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Capstone - Managing Board Change for High Levels of Leadership and Governance Effectiveness

Course video 0 of 2

Welcome to the fourth and final course in the new Coursera Specialization: Developing Leadership and Improving Governance in Nonprofit Organizations.The Capstone is designed to help you apply the knowledge and skills developed in the three Specialization courses to a real world leadership and governance situation a nonprofit organization board of directors is experiencing. As a service learning experience, you will act as an agent for positive change by working with a board of a nonprofit organization that you serve on, work for, or know through the Capstone Project.

Capstone - Managing Board Change for Higher Levels of Leadership and Governance Effectiveness

Университет штата Нью-Йорк

Курс 4 из 4 — Руководство и принципы управления некоммерческими организациями: пути совершенствования Специализация

The Capstone Project is a service learning experience designed to apply the knowledge and skills developed in the three Specialization courses to a real world leadership and governance situation. It is also intended to develop the participant's capability to act as an agent for positive change in nonprofit organizations. To this end, you will analyze the leadership and governance effectiveness of a real board of directors in an organization of your own choosing (or, if that is not possible, data gathered from a real board provided by the course instructors). By the end of the Capstone Project, you will have produced a professional consulting report detailing your analysis and recommendations to improve board leadership and governance effectiveness. You will then present it to the board and advise them on implementing change. To learn more about this course, please watch the overview video by copying and pasting the following link into your web browser: https://goo.gl/GTWrN2 Keywords: Nonprofit; Nonprofit Sector; Voluntary Sector; Nonprofit Organizations, Non-Governmental Organizations, Volunteer Organizations, Leadership, Management, Governance, Board, Board of Directors, Performance, Effectiveness Capstone Project Overview: Weeks 1-3: This period will be spent choosing a board of a nonprofit organization and gathering information using two specially designed tools and resources: The SUNY Open textbook (to download the book copy and paste the following link into your browser: http://tinyurl.com/peolnjb), "Guidelines for Improving the Effectiveness of Boards of Directors of Nonprofit Organizations", and The Board Check-Up, online board performance self-assessment tool that can be accessed by copying and pasting this link into your browser: https://www.boardcheckup.com. Weeks 4-5: In this phase, the information gathered will be analyzed leading to an evaluation of the board's effectiveness in the different dimensions of board effectiveness examined in the Specialization courses. Weeks 6-8: In the final phase of the Project, the results of the analysis and recommendations for positive change will be brought together a specially prepared consulting report intended for the use of the board of the client organization.

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Prof. Yvonne D. Harrison, PhD
Associate Professor and Director
Prof. Vic Murray, PhD
Adjunct Professor

Текст видео

[MUSIC]

Hi, I'm Professor Yvonne Harrison.

On behalf of co-instructor in this course, Professor Vic Murray, and instructional

designer Elena Roddick, I want to welcome you to the capstone course.

The fourth and final course in the specialization on developing leadership

and improving governance in nonprofit organizations.

The capstone is designed to help you apply the knowledge and skills developed in

the specialization courses to a real world leadership and governance

situation a board of a not-for-profit organization is experiencing.

As a service learning experience, you will act as an agent for positive change by

working with a board of a not-for-profit organization that you serve on,

work for, or are familiar with in your community through the Capstone Project.

By the end of the course, you will have worked with the board, helped it assess

its performance, and produced a report on the state of board effectiveness.

Along with recommendations for managing board change to help

the board reach a higher level of leadership and governance effectiveness.

In this video, I'll begin with the leadership competencies developed and

emphasized in the specialization courses

that you will apply in your Capstone Project.

Next I'll present the key questions that we explored with some students and

a board that participated in an earlier version of the capstone course.

In this part of the video, you will find summaries of the key points

participants made in response to these questions.

Along with some video footage that we hope will be helpful of participant experiences

and suggestions to help you get the most value out of your Capstone Project.

I will conclude the video with a review of next steps for

what you need to do to start and complete your Capstone Project.

The leadership competencies emphasized in the specialization courses

that you will apply in the capstone will help you to 1, articulate and

apply a public service perspective in your Capstone Project work.

