The Art of Governance

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The Art of Governance

• Annette Marquis

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What is governance?

• Conceptually, governance can be defined as the
  rule of the rulers, typically within a given set
  of rules.
• One might conclude that governance is the process
  by which authority is conferred on rulers, by
  which they make the rules, and by which those
  rules are enforced and modified.
• Thus, understanding governance requires an
  identification of both the rulers and the rules,
  as well as the various processes by which they
  are selected, defined, and linked together and
  with the society generally.

World Bank
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What is governance?

• Conceptually, governance can be defined as the
  rule of the rulers, typically within a given set
  of rules.
• One might conclude that governance is the process
  by which authority is conferred on rulers, by
  which they make the rules, and by which those
  rules are enforced and modified.
• Thus, understanding governance requires an
  identification of both the rulers and the rules,
  as well as the various processes by which they
  are selected, defined, and linked together and
  with the society generally.
• World Bank

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• A board members job

can be a sad and lonely one
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So how do you turn a sad and lonely job
into one that is
spiritually-grounded
uplifting
and
nourishing?
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What is good governance?

• Good governance is, among other things,
  participatory, transparent and accountable.
• It is also effective and equitable.
• And it promotes the rule of law.
• Good governance ensures that political, social
  and economic priorities are based on broad
  consensus in society and that the voices of the
  poorest and the most vulnerable are heard in
  decision-making over the allocation of
  development resources.

United Nations Development Program (UNDP)
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What is good governance?

• Good governance is, among other things,
  participatory, transparent and accountable.
• It is also effective and equitable.
• And it promotes the rule of law.
• governance ensures that political, social and
  economic priorities are based on broad consensus
  in society and that the voices of the poorest and
  the most vulnerable are heard in decision-making
  over the allocation of development resources.

United Nations Development Program (UNDP)
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Understand your role (know your authority and
your accountability)
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Stay-focused on your congregations vision and
transcendent purpose
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Let go of minutia
Three steps to a better life as a board member
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Democracy

• Definition government by the people in which the
  supreme power is vested in the people and
  exercised directly by them or by their elected
  agents under a free electoral system

Abraham Lincoln "of the people, by the people,
and for the people"
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Direct Democracy
Small Congregations

• Town Meetings

Neighborhood Association
Any Small Group
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Representative Democracy

• Larger groups

Larger congregations
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Now Add Committees
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Who is the minister accountable to?
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Ways of Organizing
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Ways of Organizing
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From Models to Modes

• Richard Chait and his colleagues argue that we
  should shift emphasize modes over models in
  seeking to govern well.
• Richard Chait, William Ryan and Barbara Taylor,
  Governance As Leadership Reframing the Work of
  Nonprofit Boards (Hoboken John Wiley Sons,
  2005)

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Governance as Leadership
Type 2 Strategic
Type 1 Fiduciary
Type 3 Generative
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Type I Fiduciary Governance
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Type I Fiduciary Governance
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Type II Strategic Governance
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Type II Strategic Governance
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Type III Generative Governance
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Type III Generative Governance
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Type I, II, III Comparisons
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(No Transcript)
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Stages of Board Transition
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Maxims

• It's easier to start a new thing than to replace
  something in existence.
• It's easier to create new norms of behavior for
  new people than it is to change norms of behavior
  for people who have been around for a while.
• If you tell people what's being discussed, who is
  discussing it, when a decision will be made,
  people will tolerate a lot of top-down decisions.
  

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1
Understand your role (know your authority and
your accountability)
2
Stay-focused on your congregations vision and
transcendent purpose
3
Let go of minutia
Three steps to a better life as a board member
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Essential Resource
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Essential Resource
The Alban Institute www.alban.org BoardSource www
.boardsource.org