board is made up of volunteers
  is irrelevant to the importance of the job the
  accountability to the owners remains the same

24
What other PG lies have you heard?
25
What can we do to help put the pants on Policy
Governance?