Board Development - Case Study
Board Development, as we have offered it here at ESCOT, is designed to address any issues that need attending in order for a Board to work more coherently and effectively.
Our consultants gather data through interviews with Board members and, using this information, plan a retreat. At the retreat, the consultants help the Board to achieve consensus on the resolution of identified issues and to work better together as a team. Their role is to help the group address its concerns. They do not make substantive recommendations during the process or at its conclusion.
Late last year, Images Cinema in Williamstown, Massachusetts, contacted ESCOT. After discussion with the Executive Director and Board officers, all agreed that a board development effort was in order. The two consultants assigned traveled to Williamstown and spent a day interviewing small groups of Board members. As a result of these interviews, they proposed a retreat for Board members to review organization's mission, and renew their commitment to it; explore the roles of the Executive Director and President and, also the members' role in building a successful organization; improve their general operations; and explore the need for a formal strategic plan.
These objectives were designed to address the issues of this particular organization. Each organization has its own issues and therefore it's own set of objectives.
At the retreat, under the guidance of the consultants, the board, in small and total group configurations, worked through a process that dealt with each of these objectives. After some initial exercises to increase comfort levels and trust in the group, they reviewed the organization mission and made appropriate changes. They then had an exchange with the Executive Director on mutual expectations and discussed desired characteristics of the President looking toward the selection of the next incumbent. In the afternoon they discussed how the Board functioned as a group and decided on a number of improvements. One of the consultants gave a presentation on strategic planning but the group decided to postpone starting such an effort until a new president was in place.
Decisions were captured on chart paper as they were made. The Board members felt that this had been a well-spent and productive day and that they were better prepared at the end to move forward.
What our clients say:
"After a fire destroyed our agency, ESCOT was instrumental in helping the Albany Damien Center to get a volunteer experienced in Real Estate to assist us with determining our space needs. ESCOT was very quick in responding to our requests for help and I would highly recommend their services to any agency looking for highly motivated and skilled volunteers."
— Perry Junjulas, Executive Director, The Albany Damien Center
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