Overcoming the limitations of others' perceptions

taken from activeadventures.com

Our view of the world in which we live is not just built on results and specific facts, it is built upon our perceptions or the ways in which the glasses we wear color our viewpoint. We make judgments based on those perceptions that sometimes emanate from flawed assumptions and prejudices. If WE can't envision it, if it is not within our frame of reference then we tend to downplay it or worse, find ways to destroy its validity. 

From personal experience both being on the receiving end and placing my perceptions or projections onto others I recognize they are a powerful force. Let's look at an example. New Zealand evokes an image of thousands of sheep, beautiful pristine countryside and the settings for the Lord of the Rings in most eyes. Kiwi means a fuzzy fruit or a flightless bird, not so much the internet savvy, highly educated population. So when a Kiwi comes to New York or to Paris there is some incredulity about their credentials and experience. “Yes, but tell me again how many people live in your country?” as if skill was synonymous with a large population.

The words business and New Zealand are not usually mouthed in the same phrase. There is a mistaken belief that because the country has only 4 million people in it that it must be some kind of backwater, waiting to catch up with the most advanced countries such as the United States or Great Britain. What I have noticed in working in Europe and arriving now in the United States is that the New Zealand business environment is very vibrant and full of innovative thinkers. Some of the technological advances that I had taken for granted while living in New Zealand surprisingly just did not exist in France. 

taken from www.nbr.co.nz

So let's see where perceptions and reality co-exist. Let us step back a minute from our perceptions of this small "backwater", island nation. There are a number of interesting facts to debunk the idea of a third world country struggling to keep up with its large friends and neighbors. For example, did you know that New Zealand has the highest use of electronic banking transactions in the world, 86% of the population report using the internet which is a higher figure than the UK or Germany? New Zealand has enjoyed paying taxes via the internet for many years and the education system is world ranked. It has been in the top 10 nations for a number of years (with a slight fall in this past year but still in the top 15). In a recent study, New Zealand was ranked 17th for Maths and Sciences while the UK came in 20th position and the United States in 28th. (http://www.bbc.com/news/business-32608772.) Forbes has put New Zealand consistently in the top 3 countries in the world to do business.

So how is it that perceptions of New Zealand business are so very different from some of the facts illustrated above? And what impact can these erroneous perceptions have?  While I have used this personal example, the principles apply to so much more. Why do we hold on so firmly to our particular perceptions and what affect can it have on our ability to progress in our businesses or organizations? Obviously, for those on the receiving end of erroneous perceptions this can be very limiting and can present additional obstacles or hoops through which we have to jump. We have to be even more innovative to find ways to impress or to get into an open door. We need to constantly remind ourselves that these are their perceptions and not necessarily reality.

Those imposing their perceptions on others are also impacted. People in positions of authority or power such as managers, company owners, bankers or law makers can miss out on great talent or innovative ideas because their mind is fixed on a pretty rigid set of criteria. To mitigate the prejudices our personal perceptions might have we need to step back and ask ourselves, "What evidence do I have that my perceptions are valid?" "Is there a different way that this might be viewed?" "How might I find out whether this person/organization/idea/method has something to offer me?"

Check your perceptions in at the door, just long enough to open your mind to the possibilities. There is a whole world out there that just may open up to us.

Emotions vs Evidence, Assumptions vs Questions

image taken from experiencelife.com

In recent months I have been confronted with many emotion-filled situations from either my work situation or the work environment of others. And in the media there have been stories that have divided the public around emotional polar opposites and opposing principles such as the Planned Parenthood videos or the Same Sex Marriage debate. While it is impossible and even inadvisable to remove emotion and principles from our attitudes and approaches, when we work only with emotional input then the greatest losers are creativity and the truth.

At one point in time in my earlier years, I had started down the road to becoming a journalist. The feeling didn't last very long and looking back I am grateful for that. I would have been greatly frustrated by the need to range myself on either side of a great political divide. Am I liberal and progressive? Or am I conservative? It is not acceptable anymore to say, "I take each subject individually and judge it on its merits and not on its politics." Currently, I can read the same piece of news in the media that labels itself as liberal and again in conservative media outlets and I wonder if they are even the same story.

The Washington Post published a chart that places media outlets along this conservative/liberal continuum. http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2014/10/21/lets-rank-the-media-from-liberal-to-conservative-based-on-their-audiences/. It contained few surprises.

Social media posts (Blogs, Twitter and Facebook particularly) have a similar divide where there are conservative audiences following conservative posts and vice versa for the liberals. It is becoming an increasingly emotional environment where expletives, insults, personal slinging matches greet any kind of information that feeds either the conservative or liberal viewpoints.

