board-management relationship

Generating Board and GM Efficiency through Monitoring

By Columinate|2023-05-05T20:27:09-04:00September 12th, 2018|

When Anne Carter came to Medford Food Co-op in Medford, Oregon, the startup co-op had been open for two years and was still establishing its operations and governance. Their internal situation was mirrored in the community-at-large. Medford was once a logging town, and the current 225,000 inhabitants were transitioning their economy to tourism and business services. That new dynamic, and a focus on health and sustainability, also led to the creation of the food co-op.

Skills for Building the Board-General Manager Relationship

By Rose Marie Klee|2023-06-28T12:25:27-04:00August 9th, 2017|

There is nothing more fundamental to cooperative governance than the board-GM relationship. After all, the entire leadership of the co-op rests on how the board and the general manager work together in their respective roles, which are unique and non-redundant. The work that the board must do to lead and execute its board duties is not the same work that the general manager must [...]

Understanding the Meaning of “Speaking With One Voice”

By Michael Healy|2023-05-05T20:06:29-04:00May 6th, 2017|

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 [...]

Good Reporting: Helping boards understand workplace conditions

By Michael Healy|2023-05-05T20:28:41-04:00May 4th, 2016|

By Michael Healy 184 May-June 2016 Co-ops bring to life their member-owners’ common values, and for most co-ops these include a desire for the co-op to be a great workplace. In the event that your co-op’s board of directors hears employees assert that something is amiss in the workplace, how will the board react? One end of the range of options often involves the [...]

Co-op General Manager Success Profile: GM Role Requires Core Competencies

By Carolee Colter|2023-05-05T20:28:58-04:00March 30th, 2016|

By Carolee Colter, Lauren Olsen, Marilyn Scholl 183 Mar-Apr 2016 It takes a lot to manage a food co-op. Co-op general managers (GMs) are responsible not only for the retail operations but also for budgeting, financial analysis, marketing, information technology, and human resources—functions that are provided by corporate headquarters to managers of chain stores. Co-op GMs, in addition to the demands of the business, [...]

Complaints and Operational Concerns: How Directors Can Respond Effectively

By Michael Healy|2024-11-05T19:37:51-05:00January 30th, 2016|

By Michael Healy 182 January-February 2016 As a director, you may notice or hear things about your co-op that may be cause for concern—or are at least worth asking about. How can you respond in a way that honors your sense of responsibility, your board’s clear delegation to the general manager (GM), and your GM’s professional judgment? Here is an approach that opens [...]

GM Success Profile

By Columinate|2023-05-05T20:29:15-04:00January 29th, 2016|

Increasingly intense and sustained competition in our market is shifting the landscape in which co-ops operate, putting a premium on certain key competencies and skills in management. At the same time, other factors are making the GM job more complex and demanding, including: pressure on prices and margin, increasing costs of real estate and development, and calls for a living wage at a time [...]

Operational Wisdom from General Managers

By Thane Joyal|2023-05-05T20:29:21-04:00December 22nd, 2015|

By Thane Joyal 181 Nov-Dec 2015 Successful cooperatives are guided by strong boards, and those boards rely on strong individuals to manage the cooperative’s business enterprise with excellence. The nature and quality of the board-general manager (GM) relationship, for better or worse, influences nearly all the myriad factors that lead to a cooperative’s success. The relationship is not simply that of employer and employee. [...]

Components of a Successful System of Accountable Empowerment

By Columinate|2023-05-05T20:29:24-04:00December 10th, 2015|

Accountable Empowerment It is always important for a co-op board of directors to have good systems of accountability in place to provide proper and strategic oversight of the general manager. With strongly increasing demand for natural and organic products resulting in more pressure from competitors, cooperatives need to strengthen operations, and at the same time effectively communicate the value the cooperative brings to its [...]

Building a Strong Top Leadership Team: Creating and maintaining a healthy board-GM relationship

By Michael Healy|2023-06-21T12:12:39-04:00March 4th, 2015|

By Michael Healy 177 March-April 2015 In many co-ops, the manager and board of directors function effectively as a leadership team. Along with having systems and structures in place that support and encourage healthy personal and professional relationships, a key element in each of these high-functioning teams is a general manager (GM) who has accepted responsibility for strengthening the board-GM relationship. Through interviews [...]

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