In writing these Tips for Effective Boards, I have tried to make them relevant to all boards whether they practice the Policy Governance model or not. However, I’m sure that regular readers of these Tips are aware that I have a special deep appreciation for the Policy Governance model. I have lived the model as a CEO reporting to a Policy Governance board and I have served as a board member for the International Policy Governance Association (now called Govern for Impact). And, for the last nine years, my sole professional focus as a consultant has been board governance, most often the Policy Governance model.

In this one hundredth monthly Tip for Effective Boards, I would like to be more direct in spelling out a number of potential benefits of Policy Governance for governing boards.

In general, the Policy Governance model can provide boards with an opportunity to enhance the effectiveness, efficiency, and accountability with which they carry out their governance function. It can provide your board with a comprehensive state of the art board governance system that you can customize to your board.

More specifically,

1.       A Policy Governance board is focused on ensuring that the organization it is governing is producing the results that it wants the organization to produce.

a.       A Policy Governance board determines what results are to be produced by the organization and for what beneficiaries.

b.      For Policy Governance boards, the bottom line is results and not activities. Not how many counseling sessions are being provided but are people better off because of these counseling sessions. Of course, it may be important to know how many sessions are being provided. But it’s even more important to know if the sessions are producing worthwhile results for the people being served.

c.       A Policy Governance board holds the CEO accountable for producing the board-determined results for the board-determined beneficiaries.

2.       A Policy Governance board can have fewer, shorter and more productive meetings.

a.       Effective delegation to management enables the Policy Governance board to spend its time on board-level issues like determining organizational purpose (what results and for whom) and ensuring that board-determined results are being achieved and that the organization is being managed in accordance with board-determined expectations regarding prudent and ethical operations.

b.      A Policy Governance board has clarity about the roles of the board and the CEO which allows the board to spend its precious meeting time focused on carrying out its role.

c.       Policy Governance boards typically report that they spend less time in board committee meetings and meetings of the full board than they did before adopting the Policy Governance model.

3.       A Policy Governance board controls operations effectively and efficiently without micromanaging operational details.

a.       A Policy Governance board establishes about ten or so board-level policies that provide boundaries of prudence and ethics within which management is required to operate the organization.

b.      A Policy Governance board closely monitors organizational performance to ensure that management complies with the board policies that articulate the boundaries within which the organization is to be managed.

c.       For Policy Governance boards, CEOs are empowered to make decisions and to act as long as they remain within the boundaries established in board policies.

4.       A Policy Governance board is characterized by a high level of accountability.

a.       A Policy Governance board holds its CEO accountable for achieving the board-determined results for the board-determined beneficiaries while operating the organization in compliance with the board’s expectations for prudence and ethics articulated in its board-level policies.

b.      A Policy Governance board maintains an ongoing relationship with its key stakeholders (those persons on whose behalf it governs). It regularly seeks input from these stakeholders to inform its board decision-making, primarily about organizational purpose. In addition, it holds itself accountable to these key stakeholders for its decision-making and for organizational performance.

If you would like to explore the Policy Governance model, I would like to suggest the following resources:

1.       Boards That Make a Difference Third Edition by John Carver. Jossey-Bass. 2006. This is THE CLASSIC BOOK about Policy Governance by the creator of the model. This is an indispensable resource for organizations serious about the model.

2.     “The Policy Governance Model and the Role of the Board Member” by John Carver and Miriam Carver. This 40-page booklet is one of the six booklets in The Carver Policy Governance Guide Series. Jossey-Bass, 2009. This is an excellent brief overview of the model. For years, I have suggested to client boards that they consider providing a copy of this booklet to each of their board members and to their CEO. Of course, the other five booklets in this series are excellent as well.

3.       The website for my consulting firm provides a very brief overview of the Policy Governance model and the latest articulation of the ten principles of the model:    https://www.BoardsOnCourse.com/policy-governance. 

4.       The website for Govern for Impact, the international organization that promotes and supports the use of the Policy Governance model, provides numerous helpful resources: https://www.governforimpact.org.    

5.       Better Boards for a Better World by John Bohley and Larry Spears. BookBaby, 2023. For information about this newly published book, please click on https://www.BoardsOnCourse.com and scroll down to the bottom of the page.

To learn more about the Policy Governance model on this website, please click https://www.BoardsOnCourse.com/policy-governance.