I have been reading a wonderfully insightful book called, "change your questions, change your life" by Marilee Adams, PhD (Berrett-Koehler, 2004). In this she describes a "judger" mentality that we can have as opposed to a "learner" mentality and that this can apply not just to individuals but to teams and groups. I want to be so bold to suggest that our society as a whole has taken on a "judger" mentality. With all our freedoms we have become so much more judgemental. We are losing the ability to listen with the real intent to learn from each other. We are more concerned with proving that we are correct and we will twist any fact just to arrive at that end.

Strangely enough, as a result of this, we are losing our true freedoms. We are seeking to do away with oppression but if our processes in doing so are oppressive then have we really gained any ground? People are frightened to ask questions and to look for real evidence. Science has become pseudo science depending on which side of the divide you are on. It is a finger pointing and self-validating exercise and not one of true intellectual gain. The Emperor is not wearing any clothes but there is no-one listening to the little boy who is crying out the truth.

Why is this happening to this degree? In one word: Emotion. It is about fear, insecurities, pride, anger, disdain, shame and guilt within ourselves or imposed on others. It is time to step back from the emotion of each situation and look for the facts, ask questions and examine the evidence. It is the quality of our questions that will move us forward, not the selection of our solutions. We may be surprised.

Is Our Organization at Risk Part Four: Do we have the right CEO?

Kristi Daugherty, CEO of Emergence Health Network

While an experienced board of Directors has an ongoing oversight role in an organization's growth and stability, it is in their choice and management of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) that they have the greatest impact.

If this is the case, then what can we do in order to increase our likelihood of successfully finding the right CEO? This begins with a clear set of criteria. While there are many common traits shared by great CEOs, there are likely to be differences between organizations and companies and also different criteria according to the stage in the lifespan of an organization. A good board of directors will have their fingers on the pulse and recognize the need to regularly review what they are looking for.

There are some commonalities that we can discuss, apart from their ability to leap over buildings in a single bound.

image taken from executivenewswire-stantonchase.com

Start up phase

For many start ups and new non-profit organizations, the person in the CEO position is the instigator, the innovator who frequently chooses the board and not the other way around. They are people with passion, drive and with a great vision that they are determined to implement. This is a crucial phase in the life of any business or organization that requires a very specific set of skills/characteristics:

1. The ability to maintain their vision in the face of obstacles. 
2. The skill to work through ambiguity until solid operating processes are in place. At the startup phase decisions are more likely to be made "on the fly" without precedents, determining how things would most efficiently and effectively operate. This requires a CEO who is prepared to make those kind of decisions. 

   

   image taken from nerdwallet.com
   

3. A keen eye for the right staffing mix and being able to identify the right talent that fits the organization's needs. The staff who have the skills to operate within a start up situation should have initiative, intuition and the ability to work within ambiguity. Startups cannot usually command the same kind of salaries as larger companies and so the CEO and staff both need to be captured by the vision of the organization.
4. A person that is not afraid to work with risk and uncertainty. Procedures are not yet in place, precedent has not been set, networks are not yet solid. 
5. Is resilient. The first days of any business or organization are not easy and in the initial days there appears to be little return for time invested. 
6. Is creative and who is flexible enough to make adjustments as needed. 
7. Pays attention to detail because the startup phase is where the smallest details are laying the foundation for a successful, established business or organization

Growth phase

Many a great non-profit or start-up company began because someone had these skills and characteristics. But what happens when an organization becomes more established and is in a more "mature" phase? Does the CEO of an organization in this phase necessarily require the same set of skills/characteristics?

Naturally, if a startup CEO is able to transition and carry an organization forward by adjusting their style and applying further skills this is preferable. It allows for continuity and brings a wealth of experience of the organization into the growth. However, the kind of personality that establishes an organization at its entrepreneurial phase is not necessarily the same personality to enable an organization to expand into full maturity.

