2014 NTUUC Boards Training

Saturday, February, 2014

CONCURRENT BREAKOUT SESSION – VISIONING – AGENDA

Objectives:

1. Explore Visioning, one of the six primary functions of the board

2. Work with your board team to begin the Visioning process

3. Work with your board team to start the preparation of the board’s annual goals

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Agenda:

Welcome and Introduction of the Breakout Session

Discussion – Where is your Board with Team Visioning and Planning?

Exercise #1 – Fiduciary Leadership Level - Planning

Exercise #2 – Strategic Leadership Level – Planning

Exercise #3 – Generative Leadership – Planning

Summary and Discussion

2014 NTUUC Boards Training

Saturday, February 8, 2014

CONCURRENT BREAKOUT SESSION – VISIONING – EXERCISE WORKSHEET

Exercise #1 – Fiduciary Leadership Level - Planning

Instructions: Work in board teams for this exercise. 1. Review the assessment of your board’s fiduciary performance 2. Develop one board goal that will improve your board’s fiduciary performance. Example: Policy to allow Finance Team to publish monthly budget analysis your newsletter or establish an endowment plan for your children.

Exercise #2 – Strategic Leadership Level - Planning

Instructions: Work in board teams for this exercise. 1. Review the assessment of your board’s strategic performance 2. Determine one goal your board could consider to significantly improve your strategic

performance. Example: Set up a process and group to write a strategic plan or update your current strategic plan.

Exercise #3 – Generative Leadership - Planning

Instructions: Work in board teams for this exercise. 1. Review the assessment of your board’s generative performance 2. Consider the “Big Issues” your board might want to discuss as a generative discussion for

strategic planning. 3. Develop some ideas on how to carve out time to discuss how to become more generative in your

planning process.

Example: Prepare a multi-year development plan for the congregation; generate a policy fo regular town hall meetings for your congregation, or generate a program for providing service to your neighborhood.

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KEY POINTS—VISIONING

1. WHERE THERE IS NO VISION, THE PEOPLE PERISH OR TO PARAPHRASE—WHERE THERE IS NO VISION THE CHURCH WILL PERISH.

2. VISIONS ARE THE FIRST STEP IN A GOAL-SETTING OR PLANNING PROCESS.

3. MEDIOCRE BOARDS ARE PEOPLE WHO DO THINGS RIGHT AND GREAT BOARDS ARE PEOPLE WHO DO THE RIGHT THING. THE DIFFERENCE MAY BE SUMMARIZED AS ACTIVITIES OF VISION AND JUDGMENT—EFFECTIVENESS VERSES ACTIVITIES OF MASTERING ROUTINE—EFFICENCY.

4. ANSWER THE QUESTION “WHAT DO I WANT TO BE” THEN SET UP AN ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE THAT CAN MAKE THAT VISION WORK.

5. DO NOT BEGIN WORKING ON OTHER BOARD ISSUES AND AGENDAS UNTIL YOUR BOARD GOALS ARE AGREED TO BY ALL THE BOARD MEMBERS. IF YOU CAN ONLY HAVE TIME DISCUSS ONE ITEM ON THE BOARD AGENDA, DISCUSS THE STATUS OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF YOUR BOARD’S VISION AND GOALS.

6. THE PURPOSE OF THE BOARD IS TO, ON BEHALF OF THE COMMUNITY, TO SEE TO IT THAT THE COMMUNITY ACHIEVES WHAT IT SHOULD AND AVOIDS WHAT IS UNACCEPTABLE.

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VISIONING: KEY POINTS

Visioning should be at the forefront of the board’s work, in collaboration with the

congregation’s professional staff. – Jim Key

Our vision for Unitarian Universalism must be as large as our hopes and as practical as our

challenges. – Jim Key

Functional Board -> Primary concern is fiduciary matters

Fiduciary Considerations:

Fiscal responsibility and transparency Covenants (board, staff, congregation, meeting) Understand resources available in District and at the Association Manage child-safety policies Establish property use and rental policies Establish charges to committees

Good Board -> Adds strategic planning to fiduciary considerations

Strategic Considerations:

Determine strategic goals vs. near-term objectives Identify milestones Name owners Establish time-line Develop a monitoring and communications plan Acknowledge capacity of congregation

Great Board -> Generative

Generative thinking is a cognitive process for deciding what to pay attention to, what it

means, and what to do about it.

We can’t ignore the fiduciary or the strategic, but we have to do those things efficiently so we

can do the heavy lifting of imagining, ‘What does Unitarian Universalism look like in 20

years?’— Jim Key

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BOARD ANNUAL PLAN

CHURCH VISION:

GOAL/TYPE* WHO’S RESPONSIBLE* BOARD’S ROLE SUCCESS INDICATOR

_________________________________________________________________________________

1.

___________________________________________________________________________________

2.

___________________________________________________________________________________

3.

___________________________________________________________________________________

4.

___________________________________________________________________________________

*GOAL TYPE: FIDUCIARY, STRATEGIC, GENERATIVE

*THE DELEGATED AUTHORITY, STAFF, COMMITTEE, TEAM, TASK FORCE

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