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The Basis of Success: Board Composition

Composition is the foundation of board performance, and it has a strong correlation to a board’s engagement—its ability to work together to be effective. Composition of the board defines who the directors are, their capabilities and how they utilize their areas of expertise to help the organization move strategically forward.

A nonprofit board is really just the sum total of wisdom and experience of its collective members and their attributes and skills:

  • Leadership
  • Competency (diversity of skill sets) and expertise
  • Capacity to give (time and money)
  • Capacity to get (resources, donors, etc.)

JD Coaching & Consulting developed a Board Performance Assessment that helps identify a board’s key areas of proficiency as well as their performance gaps. From this evaluation, we are able to offer key solutions to help the board better serve their organization. Targeted recommendations concerning what type of additions your board could benefit from can make an enormous difference. Request a copy of our benchmark study.

Would you like to explore how your board be more effective? Let’s keep the conversation going.

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Achieve Your Potential with Organizational Development

Organization development is a deliberately planned effort to increase an organization’s effectiveness. One way to look at Organizational Development (OD) is to compare it to exercising: it’s body building for the organization.

Athletes, even in the best of shape, follow a strict exercise regime. They keep their body fit for the long run. And non-athlete, health-conscious adults exercise and eat well as a preventative measure. Organizations need to adopt this same kind of thinking.

Organizations need to weather economic stresses and unexpected infirmity like financial recession, employee attrition, budget cuts and other elements that could pose a threat to an organization. Strong organizations develop their people—invigorating them to perform most effectively. Employee development, management training and succession planning all focus on an organization’s core, their people—their most vital internal assets.

Some would argue that OD is not just about training, human resource or team development. Theorists and OD practitioners generally look at the structure of a current organization to ensure it is positioned to absorb disruptive forces and changing market environments. They focus on the processes and systems that are inextricably linked to the people inside and outside of the organization. The organization is a complex system of financial, research and development, marketing, sales and customer service operations that need to function well together.

People and process are both important, just like diet and exercise. The best-run organization assesses its core strength, vitality, pulse and temperature on a regular basis. Annual analyses and reviews are the annual physical. The doctor’s orders maintain organizational health and wellness.

Sometimes, it’s hard to get to the gym—especially when we are so busy with the challenges of our daily business. But that is when we need it the most. A healthy body will be stronger and more resistant to stress. As leaders, we need to keep our organizations strong to compete effectively.

When was your last check-up? How recently did you evaluate internal systems and processes? How are your employee and customer satisfaction ratings? What structures need to be revitalized to ensure their ability to manage change? Maybe now is a good time to take your organization’s pulse to ensure it achieves its full potential.

 

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Board Engagement

In the past few years, employee engagement has become a human resource hot topic—with lack of engagement being the number-one reason employees move on. Active engagement is also key to success in the nonprofit sector.

The engagement between board members and internal and external resources involved with the organization reflects the commitment and effectiveness of a board. How would your board measure its engagement in the following categories?

  • Fundraising and development
  • Community relations and advocacy
  • Strategic direction
  • Committee assignments

JD Coaching & Consulting developed a Board Performance Assessment that helps identify a board’s proficiencies and deficiencies and arrive at targeted recommendations concerning what type of engagement modifications your board could benefit from. These can make an enormous difference and help your board be more effective.

Request a copy of our benchmark study.

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Customize Your Résumé for the Biggest Impact

When employers have difficulty matching the talent and skills of potential employees with their organization’s needs, it’s more important than ever to know your audience and customize your résumé accordingly.  Research shows that hiring managers spend a mere six seconds previewing each résumé they receive which is another reason you need to capture their immediate attention with a well crafted résumé.

Sometimes it’s as simple as adding some additional key words to get noticed: be extremely specific about your skills, and make sure they match the desired qualifications of the position. Recruiters and hiring managers spend the most time reviewing your current and previous position, continuity of employment and education level.

There’s a reason employers state what level of experience they seek. It might seem obvious that an under-experienced candidate won’t likely win an interview. However, a candidate with too much experience may also be disadvantaged. An employer may assume your salary is out of their range or that you will move on as soon as a better opportunity comes along.

Aligning your qualifications and experience to a position description requires skillful writing and the listing of past quantifiable accomplishments that demonstrate you can do the job.   Resume writing is part science and part artistic expression.  Make your resume current, comprehensive and customized to the position your really want.

Looking for a more personalized résumé? JD Coaching & Consulting is here to help! Let’s talk.

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Achieve Your Potential with Strategic Planning

Strategic Planning is an organization’s process of defining its direction and making decisions on allocating necessary resources to implement the strategy. It is about capturing a vision for the future and then focusing on the essential strategies that move you toward that vision. Whether you are an organization or an individual, planning is a necessary part of achieving your potential.

For the Individual

In my book The Promise of Potential, individuals are guided through a four-step process to strategically achieve their personal vision: I AM, I NEED, I WANT, I WILL.

Focusing on a vision (I WANT) is what energizes and motivates us. Knowing we have the natural talent to achieve our vision (I AM) is what propels us to work towards our goal. Understanding the steps to strategically move forward (I NEED) is also necessary. But the commitment to action (I WILL) is where the rubber meets the road! These simple steps form a proven process for taking an individual from where they are now to where they want to be.

For the Organization

I recently facilitated a strategic planning process for a highly successful community foundation. It was an awesome experience to see the 25-member board navigate through a five-step methodology: Discover – Evaluate – Imagine – Choose – Focus. Our pre-work included understanding the organization’s history, current position, challenges and questions for the future (Discover). We assessed strengths, competition, resources and needs (Evaluate) and before coming together for our facilitated planning session where we visualized the future (Imagine) and developed a strategic plan.

The excitement in the room was palpable as every board member began to see possibilities for their organization. The group bonded around a unifying theme for their future—a vision that motivated them to do the next critical steps in the process. They articulated and prioritized alternative strategies that could help them achieve their vision (Choose) and finally, they developed action plans for the top priorities that would yield the biggest impact (Focus).

The organizational planning process we used was analogous to the course of action recommended for individuals. Defining what needs to be done and focusing on a commitment to action is imperative for individuals and organizations. Both methodologies ignite possibilities and unleash motivation. They begin with a magnetic vision that keeps you focused on the desired goal.

Planning for the future must be strategic, but it can also be simple. What are your personal or organizational possibilities? If you can dream it, you can achieve it.  We would welcome the opportunity to help you achieve your potential. Let’s talk!

Company Profile

JD Consulting and Coaching is an organization development firm that helps corporate and nonprofit leaders, their teams and key contributors improve performance.

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JD Coaching & Consulting
49 North 4th Avenue, #103
Minneapolis, MN 55401

(612) 845.6896
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