Boundaries and Partnership
Healthy boundaries between board and staff roles actually enable stronger partnership rather than tension. Clarity about who does what creates the conditions for trust.
Resource topics: Board & Governance
The Mystique of Confidentiality
Congregations sometimes over-invoke confidentiality in ways that prevent accountability and harm community trust. A nuanced look at when confidentiality is required.
Meeting and Voting Online
Governance questions raised by online board meetings and electronic voting: legal considerations, best practices, and how to maintain meaningful participation.
Two Ways to Vote
Explores majority voting vs. consensus-based decision-making — when each is appropriate and how each affects community cohesion after the decision.
Great Committees
What separates committees that actually accomplish things from those that merely meet. Clear purpose, right authority, and goal-focused reporting.
Teams Made Simple
A simple framework for organizing staff and volunteer groups into effective teams. The difference between a team and a committee, and how clear goals make teams work.
The Board’s Job in Times of Rapid Change
What boards should focus on during periods of rapid, unpredictable change: keeping eyes on mission and long-term direction while delegating day-to-day management.
The Power to Make Promises
How governance structures determine which leaders have the authority to commit the congregation’s resources, time, and reputation on behalf of the whole.
Writing Leakproof Policies
A method for boards to write policies by starting with full authority and chipping away limits — the sculptor approach instead of the painter approach.
Two Questions That Will Help Your Board Stop Micromanaging
Two powerful questions — ‘What would be GOOD about that?’ and ‘What would we DO about that?’ — that help boards find the right level of leadership.