Boards That Make a Difference: A New Design for Leadership in Nonprofit and Public Organizations

If you want to spark some healthy conflict in your next conversation with nonprofit CEOs or senior pastors, throw this verbal grenade into the discussion: "Hey! What do you all think about policy governance?"According to Policy Governance Guru John Carver, "Governing by policy means governing out of policy in the sense that no board activity takes place without reference to policies. Most resolutions in board meetings will be motions to amend the policy structure in some way. Consequently, policy development is not an occasional board chore but its chief occupation."I mention this because I consult frequently with nonprofit boards--and conduct governance webinars and workshops in North America and overseas. And even though the majority of boards I work with say they function as "policy governance" boards, I don't believe them--because their micro-managing practices are so blatant.For example, consider John Carver's insight on what he calls the flaws of "The Approval Syndrome." They include: reactivity, sheer volume of material, mental misdirection, letting staff off the hook, unfairly putting staff on the hook, short-term bias, lack of clarity in the board's contribution, and fragmentation ("a sequence of disconnected and unmanageably voluminous vertical slices of the whole...instead of a holistic, manageable fabric of horizontally connected policies").He adds, "We all profess that boards should deal with the big picture, but it is difficult to picture the forest by inspecting one tree at a time."One of my favorite Carver counter-intuitive commentaries describes what happens when a board delivers a "vote of confidence" for the CEO during a crisis situation.In this excellent policy governance bible, he writes, "Curiously, there are times when the board goes through the approval process not intending to withhold authority from the CEO but to confirm it. A board might declare its supports for the CEO by cloaking some controversial executive decision with the prestige of the boardroom. Board motivation is usually expressed thus: `We want the staff (or others) to know the board is really behind the CEO on this.' As long as the board and CEO understand that the decision is truly the CEO's, this approval not only seems harmless but appears to be a healthy show of solidarity."Then Carver adds this zinger. "However, such a gesture of board support is called for only if the board has been sending weak signals about the nature of delegation. This kind of support is rarely warranted if the board has made it clear to all that all CEO decisions that are within board-stated bounds are always supported by the board. Official support of a specific action implies that such sporadic backup is necessary, or conversely, that the general philosophy of delegation is weak."Carver notes--in his massive 340-page hardback, with another 80 pages of resources and references--that "Board approvals are an unnecessary and dysfunctional method of board control, then, regardless of the ubiquity of the practice." He goes on--in succeeding chapters--to build the case for "a more proactive, fair, and detrivializing approach to fulfilling the board's moral and legal obligation to control the organization."If no one on the senior team or board of your nonprofit organization or church is familiar with Carver's brand of policy governance (he invented the term), this is the starting point. Whether you agree or disagree that this board approach is right for your organization, it's important to understand the continuum of choices available--and to seek consensus on defining your current reality and where your preferred governance future lies. Interestingly, the book includes an excellent "ends" policy (a big Carver term) from Lancaster County Bible Church.Note: If 340 pages are a tad too much for you, Carver has a series of booklets, focusing on niche policy governance issues. Another option is to check out the "lean and mean" approach, favored by many including myself, of a 10- to 15-page Board Policies Manual, as described in the book,  Good Governance for Nonprofits: Developing Principles and Policies for an Effective Board , by Frederic L. Laughlin and Robert C. Andringa.

The headline says it all. I'm not sure why it's so hard to read. Perhaps the sentences are too long or awkwardly edited. Sometimes it's even hard to figure out why a certain paragraph has been added to a certain chapter. The diagrams too, take some time to absorb. That said, the information is unparalleled. I have been meaning to read this book for years and so glad that COVID-19 is causing me time to slow down and check this one off of my list!!

Carver outlines an ambitious model for board work and behavior that is radically different than current practices in most membership organizations. If, after introducing this model in my own organization, it proves workable, I would give it 5 stars. The author's presentation of the model is somewhat off-putting, as he is supremely confident that this is the *only* legitimate/appropriate way to function as a board of directors, but his logic seems solid. Again, only time will tell for me whether Carver's words are backed up by actual improvement in my organization's BOD function.

I liked the concept theory and examples. The writing was a bit repetitive but informative. I will try to incorporate this type of Board of Directors into my newly established nonprofit. I agree with the author that it will not be easy since traditional boards do not operate in this manner. Bottom line the concept is critical to 21st century thinking, where organizations can impact the world at large beyond the organization's internal structure.

This is an excellent analysis of the power dynamics within not-for-profit organisations. John Carver knows his stuff. In this book he perceptively identifies many of the problems and bottlenecks in the governance and management operations of organisations that are meant to serve communities. Not only this, he also offers solutions based on an understanding of how decisions get made, who holds power and responsibility, and who must be accountable and to whom. One of the most helpful books I have ever read on the subject. Many lights popped on and pennies dropped for me as I read reflecting on my own thirty years of experience working with many different NFP organisations. I read each chapter as avidly as a novel. Alex C

I am currently a newly appointed Board chairperson for a non-profit Christian school and we have been using John Carver's Policy Governance model for the last year. While we still have a long way to go to incorporate it completely into the fabric of our board processes, we have made great strides toward it in only a year. This book is excellent in helping us get there. I have also read several of John Carver's guides and although they are somewhat small for the money you have to pay for them, they also contain very good information. We hope to study these principles as part of our on-going board training during this board fiscal year.

I sit on a national non-profit board and we recently used this book to guide us through a complete rewrite of our policies. It was such a different approach than how we had been operating - and allowed us the opportunity to see the "big picture" that we had been missing. Our organization has been getting bogged down by interactions between staff and board that grew more and more complicated, making everyone less effective. Carver's structure for policy governance allowed us to clearly define roles while addressing any board concerns. In the end, what we established was a system that now allows the board to use our time together to dream big for the organization we all love.

This book continues to be our handbook of how a governance board should operate. We give a copy to each new board member and refer to it anytime we are looking at proper procedures. Working in a non-profit has challenges and this takes the guess work out of how to have a great board of directors.

I bought this book as a reference work. It is quite a specialist topic. The book is well written and whilst it is verbose, it needs to be to do justice to the subject. The examples are helpful. More information on implementation would be useful.

Excellent book. Thorough knowledge of governance and good writer. This book inspires and provides you with a novel way of seeing.

I was taught to teach Policy Governance® by the author, John Carver, PhD, and his wife, Miriam back in 1998. At the time the version of this book was a slimmer volume. This is the 3rd and last edition of "Boards That Make a Difference," and it is filled with new information and insights. It has been 17 years since this edition appeared, and considering John's age, I am fairly certain this will be his last. It is essential reading for anyone who wants to master and teach Policy Governance. This work represents a new and better method of managing the operation of a corporate board, and is especially valuable for non-profit boards. Since the concept amounts to a new paradigm for governance, if the reader's purpose is to use this model, it would be helpful to seek the guidance of someone who has taken the Carvers' Academy. The techniques of Policy Governance are not complicated or difficult to learn, but they are different from the way most boards have expected to govern, and this book is not merely helpful tips for better traditional governance. The title of the book refers to the role of the board (and governance) becoming the part of the organization that truly understands and is accountable for the vision of the organization, and assumes the power and responsibility to hold management accountable for achieving the necessary results of that vision.

Fantastic book.

this book is very hard to obtain, but with patience, I was able to garner all the copies our association needed.