Considering a Board of Director's Retreat? ? Non-Profit | Raw ...

Considering a Board of Directors retreat? Here are some things to consider.

Reasons for a Board of Director?s retreat

Set or re-affirm mission, direction, and purpose of the organization.

Provide for innovative future visioning.

Ongoing Board of Directors development, including orientation to new Board members and continuing education for existing members.

Provide a rallying point for the Board to establish or reinforce camaraderie.

Allow for a ?safe place? to discuss the organization?s future.

Assess organizational strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT Analysis).

What to do before the retreat

Assemble relevant information?including member/customer research, market research, demographics, planning reports, Board minutes, key committee minutes and reports, competitive analysis, etc. Provide a summary or overview of key information rather than long, detailed reports. Distribute the materials to the planning participants at least a month or two before the retreat.

Following distribution of the relevant information, send a short, open-ended SWOT survey to planning participants asking them for their assessment of organizational strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. This not only helps getting a ?heads-up? on the issues, but it also gets participants thinking and in the planning mode.

Don?t set an overly ambitious agenda.

Decide on the venue for the retreat. ?If you?re combining work and play book a resort where participants can spend their off time relaxing on the golf course or by the pool. Do not hold a retreat at a resort if you are not allowing for free time. This will only encourage empty seats at your planning table. If you?re planning an all work retreat, find a place that?s easy to get in and out of, such as a hotel at a major airport.

As Jim Collins of Good to Great notoriety advises, be sure you have the right people on the bus before you set out. Some circumstances dictate having only the Board of Directors present at the retreat. Other circumstances might dictate expanding the number of participants. An Open Space or World Caf environment works well for those organizations looking to create a more creative, inclusive environment.

What to do at the retreat

Whenever possible, use a professional facilitator. An unbiased outsider is often the only one who can cut through political baggage and keep the meeting on track.

Establish operating principles and procedures. What part of the proceedings?if any?is to remain confidential? What procedures are in place to move beyond sticking points or for crushing ?sacred cows??

Focus on the future not the past.

Don?t get hung-up on the process or language?think big picture results. (Does it really matter if what?s on the flip chart is a goal or an objective?)

Be bold but realistic.

Create a detailed Plan of Action (POA) with the who, what, when, and how much clearly laid out.

What to do after the retreat

Put the plan into action immediately. Don?t bind the plan and put it on your office shelf.

Fund the actions called for in the plan. Great plans are nothing if they are not backed up with the resources to achieve intended results.

Appoint a plan monitor to hold everyone accountable to the plan.

Share the vision by creating disciples and missionaries charged with communicating the vision to the masses.

If properly thought-out and planned, Board retreats are a great opportunity to propel an organization into action. Poorly planned or ?politicized? retreats can do extensive damage to an organization by setting them off in an unsupported and risky direction.

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Source: http://rawbusinesslaw.com/2012/02/22/considering-a-board-of-directors-retreat-non-profit/

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