"Founders are the best start-up CEOs, thanks to their passion, focus and audacity. In the growth stage, however, the job of a company leader changes from inception to execution, from development to scale." Glenn Solomon, http://fortune.com/2013/03/25/5-traits-of-the-best-growth-stage-ceos/

Twyman Clements, President and CEO of Space Tango

Solomon and others have suggested a range of skills needed at this stage to which I have added some additional thoughts: There is a need for:

1. The relentless pursuit of the right team. Because the CEO needs to delegate more and more in an ever growing organization, they need to make sure that they select the right management team that can in turn select the right staff. As a company expands, this CEO may need to make the difficult decisions to change staff  to engage those who are more suited to the expansion phase, who work well within more structured and established environments.
2. Being highly focused on the goals but keeping an eye out for "side bets" or riskier projects that keep competitors at bay. This latter aspect is particularly important as the organization develops a product or service that becomes more visible and competitors seek to develop similar, slightly different products. Good CEOs need to have eyes in the side of their heads to keep ahead of these competitors. Even for non-profit organizations, keeping an eye out for similar organizations that wish to copycat their success is something of which CEOs should be aware.
3. A commitment to learning as the need grows for a wider range of skills is needed in this phase. Juggling financial needs, infrastructural development, marketing, product or service development all require specific expertise that changes for a larger organization. A good CEO will recognize their personal gaps and will seek to fill them with external expertise or with ongoing training. 
4. Building self-reliant teams. As an organization increases in size and scope then it becomes impossible for the CEO to handle every issue, put out every fire or make every decision. He/she will have set up the right conditions so that teams within the organization are able to operate with initiative and skill, taking care of the day to day operations. This frees up the CEO for more strategic issues. 
5. An ability to communicate the vision of the organization to all levels of the infrastructure. A start up CEO will often be the front person for customers or the community it targets. However, as the organization grows larger and more established (and is potentially in a range of locations), then others within the company need to be able to have sufficient understanding and communication skills to present that same vision. (This is one aspect that entrepreneurial founders sometimes find difficult because this requires some level of letting go of being the sole, central figure.)
6. Reads the environment in which the organization operates, whether that be the needs of the target group or the external economic or political environment. 
7. Ability to both work within structure and to continue to build structure all the while remaining creative to new possibilities and better ways of operating. 

A great CEO is a juggler of many traits that need to change over time according to the developing needs of an organization. Transitions are particularly difficult, notably between the start-up phase and an organization in full maturity. If you engage people of passion and commitment to get something up and running it is not easy to ask them to let go of their "baby" in order to make way for a new set of skills. At the same time, it is great for those same CEOs with particular expertise in startups to realize where their greatest value lies, that they might find greater fulfillment in finding their next project, their next mission.

The need for succession planning will be dealt with in a later blog because the same principles apply to all key positions within an organization.

Other interesting links to look at this topic:

https://hbr.org/2011/10/the-art-and-science-of-finding-the-right-ceo
http://www.businessinsider.com/traits-of-the-best-startup-ceos-2014-3
http://www.investopedia.com/financial-edge/0911/top-qualities-of-an-effective-ceo.aspx

Is our Organization at Risk, Part Three: 7 ways to assess our Staff Recruitment practices

image taken from Kaizen Recruitment Solutions

Recruiting staff is such a critical organizational function in the survival of any organization. Get it right and your organization moves forward, flourishes and grows. Hire the wrong staff and it is one of the quickest ways to failure. There is a whole multi-billion dollar business that has been created just around this function. And yet there are no guarantees and we have still not developed the perfect recruitment process. For many smaller organizations or entrepreneurs there are limited resources to access all of the latest recruitment tools. Cost is a significant factor in recruiting. What are some of the foundational principles to maximizing our hiring success rates to enhance our organizations?

1. Staffing levels and skills identififed match organizational needs

Many new organizations make a mistake in not having contained within their initial operational plan the skill sets and staff hours that they will need to function effectively. This lack of planning often continues as an organization grows or changes. It is a delicate balance to know exactly when to increase the number of staff hours to cope with increasing workloads: not too soon so as to place an unnecessary financial burden on an organization but also not too late so that it burns out existing staff because of overwhelming workloads. Forecast budgets that do not show ongoing implications of staffing levels place an organization at great risk of falling into debt.

A thriving organization has a detailed staffing plan that contains job descriptions and person specifications that are skills as well as task based, that establish how many staff are needed at any point in the development of the organization. Details of staffing requirements will be reflected not only in the current annual forecast budget but mapped out over the longer term if needed.

Evidence: A staffing plan within the overall business plan; job descriptions and person specifications for each position including board and management; forecast budgets clearly showing expected staffing expenditure; project plans show longer term implications of staffing changes.

2. Recruitment processes are appropriate to the size and budget of the organization.

There is no one recruitment process that is effective for every type of organization. Smaller organizations may find greater value in using word of mouth to find the right skill set whereas larger organizations may choose to use a recruitment agency to reduce the volume of work that can be generated from a large recruitment campaign. In the current employment environment, organizations can make the mistake of not reviewing all possible recruitment sources such as social media (LinkedIn), job boards or universities.