2, communicate and interact productively with non-profit leaders on the board and

in the organization that you're doing the capstone work in.

3, through the performance assessment activity that you'll be doing

with the board, you will help it identify, analyze, synthesize, and

think critically about governance and leadership effectiveness challenges.

4, you will also lead and

help the board manage these challenges through the governance process.

And 5, you will participate in, contribute to, and

be an agent for positive change throughout the Capstone Project.

To give you some idea of what the experience

of carrying out a Capstone Project is like.

We asked a sample of students and a representative of one of the boards of

a nonprofit organization that participated in a previous version of

this course to answer a few questions about their experience with it.

Here are the questions that we asked.

1, how did you feel about participating in the Capstone Project?

2, what was it like to participate in a board performance assessment?

3, what were some of the main benefits of the Capstone Project?

And 4, can you offer some tips for success or

some pitfalls to avoid when undertaking the Capstone Project?

Question 1, how did you feel about participating in the Capstone Project?

From the board's perspective, we asked Reginald Foster, President and

CEO of United Way New York State, how he and

members of his board felt about participating in the Capstone Project.

While some members of his board were skeptical,

Reginald Foster describes how valuable the process was.

>> Our board had had an assessment process three years earlier,

so they were familiar with it.

Some folks were not convinced it was something we needed to do.

But I believed, and many of the board members believed,

that it was worthwhile, that we would find out things that we hadn't

realized before about the strengths and weaknesses of our board.

And the value of having an expert process that had been looked

at by people with real expertise in designing questionnaires,

and making sure that it covered all the comprehensive areas of the board.

That was the gain for us, because we tried to just design a questionnaire ourselves.

We weren't sure that we could touch on all the important pieces.

We weren't sure that the questions we'd asked would be valid.

And we needed help interpreting results, the responses.

So all of these things were things that we gained by

using this process that had been developed beforehand.

And so I think that there were some people that were skeptical,

but the majority thought it would be valuable, and they went along with it.

>> We asked some students who participated in the onsite version of the capstone

course about how they felt working with a board of a non-for-profit organization.

Zakhar Berkovich and Karen Kirstein, students at the University of Albany,

said they were excited about the opportunity to work with the board.

>> I was excited to work with United Way New York State.

It's a very reputable and respectable organization, so

I was very interested in working with its board.

And I don't think I felt nervous at all, just excited.

>> I was really excited about opportunity to work with the board.

I've had some experience prior to this class to be on the board,

and I thought that having direct knowledge and

then using it in practice would be really useful.

So I'm actually really, really excited about having this opportunity.

>> Samantha Clarke and Jan Andrade both said it was fascinating to

work with a board that they don't normally work with.

>> As a student, I was excited about the opportunity to have a real world

experience with a board in the community.

And I can't say that I was nervous.

As a professional community having worked with boards in the past,

I looked at it as an opportunity.

>> And I was excited to find out that I would get to work with a board.

I've worked with boards in my professional career, so I thought it would be kind of

fascinating to see a different one outside the one that I currently work on.

>> Beroro Efecoro, Founder and CEO of the National Organization

of Graduate Education and a University at Albany student,

said he appreciated the opportunity to work with his own board.

To see what changes needed to be made.

>> I worked with the National Organization for Global Education and

I'm the founder of the organization.

And so I am the Executive Director of the organization.

I worked with my own board.

And the assessment gave me the opportunity to actually

assess the effectiveness of my organization and

the effectiveness of the board itself that I work with

to see what changes needed to be made.

Or what we are as an organization when a board is as a leadership,

as governors board.

And it was pretty good.

>> Emma Horvath and Katherine Toomey,

students at the University at Albany said they were both nervous and

excited about the opportunity to apply learning outside of the classroom.

>> For me specifically, I was really nervous just because I

don't really have a lot of experience in the field yet.

And I I don't really have a lot of interaction with nonprofits,

besides the ones that I've previously done internships with.

So I really don't know what to expect working with an organization on such

an intimate level.

>> I was excited about the prospect and how it would be very useful for

development in the field.

And it would be rather than just learning from the book,

I'll be able to apply my learning outside of the classroom.

