This multi-session series will examine various aspects of governance, including both practical skill-building as well as exploration of broader governance concepts and issues that inform the Policy Governance approach.
This multi-session series will examine various aspects of governance, including both practical skill-building as well as exploration of broader governance concepts and issues that inform the Policy Governance approach.
At the Moscow Food Co-op, all C policies (Board Process) and D policies (Board-Management Relationship) are currently monitored using categorical surveys sent out to each board member with either a “How much do you agree with the following statement?” scale or, “With this sub-policy, is the board in compliance or not in compliance?” For each global policy and sub-policy, there is a comment option where a board member can express their thoughts and can explain why they answered as they did.
By Thane Joyal 138 September - October - 2008 The man in the wilderness asked of me, How many strawberries grow in the sea? I answered him as I thought good As many as red herrings grow in the wood. —Old Nursery rhyme When I talk to members of a board of directors about its legal roles and responsibilities, I always try [...]
By Mark Goehring, Carolee Colter 143 July - August - 2009 A board evaluating the general manager (GM) of a food co-op…now there’s a process that directors should be able to describe, defend, celebrate and appreciate with little or no ambiguity or hesitation. In a recent online recorded workshop on GM evaluation, Thane Joyal and Carolee Colter laid out these four learning objectives [...]
By Michael Healy 135 March - April - 2008 The board of directors fulfills an essential governing role in a cooperatively owned, democratically controlled business. Few assets are more valuable to a cooperative than a board that functions well, learns what it needs to do its job expertly, and provides excellent leadership. Providing that excellent leadership requires expertise, and developing expertise requires investment. In [...]
By Marilyn Scholl, Art Sherwood 170 January - February 2014 Great leaders demonstrate how to be a force for good in local communities and beyond. Our cooperative heroes—the Rochdale Pioneers—were striking weavers who opened a grocery co-op in 1844 in Rochdale, England, to help themselves and others get free from indebtedness to the company store. The Pioneers asked and answered some compelling questions: Shouldn’t [...]
Boards monitor policy to find out whether their expectations are being met. A board needs to respond to an unacceptable monitoring report appropriately in order to fulfill its fiduciary responsibility to the co-op's owners. When the General Manager's monitoring doesn't meet the board's expectations the board needs to give clear direction to the Manager. Why do we monitor policy? Boards that use written policy [...]
By Michael Healy 189 March-April 2017 Boards of directors regularly struggle with the concept of “speaking with one voice”— primarily because the concept has a dual meaning. Within the context of Policy Governance, which many food co-op boards use, the principle of board holism is sometimes described as “speaking with one voice.” However, the same term is also used to describe or prescribe how [...]
By Rose Marie Klee 150 September - October 2010 Board of directors’ self-evaluation is the act of reflecting upon the past in order to constantly improve. It is rooted in a sincere commitment to providing high-quality governance as trustees of an organization. When a board practices periodic evaluation, each director comes to better understand the expectations for individual directors, as well as the entire [...]