One of the greatest challenges is in finding the right pair of hands into which to place the responsibility for managing the recruitment of new staff.  Some may automatically turn to a line manager with little experience in recruitment purely because of his/her role but there may be other staff members or even a committee of staff members or board members with a combined skill in staff hire. For nonprofits, this may be an opportunity to seek out volunteer expertise that may be brought in specifically for this task.

A thriving organization will have a clear understanding of its budget and particularly of the ratio of recruitment dollars to the overall labor costs. Where the use of professional recruiters is just not an option because of cost then an organization can reduce its risks by organization-wide discussions on the skills needed and an assessment of the organizational culture to be taken into consideration. An organization that functions well will not underestimate the value of its current staff in informing the recruitment process.

Evidence? Recruitment budgets, written recruitment process, evidence of current staff input in staff meeting minutes, emails, board meeting minutes

image taken from jcsolutions.com

3. Good recruitment processes have an initial process for screening potential candidates

A potential risk occurs when too much recruitment time and budget is allocated to managing the wider pool of candidates. There needs to be a rapid, initial screening process that eliminates unsuitable candidates and leaves a more manageable pool for more detailed assessment. This risk is particularly great when there is no measurable and clear job description against which to measure applications. Being able to speedily and efficiently eliminate resumes that just don't make the grade will ensure that resources are spent at the right end of the process. It would be useful in the longer term to maintain some kind of record of how long this initial screening process is taking so as to monitor if too many resources are being expended in this stage. This would also form budget forecasting and time allocation for future screening of candidates.


Evidence: Job descriptions identifying key skills for measuring resumes, assessments of time taken for initial screening process.

4. Sound organizations use a range of more detailed assessment processes of potential candidates

A survey carried out by Bersin and Associates in 2011 (https://lnkd.in/e66Eyav)  found that 2/3 of those businesses surveyed used no real assessment process in selecting candidates. Assessment processes included behavioral or skills based assessments and reference checks.  There is a mistaken belief that all assessment tools are expensive and require considerable expertise to implement. However, there are some excellent resources that can be found online that can assist. Where you cannot afford a standardized test to administer there is room for creativity in creating a practical test for each of the candidates that relates specifically to the work they will be doing. This requires some advance preparation but would enhance your ability to determine their suitability under some realistic circumstances.

Evidence? Completed assessment questionnaires, written reporting on any practical tests completed by applicants, reference to assessment questionnaire results in either final interview questions and/or decisions about applicants.

image taken from employers.glassdoor.com

5. Determining "cultural fit" will form part of an excellent recruitment process

We are becoming more aware that it is not just about a candidate having an appropriate skill set but whether they are a "fit" into the organizational culture. The wrong staff member with the right skills can upset the apple cart and create emotional havoc within a stable team. This is difficult to assess if we are not self-aware. What exactly is the culture within our organization? Often in small organizations it is the hiring managers who will make the judgement as to whether a person will make a good fit. As organizational culture is generally a group concept it is recommended that more input is received from a wider range of those who will be directly impacted by the new recruit. This is equally important for accepting volunteers.

Evidence: Organizational cultural assessments, staff meeting minutes, interview panel notes, recruitment processes showing introduction of candidates to potential colleagues. 

6. Finding a balance between a fair, consistent interviewing process and being creative

Firstly, might I put in a plug for a panel of interviewers rather than a single person doing the interview. A panel provides the opportunity for someone to observe candidates while questions are being asked (their body language, voice tone, answers to questions), provides multiple points of view to get a more complete understanding of the applicants and can encourage a robust, more objective decision making process.

I have been in the panel for many shortlisted candidate interviews in which the panel sat down and created a tightly consistent list of questions to be asked in exactly the same way for each person to ensure fairness and to avoid a failed candidate appealing the decision. On the other end, I have also witnessed very adhoc interviews that were all over the place without any structure.  Somewhere inbetween is an interviewing process that asks probing, open-ended questions that enable candidates to truly express themselves while having a relatively consistent structure and scoring process to fairly assess them against each other.

A great interviewing process will be based on a clear understanding of what you are looking for and an agreed score card that will assess each individual on a range of criteria. By the end of the interview process, a good scoring process should be able to differentiate between candidates who are relatively closely matched on a number of criteria.

image taken from joeburridge.com

Panel members should be able to discuss and share their findings, not just hand over score cards. This can be done at the end of each interview (particularly if interviews are not on the same day) but preferably during a time of review after all applicants have been interviewed. This is when great analysis can be made not only of each individual but also to measure one against another.