But I was really anxious about who I would be paired with, and

if they would be accepting of a student.

And I think that we got a wonderful case study.

So I think we're very lucky >> When I asked MaryBeth Carswell, another

student in the nonprofit governance course at the University at Albany,

how she felt about working with the board.

She said she was comfortable reaching out to

ask the questions that needed to be asked.

>> So I was not nervous working with the board.

And in some of my other classes, we had to work with other nonprofit organisations.

So I was pretty comfortable being able to reach out and ask

some questions that I think needed to be asked in order to complete the assignment.

>> As many of the students in our board mentioned there are a variety of feelings

associated with working in a real world Capstone Project.

As Reg mentioned, some board members may be skeptical at

first about the process of assessing their performance through the Capstone Project.

They may have different opinions about the value of performance assessment and

preferences for certain tools and practices.

However, as Reginald Foster mentioned,

many will see the value in having access to the expertise procedure and

the products that the Capstone Project affords the board and the organization.

Therefore, when you approach a board about participating in the Capstone,

it is important to present the unique advantages of it

to answer any questions and clear up any doubts about the process.

With regard to how you might feel as a student in the Capstone,

if you're new to the nonprofit sector or have never worked with

the board of directors, naturally, you may feel a little nervous and

anxious about working with the board for the first time.

Even if you lack experience however, the opportunity to apply what you've

learned to help a board improve it's leadership and governance effectiveness

will not only be exciting, but will be seen as a valuable learning opportunity

that stems from getting outside of the classroom into the real world.

And don't forget, our research has shown that the vast majority of boards that

participate in this course see numerous benefits of it.

Some of these benefits include increased clarity about the board's role and

responsibility in the governance process and

changes in governance behavior and practices.

The second question we ask Capstone project participants was,

what was it like to participate in a board performance assessment?

From the board perspective,

we asked Reginald Foster of the United Way New York state about how he and

members of his board felt about having a student study the board.

Reginald Foster described how nice it was to be part of the course,

to have access to expertise and the fresh eyes of an outsider's perspective.

>> In terms of working with the students, I think that the biggest thing was

that they were in the class with colleagues and

the professor that were examining these issues in detail.

They had both an academic framework, but also came out and

did practical work with their board.

That they could draw things from the literature, and

the fact that the tool was designed so that it was comprehensive.

All of those things I think really help.

And to have outside eyes where all the people in our board,

except with a couple of new people, had been together for years.

The staff were used to interacting, and they brought fresh eyes to the situation.

>> Here is what some of the students said about assessing a board's performance.

Zakhar Berkovich and Karen Kirstein describe how awesome the experience

was of observing how leaders serve the board in organization.

>> Well, our leadership was a very high quality.

So we had the experience of working an extremely professional board chair,

and also an extremely professional and experienced CEO.

And just to experience how veterans in the field

Serve the board and the organization.

So it's extremely enriching to me to watch experts in

the action of doing their service.

>> Yeah, I can totally agree.

I think seeing the management of the board meeting by the board

chair to ensure that everybody was heard was certainly a skill I

think that I possessed over the nice certain board.

And just being mindful how well she crafted her trade was really awesome.

I should call her an awesome chair.

>> [LAUGH] >> And being able to work with Reginald

who has extreme amount of experience in the profit management and governance.

More so, I imagine his experience is really fascinating because he was

in nonprofit and for-profit agencies and

he actually put all them together into this role he plays right now.

I think having this learning from the person is really fascinating also

enriching into my personal knowledge and towards class as well.

>> Absolutely.

>> Samantha Clarke and Janet Andrade describe some of the assumptions and

lessons learned from the board performance assessment.

>> As a student in this experience,

it gives you the opportunity to see that they all face the challenges.

And they have challenges overcome and they need assistance and

guidance and opportunities to feedback.

Same thing with us.

>> And not only do they have a strong and I've realized is that, because they're

seen as leaders in their community and leaders in their organization, we assume

that they have all the tools and knowledge to perform their job effectively.

But sometimes they wind up in those positions without much Once

you learn that the background and best practises.

So getting the formal education to go to take those I push you boards and

help them do their job.

It's something that's important.

