Social Change, Inside Boardrooms
So, over the past 10 years or so, I've delivered basic, intro-to-governance training to many, many non-profit boards here in Ontario.
It's energizing, participatory work I really enjoy. Something about spending time with dedicated people in their communities large and small, who gather month in, month out, to steward local organizations. It's heartbeat stuff.
Some interesting posts by Paul Smith, Dr. Peter Crow and Matt Fullbrook over the past few days have made me reflect on this training work I do, as well as my own board work--take stock I guess.
Just anecdotally, I'm seeing an uptick in knowledge around NP boards, and a general sense that investing in their learning is worthwhile. I definitely encounter an increasing number of NP directors who have done training before! But, for sure, it's spotty.
Though, here's one thing I'm seeing more of...as social justice issues impact the boardroom in this sector especially, volunteer directors are increasingly looking for more that just traditional education. Yes, they want it, but with a decolonizing lens, or coupled with EDI, or they are curious about psychological safety and how *they* are showing up for, and with, one another.
(Of course, what this means for me is that I sometimes co-deliver training now, either with indigenous governance colleagues, or with other coaches or consultants who bring different lived and professional experience to the boardroom.) Which is great for me, because I get to learn through these experiences too.
This to say, I don't see the NP sector as lagging behind its corporate cousin when it comes to managing the impacts of social change in their respective organizations. If I think about it, I've probably experienced deeper (more confronting!) conversations around NP boards than I have around corporate board tables, esp. on pressing social issues. And, at the margins, these are the boards questioning formal, existing governance structures in ways that are healthy, interesting, important. In these rooms, I teach and I learn.
Corporate boardrooms are complex. The directors there often have more business experience. But they are people living in this world too. Incorporating social change into their work is also difficult, if in different ways. How staff and customers alike react to corporate responses to global events and social movements (for example) is breathtakingly challenging for these boards and management teams. Balancing financial growth with social and environmental impact goals, being a good employer, giving back to the community, ensuring compliance with regulators, etc., it's a lot.
Ultimately, I think I see more of a convergence. These really hard conversations about social justice are happening across all sectors. Not always elegantly. Never easily--the setbacks are frequent and many. But I do see them occurring, over and over--and that wasn't always the case. Which gives me hope.
What are you seeing?
