Presented at the Pathways Coordination Event and Expo, June 18, 2024, Atlanta, GA.

In consultation with:

In consultation with B. David Rowe, PhD, President of Windermere Consulting and Senior Advisor for Governance and Strategy to the In Trust Center for Theological Schools

Synopsis

WHY should the board be involved?

Fiduciary Duty. Pathways for Tomorrow is intended to catalyze systemic change in preparing congregational leaders. Initiatives with such broad impact require not only innovative program ideas but also a rethinking of the ways that organizational missions, programs, structures, and resource allocations inhibit or contribute to this level of transformation.

Uniquely holding fiduciary responsibility for your school’s mission fulfillment and economic vitality, the governing board must be involved in this level of institutional reflection and potential redesign. If your initiative can be implemented without the board’s knowledge or support, it may not meet the threshold of being truly transformative.

WHEN should the board be involved?

From the beginning. To enact meaningful and transformational change, the governing board must be involved in asking open-ended questions at the start of the process.

Unless the board collectively helps define and articulate the need and the case for change, executives and program directors may find themselves in the unenviable (and asymmetric) position of “selling” the board on the idea to gain “buy-in.”

WHAT should the board be involved in?

Asking the right questions. Institutional transformation requires an honest assessment of the institution’s current state, a clear articulation for its future, and an achievable plan to realize the change (See the Basics of Change Management)

The governing board should define the desired outcomes of impactful initiatives, approve resource investments, and charge senior leaders with achieving the desired outcomes.

WHERE should the board be involved?

In the board room. Projects this ambitious require formal and official consideration by the board to ensure alignment with the institution’s mission, consistency with its vision, and the responsible stewardship of money, time, infrastructure, and talent.

While the board may facilitate fewer formal interactions with project team members to enhance a deeper understanding of the initiative among individual trustees, project directors and other participants should avoid advocating for the initiative in settings not meant for that purpose.   

WHO should involve the board?

The president or executive leader. Project directors should ensure senior leaders are engaged early in the process and follow their guidance for board engagement, avoiding the (often mutual) temptation to cultivate support for the project on a one-on-one basis with individual board members.

Remember, the board acts as a collective body, and only proper governance processes can sustain the transformational impact you are working so hard to achieve.