Evidence? Interview questions and notes, score cards for each individual candidate. There should be a recruitment file maintained for each position filled which includes such data.

7. The recruitment process is not complete until the right candidate has accepted the job offer

This may sound obvious but I have witnessed the whole recruitment process fall over because at the very end a candidate is chosen, all of the unsuccessful candidates were notified they did not make it and then the successful applicant turns down the position. This is a matter of timing. Once a decision has been made, contact the successful applicant in the first instance to offer them the position, be patient a little more until they actually sign on the dotted line and then return to those who were not successful to inform them.

In the recruitment process you may have had difficulty in choosing between 2 or maybe even more candidates. You may have considered that more than one person could have been great assets to your organization. At this point, add those who were unsuccessful to your "talent pool", let them know that you might consider them for a future position and find some way to maintain contact.

Evidence: , letters to candidates both before and after the interview processes, minutes of recruitment meetings.

Recruitment is a make or break organizational function. You may believe that you have the greatest product, service or cause in the world but only the right people to represent you to the wider community will make your vision and passion a reality, no matter the size or nature of your organization.

Is our Organization at risk? Part two: How are our administrative systems?

This blog is very much communicated by the auditor or organizational assessor in me. One of the first things that I notice about an organization at risk is their complete lack or general lack of paperwork or of sound, consistent administrative processes. These organizations tend to run by the seat of their pants in a spontaneous haphazard way. "Paperwork?" I can hear you say. "Paperwork is a distraction from doing the real work, right?"

In a highly changing world that thrives on innovation and values spontaneity it is difficult to accept the importance of having a sound, underpinning administration system that is predictable and accountable. It may be surprising to you but organizations without these underpinning processes are often organizations in chaos and unable to truly respond or adjust to a changing environment. It is an "at risk" board that takes a hostile approach to administrative paperwork and that has no paper trail. I use the word 'paper trail' in its broadest sense to include all electronic documentation with sound back ups.

It would be impossible to do a thorough analysis of all administration forms and processes that are needed to function well but I would like to create a list of fundamental principles of great administrative practices.

A thriving organization will have:

1. Policies and procedures to cover key aspects of the functioning and decision making processes.

Without policies and procedures then every single decision must be made on the spot as circumstances arrive, leaving an organization at the whim of external forces. While this may sound onerous to develop, the time invested by a board in developing sound policies to govern the organization will pay dividends in providing clear guidance for administration procedures to be put into place by management. There is a balancing act in determining the level of policies and procedures required that both cover necessary business functions but at the same time do not wrap management and employees in unnecessary administrative red tape.

Cartoon taken from www.processexcellencenetwork.com

A thriving organization will ensure that policies and procedures are consistent, easily understood and easily measured in their application. If you can't measure whether a procedure is effective then you have no means of adjusting, enhancing or even eliminating any particular procedure.

2. Administration processes that are communicated clearly to all members within an organization.

Sound administrative practices are just that-practices. When staff are not clear about what is expected of them then the tendency is for them to make up their own procedures to fill the vacuum. This creates confusion and chaos. Management time spent dealing with adhoc administrative issues also increases when there is little uniformity or consistency. While it may seem counter-intuitive, it is much easier to be innovative when there are consistent underpinning administration processes which are in writing and which are effectively communicated to staff. This should include a means to ascertain staff understanding of communications.

Image taken from douggeiger.wordpress.com

3. Role clarity between staff.
The principle is that for every administrative process someone needs to be responsible. A problem could exist obviously when there are gaps in assigning responsibility for tasks but there are also risks when there are double-ups of staff responsibilities. An organizational chart identifying key accountabilities will save much heartache and will provide staff with a clear understanding of who does what. As an organization grows or changes in any way, it is a healthy sign when these identified accountabilities are regularly reviewed to ensure they still fit.

Image taken from www.togethertothetop.com

4. An updated administration system to meet your needs
I remember being shocked by the system of a very, very large organization in France for the oversight of their company vehicles. The system described to me was of a large, red 'cahier' or ledger book into which was handwritten every vehicle purchased on a nationwide basis. I gulped and then asked, "So what happens when you lose a vehicle?" The administrator informed me that he would take a pen and draw a line through that listing of the vehicle. I was incredulous but I continued,"So what process do you use to take a regular inventory of all the vehicles?" His answer? "I just count each one left on the ledger." We were talking about hundreds of vehicles in this instance. Clearly their needs had outstripped their particular methodology. It was a great process for keeping someone employed to take the tally but it was sadly inefficient and very risky for keeping up with the status of their vehicles.

image taken from www.thecreditsolutionprogram.com

Incredible though this may sound, this is a common situation as organizations grow, particularly for non-profit organizations where there are limited funds for infrastructure development. However, initial savings in infrastructure costs by not updating are very quickly eaten up as further human resources are needed to maintain or patch up an outdated system. Sadly, in today's fast moving technology, software programs that underpin websites or applications are quickly superseded by new versions and maintaining old software packages becomes problematic.

