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Showing posts from October, 2013

Boards and Staffs: Four Simple Lessons for Building a Win-Win Relationship

LAST MONTH I PRESENTED A WORKSHOP ON NONPROFIT BOARD-STAFF RELATIONSHIPS to members of the Long Island Museum Association. Here's a picture of most of us at the end of the session -- a fine looking bunch, don't you think? I shared with the participants four simple lessons that I've learned over the course of my work in nonprofits about the delicate interconnectedness of nonprofit boards and staffs.  We may know the accepted divisions of authority and responsibility between them, but they rarely function with textbook precision, even in the best of organizations. Why?  One reason is because it takes work to learn and try to understand the motivations of others. Here's a possible starting point: my four lessons, meant to be short, sweet, and hopefully memorable. Lesson #1:   We’re all in this together.     This is my personal and professional philosophy.  I take to heart this quote from John Carver, author of Boards that Make a Difference :  “Board member