Develop Your Leaders

Welcome! Lisa Malmarowski and Pam Mehnert, Flying Squirrel Milwaukee LLC

By Thane Joyal|2023-06-27T14:59:57-04:00June 27th, 2023|

Sometimes the road to Columinate is a direct line, and sometimes it’s a leisurely path with many twists and turns. For Lisa Malmarowski and Pam Mehnert of Flying Squirrel Milwaukee LLC, joining Columinate has been a logical extension of the work each of them has been doing at Outpost Natural Foods in Milwaukee. They have been sharing their skills with fellow cooperators for years, putting into practice the cooperative principles of education and cooperation among cooperatives.

Field Guides and Foundational Resources

By Hether Jonna Frayer|2024-01-22T18:26:02-05:00June 21st, 2023|

Shared challenges in board governance have perennially driven co-ops to establish shared resources and services. Consultants and collaboration around governance and leadership development have been key to building shared cooperative identity and local community impact. From the early days of the Cooperative Board Leadership Development (CBLD) program, consultants serving co-op boards and other mission-driven organizations have been asking the question, “What resources do [...]

Jeanie Wells’ Mighty Community Markets Wins Innovation and Achievement Award

By Kelly Kristl|2023-06-19T17:47:05-04:00June 19th, 2023|

Independent grocers and co-ops face formidable challenges to survival, from WalMart to dollar stores, while often lacking the resources they need. Columinate's Jeanie Wells is providing these retail operations with essential skills and tools. At the June 2023 CCMA conference, Wells' Mighty Community Markets (MCM) training program was held up to its national audience as an outstanding example of cooperative innovation and achievement. (Go [...]

Discussion and Process Guide for Board Compensation

By Michael Healy|2023-05-05T20:04:37-04:00April 11th, 2023|

Co-op boards periodically need to address questions about board compensation: Should we or shouldn’t we? How much is reasonable? How do we communicate these decisions to our member-owners or include them in the conversation? Allow enough time for the work Before beginning this process, carefully consider how this work will or won’t fit with your other board priorities. Once the board has agreed that [...]

Learning about Race: Reflections and Resources

By Jade Barker|2023-12-13T15:14:18-05:00March 1st, 2023|

Not long after I became board president of my local food co-op, I began a more focused study of racism. I say “more focused” because, like many of us, I started learning about racism the day I was born. When I stepped into the board presidency, right away I noticed that I was being treated with less respect by some of my colleagues than I had been before I changed roles.

Thoughts on Excellent Facilitation and Love

By Thane Joyal|2023-05-05T20:04:41-04:00February 22nd, 2023|

More and more often, it seems like I am the messy person in the meeting: you know, the one who has something (or more often some feeling) that feels so important to express that I can’t read the room. I especially can’t see that the discussion is winding to a close, or that others in the meeting are beyond tired; or, worst of all, that my point was actually made by someone else fifteen minutes ago. This is where good facilitation comes in. I have always been aware that excellent facilitation requires a degree of intuition and compassion, and I realized recently that it also requires love. Messy contributions can be made valuable with the help of skilled and, yes, loving facilitation.

Resetting Board Systems and Culture: A Quick Guide

By Thane Joyal|2023-05-05T20:04:42-04:00February 22nd, 2023|

Board work can sometimes seem like a big challenge. I often open a workshop with a newly forming group with an activity in which the goal is to set a tent pole on the ground together, while the participants have also been told to keep their fingers in contact with the pole. It sounds simple, but in practice it can be very difficult. What’s more important? The goal of the individual or the goal of the group? If the group doesn’t focus on its shared objective, it will not be able to set the tent pole on the ground.

Board Trainings Tackle Trust and Conflict: January webinars build leadership skills

By Madeline Cochran|2023-05-05T20:04:43-04:00January 9th, 2023|

Welcome to 2023! As your co-op board of directors reflects on the past year and refreshes for the upcoming one, don’t forget that Columinate’s Cooperative Board Leadership Development program (CBLD) is here to support your work. For nineteen years, this award-winning program has been a resource to co-op boards across the country, providing monthly consulting, facilitated board retreats, and a robust lineup of engaging, relevant webinars. In January, CBLD is kicking off its fresh slate of webinars with sessions focused on building trust and navigating conflict.

Online in November: Financial Training for Directors

By Madeline Cochran|2023-05-05T20:04:47-04:00October 26th, 2022|

Enrollment for Columinate's Financial Training for Directors is open! This will be the last session of this series in 2022, and we'd love to see you there. Monitoring the financial health of the organization is often the most intimidating responsibility assigned to co-op directors—but it doesn’t have to be! This training “covers the most important and critical aspects of co-op finances in a thoughtful, easy-to-understand manner,” explains Dave Olson, senior director of retail support at National Co+op Grocers. “Whether [you] just need a refresher or are entirely new to financial concepts, this virtual series can empower [you] to understand and participate in financial conversations with confidence.”

Governance for Co-op and Nonprofit Boards Part 2

By Thane Joyal|2023-05-05T20:04:49-04:00October 10th, 2022|

In 2014, Columinate introduced co-ops to the Four Pillars of Governance in an effort to show how the Policy Governance model fits in a broader framework of governance. As part of his work as a Visiting Scholar at the Vincent and Elinor Ostrom Workshop on Political Theory and Policy Analysis, Art Sherwood collaborated with Marilyn Scholl and others from Columinate to create this model to help organizations govern flexibly and effectively. A model is a way of framing so that the parts and processes make sense. Our Four Pillars model is not about changing systems but is a new way of making sense of governance. In the eight years since we introduced it, we have found that it helps organize board thinking about the complex task of governance. It does not supplant other theories or systems of governance, but rather provides a framework for boards to use in developing and applying those systems.

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