Molly Phipps is a new cooperative member of Columinate—welcome! Phipps has joined the Cooperative Board Leadership Development (CBLD) team, but she also brings other key skills to Columinate and to her clients, developed over twenty years of diverse consulting engagements.
If you go to the Columinate Library and search CBLD (Cooperative Board Leadership Development), you will find an encyclopedic list of over one hundred governance resources. And a great many of these Library resources have been contributed by Michael Healy. Healy’s work as a governance consultant predates the CBLD program itself. From his Vermont home base, Healy contributed to early iterations of board [...]
Laura King estimates that most groups spend as much as thirty percent of their meeting time in unproductive behaviors. Groups and leaders often avoid what is difficult, yet they also seek external validation and long for more confidence. In helping identify and change such patterns, King relies on her 25 years of experience exploring adult development—asking leaders to stretch and to build more connected and trusting teams.
Policy Governance is an operating system for boards of directors. As with operating systems for computers, the system itself is not the point of the board’s work; the system simply provides an underlying framework on which boards can build further agreements and activities. Policy Governance does not mandate specific decisions, but does highlight the kinds of decisions a board should make. These decisions include agreements about how the board will work together, how the board will empower and hold accountable the cooperative’s management, how the board will articulate the cooperative’s purpose and set up the cooperative for movement in that direction, and how the board understands the role of member-owners and others in the governance of the cooperative.
Columinate Manager on Contract (MOC) consultants provide essential support that strengthens co-ops in transition—through both short-term and long-term agreements. MOC services are more diverse than many people may appreciate. The program serves food co-ops needing various management support, and MOC provides leadership in a wide range of scenarios.
A co-op’s democratically elected board of directors embodies both the strengths and a potential Achille’s heel of the cooperative structure. Boards can change their composition annually, bringing fresh energy and perspectives to governance responsibilities. But changes to the co-op board underscore the need for continuity in leadership and policy development. Board training is essential for sustaining the organization’s direction and furthering its mission.
Interim general management supports incoming management: Quite often, it is more advantageous for a co-op to use the services of an Interim General Manager (IGM) than to feel like they are forced into a quick decision. While some co-ops have solid potential management candidates, others unfortunately do not have this luxury. An interim will allow the board an adequate timeframe to carry out [...]
Mighty Community Markets Grocery Bootcamp returns this May for its sixth iteration, featuring new content and an updated curriculum that reflects industry trends. The program, which has served 200 leaders thus far, is dedicated to supporting small and independent grocery stores, providing essential training and development to help leaders better serve their communities.
The job of a food co-op general manager (GM) is one of the more unique and challenging roles in the grocery industry. GMs manage their staff, report to a board of directors of many bosses speaking as one, and are responsible for a wide variety of functional areas within their business. At any given moment a GM must be knowledgeable about margin strategy, marketing, HR compliance, or fixing a coffee brewer. A GM likely makes dozens of decisions a day and needs context and subject matter knowledge to inform each one. They’re at once operating a for-profit business and stewarding a community asset. In short, it’s a lot.
In the ever-evolving landscape of retail grocery, effective leadership is paramount. Effective leadership doesn't just happen—it must be nurtured and cultivated, equipping emerging talent with the right tools, training, mentoring, and support. Cooperatives as well as other independent grocery stores face unique challenges in a post-covid world, and new challenges emerge frequently. Retailers must remain courageous and steadfast in making the necessary changes to prepare, build, and sustain a strong future.