>> Emma Horvath and Katherine Toomey described the internal culture and comfort

necessary to transform leadership in governance through performance assessment.

>> One thing that I learned is that it really does take either a culture or

a leader to say that we are going to assess our performance.

Somebody has that sort of initiative and also brings the board along with them.

It really is transformative but it does take that spark and it won't come from

outside sources being able to say, you should change this, or this isn't working.

It has to come from within,

so that's another way I feel like we were very lucky.

Because our board had that spark and had that really,

that passion to constantly improve.

So it's very easy to provide our recommendations

because we knew they were going to take them.

And the board culture was supportive of constant growth and constant improvement.

>> I think also when you work with a board that's been doing board assessments for so

many years, they have more of a knowledge about what to expect.

And they kind of have some, I don't know pre-notions

on what their assessment will look like.

So that helps us when we're doing interviews and doing observations.

So they kind of feel this idea of, it would be common if you expected this,

and don't be surprised if you see things related to.

We have trouble with this because as a board we know that we've seen passed us up

sometimes.

>> They had really already internalized some of the survey results and

were able to provide accurate understandings of it,

in a more narrative response, which I thought was really helpful.

>> MaryBeth Carswell describes what she learned about the issues that challenge

boards.

And what she had to do to surface them.

>> What I learned most important thing in board is that,

the issues are never black and white.

There are a lot of layers to each issue and a lot of background, and

you really have to dig deep in order to really uncover what the true conflict or

issue is at hand.

And you really need to have a board that's willing

to look and uncover those issues with you,

as well as it's really important that

the executive director's also on a similar page.

>> In summary, through the Capstone Project you will have the opportunity to

work with a board in a systematic and comprehensive way.

From the board's perspective, having access to the course,

including the literature and resources, and an outsider's perspective to

provide fresh eyes for the board in organization is seen as very valuable.

From the perspective of students, being able to observe leaders of

the organisation and board working together to advance the mission through

the governance function can be an incredible learning experience.

Through this learning experience you will not only have the opportunity to observe

leadership, you have the opportunity to help shape it through the unique tools and

knowledge gathered through the specialization courses.

As one student said, it won't be easy as the issues are complex.

You'll have to dig deep and work with the board to surface and

discuss those issues in a professional way.

As other students mentioned, boards with experience with performance assessment

not only expect issues to surface but anticipate which issues they are.

On the other hand, working with the board to assess its performance for

the first time can provide the spark that can go a long way toward helping

the board develop an internal culture that is open to performance assessment and

change on an ongoing basis.

The third question we asked participants

was what were some of the main benefits of the Capstone Project?

To provide the board's perspective, we asked participants the following question.

What did you think were some of the main benefits of the Capstone Project for

you and your board?

Reginald Foster describes some of the value added for

the board in terms of having an opportunity to assess its performance,

define issues, and search for solutions.

>> I think it's both and I think that student education part is a concern for

the school, and I believe it is.

We wanted to help them.

But really it was mostly because we thought this was something important for

our board to do, that we can get real value from it.

There's the fact that the questionnaire was online, and

the students could bring that.

And they could spend the time analyzing the results.

And look at what was out there in the field for us.

Responses, things that we can do,

get solutions for and define the issues we should focus on.

Those were all things that the students looking at it when they're in a class with

other folks thinking about these issues.

Being aware about the resources that are up here really added a lot,

much more than we could have done as a board.

>> We asked some of the students what they thought some of the main benefits were

of the Capstone Project?

Using multiple methods helped Zakha Berkovich and

Karen Kirstein understand the difference between theory and practice.

And how to help the board bridge the gap.

>> It definitely was enriching my learning experience because it's one thing to

read theory in a book and it's another thing to work with a group of people.

And boards are comprised of individuals with all kinds of personalities and

it was interesting to see how the dynamics of

those personalities played out in our conversations.

And it made the understand how theory is lived more real to me.

>> I found it really helpful to both study the theory,

see in practice and then analyzing the survey results,

because adding the two methods coming together actually allowed

me opportunity to say, okay, I know what the theory should be.

I see what the practice is and seeing where it actually meet or

whether they diverge.