In addition, if an organisation seeks to save money initially by going with a cheap and unknown software development package there could be longer term repercussions when software needs updating. It means that you are trapped into using the same software development professionals who are the only ones who know their work. It is recommended that any infrastructure development be kept relatively simple and using recognisable and reputable software development processes.

In summary
Take the time, make the effort to examine your administrative functions to ensure that they are thorough and consistent, easily understood, widely communicated and regularly reviewed. As your organization grows, do not forget to expand your infrastructure accordingly so that you are not left with a dinosaur of administrative processes in a quickly changing environment.

Is Our Organization at risk? Part One: Board of Directors

In the next series of blogs I would like to look at elements of organizations at risk versus characteristics of thriving organizations. Assessments of the functioning of organizations should look at individual elements and then evaluate the relationship between each functioning piece. Sometimes individual systems such as HR or financial systems are individually efficient but there is no synergy with other aspects of the organization, creating an organization at risk. One thing I learned from analyzing so many organizations: No two are alike and that's great! However, there are still some underlying principles that can either enhance or derail a business or organization.

Image taken from emsaac.org

What follows is a straightforward list based on key operating principles that boards of directors might use to evaluate themselves. In some instances, boards may prefer to have this done externally. While there is a continuum of efficiency along which each of these guidelines might fall, I would like to discuss the two extreme ends: the "at risk" and the "thriving" boards. For each section, I have provided a list of possible documents which could be viewed to ascertain the effectiveness of each principle. Internal assessments should be evidence-based where possible.

The Board of Directors plays a key role in the health of an organization. They
1. Set strategy and organizational direction and resulting goals.
2. Monitor the overall financial health of the organization
3. Select and manage the CEO
4. Evaluate organizational risk
5. Ensure compliance with legal requirements.
6. Work to promote the organization with the wider community to enhance relationships


1. Boards of Directors hold structured, regular meetings and meaningful Annual Meetings 

The regularity and organization of board meetings are indicative of the commitment and participation of Directors. A board that excels sees Directors who make their attendance and their participation a priority. Planning strategic direction is a long term task and therefore requires meetings that look more long term and that build in evaluations of progress. This is difficult to maintain if Directors opt in and out of meetings. Annual planning is certainly important for sound board practice leading towards a meaningful AGM that both reports back to and engages their constituency in onward goal setting. Each regularly held meeting should be presented with a full set of accounts for discussion and approval in addition to other structured discussion.  All Directors will have been given the opportunity to contribute to the agenda.

Struggling boards are sometimes adhoc in their meeting planning and attendance by Directors. AGMS are not seen as important milestones but are merely to fulfill a legal obligation. There is no clear structure to the agenda items and little advance planning for key board tasks. Because of the lack of structure, boards at risk are often in emergency management mode, dealing with whatever crises are on the top of the list rather than being proactive and preventative.

Evidence? Board meeting minutes, board agendas, financial reports, AGM reports, AGM meeting minutes and attendance records.

2. Board members understand their roles and responsibilities.

In a thriving board, not only will each board member be provided with a job description but these are reviewed regularly to ensure that they are current with the tasks at hand. This is particularly needed when the skills mix changes with the introduction of new members. New board members are provided with induction and a truly thriving board will undertake some form of team building to ensure that the dynamics of a new Director are not disruptive to its effectiveness.  When there is a board vacancy, job descriptions and person specifications are written in advance so that the right skills and personality mix are sought. In a thriving board, all directors will have signed off on each of the board job descriptions and will have agreed to each other's roles. Clarity is not just individual but collective.

Conversely, a board is at risk when there is a lack of understanding of their roles and responsibilities, when there are conflicts over role boundaries or where there are large gaps in service delivery. At risk boards have difficulty recruiting the right skills mix and find themselves unable to make key decisions because they lack the knowledge among themselves. One of the greatest areas of risk is in a lack of clarity between the board and its CEO. It is a common issue for boards that are not well trained to either become overly involved in management decisions or to completely give their CEO free rein with a totally hands off approach. Both extremes pose risks for the organization. A board that has been inadequately trained and prepared can also encourage conflict and frustration.

