Board Initiatives for Continued Success
By Pat Burns, General Manager
As General Manager, one of my primary responsibilities is to work with the Co-op's Board on any new initiatives they're considering. Many of their current initiatives revolve around the theme of Member engagement. Currently, that's manifested in a project relating to Board perpetuation. Susan Munkres, our prior Board President, worked with the Board to focus on this issue and the Board is continuing that work under the leadership of Molly O'Brien, our current president.
Our current Board is made up of nine incredibly engaged Members who work on behalf of our broader Membership in a policy governance role. So when we talk about "Board perpetuation," what we really mean is that no matter who your future Board participants are, its Members will continue to be actively and productively engaged in policy governance work with the General Manager on behalf of all of our Members. The current Board feels that one way to promote healthy Board perpetuation is to provide Members with more informed candidates - informed in the sense that candidates have an opportunity, before running, to better understand the nature of Board work. The Board has decided upon a series of voluntary pre-election activities that will be available to (and highly recommended for) anyone who is considering running for the Board in our upcoming annual fall election.
To help better understand the roles and responsibilities of a Board Member, they have identified five different activities that will help accomplish this:
- Attend an orientation on Board duties with Michael Healy, our Board facilitator,
- Attend a Board of Directors meeting (or attend several!),
- Have an informed conversation with a current Board member about their experience with Board work,
- Read some selected materials on the policy governance model that our Board uses, and
- Review a recent Board packet (materials that current Board Members review prior to each meeting so that they can actively participate in the meeting).
To be clear, we're not requiring Board candidates to complete this checklist. However, the Board feels that candidates who complete these activities will certainly be better prepared to participate actively and effectively should they be elected. This new checklist will be incorporated into our current Board candidate application. When we share information about candidates with Members, we'll be sharing which portions of the checklist each candidate has completed.
In order to give candidates time to review and consider the checklist and complete the application process, we're announcing these updates now (well in advance of the September application deadline and the October elections). You can review the new application and information on the elections process on our website.
I hope that if you are interested in running for the Board, you will consider this opportunity to gain insight into Board responsibilities. Your current Board has put considerable thought into this new initiative and it's certainly my pleasure to share this new process with you. A well-educated Board is critical to the effective long-term planning for and governance of our Co-op and helps ensure our continued success. Thank you for being an engaged Member of your Co-op, whether it's through running for the Board or making an educated decision when voting in Board elections.