So having that opportunity would actually be, was really helpful to finalize that

concept in my head, and also use it to generate some of the discussion with

Karen, and then putting it on a paper as a recommendation.

>> Samantha Clarke and Janet Andrade described how concepts were reinforced

when knowledge was applied in the field and

when practice was brought back into the classroom.

>> I would say yes, because it took the materials we learned in the classroom and

allowed us the opportunity to apply it in the world setting.

And we were also able to take the experiences that we had observing and

engaging boards.

And for those experiences that can classroom make it and

get real time feedback.

>> I think any time that you can take what you're learning in the classroom and

apply it through a practical application in life,

it just reinforces those key concepts that you're learning.

From Beroro's perspective, the benefits were more personal.

It helped him see the changes that he needed to make and

how to help the board become more effective as a CEO.

>> Yes, I think this experience was actually worthwhile,

because over the years we've been practicing

leadership as governance instead of governance as leadership.

So the board is actually supposed to provide leadership to the organization and

not the management providing governance to the organization.

So that has helped me to see, okay, these are some of

the changes that are needed to be made for this organization to move forward,

and actually for the board to be more effective.

>> For Emma Horvath and Katherine Toomey,

some of the benefits were directly related to working with their board.

But other benefits were indirect,

from hearing about the work that students in course were doing with their boards.

>> I think that it was very useful, because I'm now,

we had the privilege of seeing an exemplar board.

And so seeing that I now see what would be a great way for

a similar organization to operate.

And so I think having that sort of experience is helpful in

applying the principles, knowing what strategic governance looks like,

what generative governance looks like, and how they all play out in the field.

And I think it really contributed to make my learning more assimilated into

my mind rather than just being a surface study for

a test and really get that on the ground experience.

>> Yeah, going of what Joy said, I think it was really great.

Because we were able to take the knowledge that we learned in the course and

through the readings and apply it directly to our board.

And then compare it to the other boards that the rest of the groups

were working with.

So really just that firsthand experience and bringing everything to life was great.

>> MaryBeth Carswell describes the benefits of working with a board

that was facing a number of challenges that many boards of not for

profit organizations deal with.

>> It was definitely worthwhile.

My project was actually a little bit different.

My board of directors came with me with specific governance

challenges that they had.

So it was an interesting take to apply what I was learning in class and

apply it to already very specific issues laid out to me that were more general in

scope that a lot of non-profits deal with.

>> In summary, our participants described multiple benefits of working with a real

board through the capstone project.

Some of those benefits will come from the board performance assessment process.

Including the ability to surface issues in the board and to apply knowledge that

you gain through the specialization to address those issues.

Other benefits will come from having an outsider's perspective,

and learning the insider's perspective, and

using that knowledge to share and further develop the board.

And finally, there are benefits from sharing your experience in the forums

with other students to gain a wider perspective on the leadership and

governance of non-profit organizations.

When you do share your experiences, be careful to

protect the identity of the individuals and boards involved.

The final capstone project question relates to tips for

success and pitfalls to avoid when undertaking the capstone project.

Here is what some of the participants said.

>> I think the students that work with us, Karen and Zakar,

they devoted the time, they were there, people met them.

I think that probably was important to be at the meeting.

I think that is supposed to be part of the process anyway.

So I would say it would be a major pitfall to not be

present to see at least some of the boarding direction.

I think if they missed that, that would be a problem.

I think you need to see that to get a feel.

I think looking at the documents of other organizations, their mission and so on.

People don't think about it everyday, but it actually tells a lot about

the organization, or if they don't have some things,

their documentation clear.

So I think that by taking a mixed approach, that was good.

>> Well, I would recommend if you can to find a collaborator who

also is taking the course, and then work together on the project.

Because I think that just made my experience better.

Things to avoid, I think, perhaps wanting to get involved with the organization.

Wanting to understand the organization and just dive in and

get all dirty and mucky in it.

We had to tone down that desire to step back and be objective.

So there's a little bit of tension there to figure out how to balance my desire to

really know this organization but the necessity to be objective.

And we had to step back and be objective as we did this process.

So that was one of the learning steps we had to take.