Evidence? Written job descriptions, person specifications, recruitment processes for board directors, notes of induction training. Interviews with board directors to determine if they are familiar with their roles and responsibilities. Policies and procedures for standing committees.

3. Establishing Vision and Direction
To be truly thriving as a board of Directors, establishing strategic vision and overall direction of the organization is not simply something they do among themselves. Whether for-profit or non-profit, boards of Directors represent a wider community. A healthy board will have canvassed and taken into account the views and needs of their constituency when drafting their strategic plan. Likewise, a healthy board will view their strategic plan as a living document and will regularly seek feedback to adjust it where needed.

An excelling board of Directors will measure all plans brought to them by the management team against the strategic plan. The board is the rudder, holding the ship on its intended course and will ask the appropriate questions to ensure that the long term vision is maintained as well as keeping the organization ticking over on a day to day basis.

Boards that are at risk in this aspect tend to be those that rubber stamp approvals, look at decisions in the short term without due regard to long term impact or direction. The strategic plan is either not written or it has been drafted by the CEO and management team with little input from the board or the wider community. While it is appropriate for the CEO to be delegated the task of pulling all the threads of the strategic plan together, ultimately a good board will take personal responsibility for its development. Boards at risk are often insular in nature, taking very little into account from outside of the walls of their meetings.

Evidence? A document expressing vision such as a constitution is in place. Signed off strategic plan, board minutes showing discussions of strategic planning, input of constituencies, long term planning with detailed analyses against the strategic plans, CEO board reports and business plans showing references to the strategic plan, minutes of community based meetings. 

4. Clear and Well-Documented Decision Making Processes 
We know that a board is thriving when we see solid, well-informed decisions being made. This is not as simple as it sounds. It means that the Directors expect sound data to inform their deliberations: financial data, HR and capital costs, marketing data, risk analyses and legal issues. A good board will not move forward until they have examined not only the immediate advantages of a decision but also the longer term impact. This is definitely not a rubber stamping exercise and requires the full skill set of a well-balanced board as well as a cooperative and skilled CEO. Policies and procedures support this process to ensure clarity of roles between Directors and the management team. Such policies and procedures should particularly include powers of delegation. Who is able to negotiate and sign off on contracts? Is there a process for increasing staff numbers that includes the board? At what level are capital expenses brought to the board for approval prior to purchase? Are restructuring plans expressed in the longer term as well as the immediate impact?

In the decision making exercise, all Directors need to be participants. A thriving board is one that has meaningful conversation around decisions without massive conflict. This is not to say that all need to be in a unity of agreement. Far from it! Directors need to have sound negotiating skills in order to focus on solutions and not on people.  Decision making by the board is a team effort that requires clear structure and process that falls into place at each adjustment and turn. Flexibility and structure are balanced and go hand in hand. In fact, within a well-run board it is the structure that provides the freedom to be creative. A good board conceives, delegates the "how" and "what" to the CEO and management team, reviews progress with their staff and regularly seeks for measures against the intended strategic plan. This is possible only if the CEO is regularly present in board meetings as well as other management staff by invitation as needed.

Image taken from www.worldvision.ca

On the other hand, a struggling board either abdicates the decision making to the CEO, rubber stamping decisions or micro-manages each and every management decision. An at risk board will not take the time to examine important decisions with any level of depth and will fail to ask the key questions needed for sound decision making. A board that works in isolation from their constituency group will also made adhoc decisions without reference to their overall agreed purpose or without reference to the current needs of their constituency or client group. Those boards that insert themselves in the day to day management are more likely to create conflict with their CEO and will slow down decision making as it goes back and forth to the board room.

Evidence? Board minutes show informed decision making processes in play that involve all participants. Minutes show data used in decision making. CEO reports show information fed into decisions. Financial reports as tabled and discussed by the board.

5. Legal obligations are met and risk is minimised
Oversight of organization-wide risk is one of the key roles of the Board of Directors. While it is the management team's responsibility to identify and manage risk, a good Board of Directors will have put into place robust and structured procedures for the reporting of that risk, receiving a risk management report at least annually in a scheduled manner. At the same time, a good board will differentiate between oversight of ongoing risks to the organization (such as legislative requirements or occupational, health and safety risks) and situation specific risk oversight (such as when considering a change in direction or developing a new strategic plan.). In a similar light, good oversight of risk will allow for assessment of changes to its particular environment. In a great board, the parameters around risk are contained within a written document that is regularly reviewed for relevance and adherence.