>> I would say take your time and actually read the readings and

learn the expectations and learn the literature.

Understanding those concepts will be very important

before you actually go and apply it into the boardroom.

I think it also important to be mindful of delivering the message

from the listener's point of view.

Because I think telling the board what they're doing wrong could be hurtful to

the board.

And they will never [LAUGH] actually understand what you

were trying to tell them.

So delivery method is important.

And I would strongly encourage anybody who is taking this course to simply work

with the board.

And take the skills that you learned in the classroom and

apply them to the real world.

I think it's only an added positive attribute of having this kind of course.

>> Diplomacy is a necessary feature in our work with all the boards

going forward, so we need that skill too.

How to present information in a way that can be received and

then can lead into some kind of change.

Delivery of the message is important.

>> I think that the advice that I would

give is to definitely take advantage of the opportunity.

It's a great learning experience.

It's hands on, boots on the ground, real life experience

with work that you wouldn't have in a classroom that is more static.

And so I would definitely take advantage of it.

In terms of tips, take advantage of every opportunity

that you have in terms of meeting with the board,

the interviews, go as often as you can.

Gather all the information, and ask questions and

don't be afraid to take advantage of the dynamic learning opportunity.

>> And if you're seeking out your own board, find a board that is for

a cause that you may have a passion Or interest in.

Find a board that is open to this project for

your interviews to gather information.

Find somebody that's willing to be an equal partner on the other side to

share this experience with you and

I think you'll have more of an >> I think working with a board is a great

experience.

Working with a group what now I'm talking about is a great experience.

I have a few classmates that have worked with board.

And the board is very excited to work with the students.

And the students also are very excited to work with the board,

because in the process of working with the board,

they are also developing their own management skills.

They are developing their own leadership skills.

So it's a great experience for the students in the business,

a good experience for the board that they are working with.

And it's also an opportunity for them to network and

to see what is happening when on the board for the nonprofit world.

>> I think the first that I would recommend would be to be very clear

about what your role is, what you're doing, your timeline.

And really establish that with the board, because even if they've completed

the performance survey before, they've not necessarily worked with a student.

And so it's important for you to give them a clear expectation, and so

that you can look up to that.

Without that, it might be difficult down the road to know who is going to be

writing what, when.

And so just being really up front at the front end, and

knowing that they might have some questions about what you're doing,

what you're going to do with the information.

And know that you're really working for them.

>> I think you also really need to be cognizance about external factors.

So say you're working with a board that's in another country.

Being aware of their time zones, their barriers that they may have

when setting up things such as meetings or observations.

And just really making sure you have a good understanding between the two of you

when it comes to those roles and responsibilities.

>> My advice for other people is to be aware of your board's own time.

And although you have your own timetable, to also be aware of their own timetables.

And then they are not going to be able to meet with you and

be able to talk to you whenever you're available,

that you need to make yourself available for them.

And that you need to start early when contacting boards, and

start early when contacting with the executive directors or

any other experts that you're looking to reach out to.

So that you have enough time to incorporate all of their information, and

all of their guidance into your paper.

>> The experiences shared by our students and the board provide some

useful guidance for starting and completing your Capstone Project.

First, find a board of a not for profit organization that you work in,

serve on, or are passionate about.

Talk to them about the course, your role, and

the work that you will do and produce through the Capstone Project.

Once you find a board to work with, it's important to establish a point of contact,

someone who will help you facilitate your work, collect key governance documents and

coordinate meetings and interviews with leaders of the board.

Be involved, but not too involved, and don't forget to ask clarifying questions

to validate the information you have gathered in your assessment of the board.

And don't forget to be upbeat and have fun.

This might be the first time your board has assessed its performance, and

your positive attitude can go a long way in helping the board change.

In this video we've reviewed the Capstone course and

the leadership competencies emphasized in your Capstone Project work.

We've shared experiences from the perspective of students and the board.

And provided suggestions for starting and completing your CapStone Project.

Once you have found a board to work with, an important next step is to register them

to take the check up at www.boardcheckup.com.

If you can't find a board to work with, please contact us for

options on completing the Capstone course and Specialization.

And for more information, please refer to the course content.

[MUSIC]

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