A survey of more than 200 current and former board members was undertaken by Proviti in December 2010 which revealed that slighly more than half of respondents felt that their board was highly functioning in risk oversight.( http://www.coso.org/documents/Board-Risk-Oversight-Survey-COSO-Protiviti_000.pdf.) In this same report, only 13% of board members of non-profit organizations reported that they were effectively undertaking risk oversight.

An at risk board will not have regular processes in place to monitor risk, who seek for reports on risk in an adhoc manner. There is also the opposite difficulty where boards are so concerned with risk that they tie the CEO's hands in their anxiety, thwarting creativity. In other words, a balanced approach to risk is needed. Where a board of Directors has not been able to recruit a good mix of professional skills, there can be gaps in the ability to analyze the data provided.
Evidence: Risk reports tabled with the board, risk analysis with each major project, annual board agenda, minutes of board meetings showing discussions on risk oversight, policy on risk management.

Overall, self-evaluations by Boards of Directors are healthy and enable an organization to move forward with assurance, creativity and great leadership. If self-evaluations are not possible because of lack of internal skills or lack of functionality of the existing board it is recommended that the board look at an external evaluation to enable the basic principled practices to be put into place.

Our Privacy Has Gone Out the Window

Recently, I was told of a friend who went shopping in Bed, Bath and Beyond. He did not purchase anything, did not sign anything or indicate what he was looking for to any sales associate. By the time he arrived home he was receiving emails from Bed, Bath and Beyond offering specials and deals. This may be old news to some but my research showed that the iPhone has a tracking device inside of it that syncs with your computer the minute you log in, letting it know where you have been.

Something similar happens to me regularly. I have gone searching for something specific online at Ebay only to go onto Facebook and get a reminder there on my homepage feed, "Did I still want to buy it?" My homepage is filled with advertisements of what they think I might be interested in buying based on data they could only have gleaned from my personal information. More recently, I registered as a follower of the very popular blog, Quora. I have never stated what kind of blogs I might be interested in and yet from the outset, Quora began showing me blogs that it thought that I might want to read. Not that they always get it right. Quora certainly has sent me blogs in which I am not interested.

In another more insidious example, I was phoning around to get quotes for car insurance. In speaking with one particular insurance company, the salesman proceeded to tell me the names and details of every single individual living in our home. He had all of these details at his fingertips. He seemed a little taken aback when I wanted to know from where he had sourced that information. Needless to say, I did not get an answer to my question. When I asked my American friends about their feelings about commercial enterprises having such intimate knowledge of what is happening within their homes, they seemed nonplussed. It was something that they were accustomed to and thought nothing of.

Are we being lulled into a sense that our privacy is legitimately up for grabs? Why is it that we have allowed it to get to this point where literally, these private corporations can look into our very homes? I hear many speak about concerns about government interference and yet seem totally unconcerned about the interference of private enterprises. Identity theft has become a real issue lately, said to cost the economy in the billions and yet we freely allow marketers and organizations to hold our information without even so much as giving them permission. As I let the hapless car insurance salesman know, I had never given them permission to hold or access my information.

So why is this all so terrible to me?
1. I don't appreciate being told me what or where I should buy, let alone what I should be thinking. Much of the information with which I am being bombarded is clearly designed to encourage new behavior. It has the smack of manipulation to it. Quite often the marketing process also completely misses the mark, offering me something I don't want. I give for an example, being constantly sent advertisements for dating services for men my age, based on earlier single days, when I am now a happily married woman.

2. I consider that where and when I go to be my private concern and not for some bot to be monitoring and passing on to all-seeing eyes in the background. I should have the right to browse in a store and not to be chased afterwards, almost harassed with their advertising material.

3. For me my home is my castle, my refuge. I want to be able to decide who comes and goes within my home, whether real or virtual.
 
4. There are no visible means to opt out of this process unless you completely disconnect from technology altogether. Not a very viable option in the 21st Century. Yes, I like to have a cell phone so that I am able to contact family and others close to me as well as for my business. There are also real advantages in connecting to the internet to peruse subjects, find deals and make connections. But must I have to do this at the price of my privacy?

I am not sure about the answer to all this. Privacy watchdogs have begun to make some headway in Europe regarding Google but there is still much work to be done within the United States. A map (granted a little dated at 2007) produced by Privacy International reveals the United States is labelled as an "endemic surveillance society" in the privacy rankings equivalent to Russia and China. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Privacy_International_2007_privacy_ranking_map.png.

So I am speaking up and saying that this has to stop and greater protections need to be afforded to us. Who is with me?