The Goehner Group

Taking the Lead in Healthy Board - Staff Relationships

Picture this: A member of the camp’s board arrives at camp and encounters the director of maintenance.

“Jim,” begins the board member, “Have you completed the lounge carpeting in the Adult Lodge? Our church’s leaders will be here in two weeks and the lounge must be finished.”

“Well, sir, the director asked me to put that project on hold because our summer staff comes on Friday and the cabin upgrades have to be ready before our campers arrive in 10 days.”

“Is that so?” the trustee answers angrily. “I think you need to reconsider your priorities, Jim. I am a board member and will not be embarrassed by lousy carpet in the lounge when my church arrives!”

Sound far-fetched? Couldn’t happen at your camp? Think again. Camp and conference staff men and women tell me that kind of interaction happens too often, producing results that are not very pretty. Here are six guidelines for avoiding this problem and encouraging healthy relationships between the board and staff: (more…)

Evaluation of the Executive Director: Goals, Processes, Resources & Cautions

Evaluation of Christian leaders is a hit and miss proposition. Some organizations and ministries do a very effective job of annually reviewing their Chief Executive Officer. I’m aware of other situations where a leader served for seven years and had to ask for his first evaluation. Many other leaders receive their first evaluation when they’re asked to leave.

There is a better way. I propose that the Board Chairman and a Board Personnel Committee develop an evaluation process, which will be helpful to the Director, as well as provide accountability to the Board of Directors.

I recommend that you consider an evaluation as a way to measure the Director’s effectiveness on bottom line results. (more…)

A Balanced Healthy Relationship Between the CEO/Executive Director and the Board of Directors

The concept of teamwork is an often mentioned subject in today’s workplace. Perhaps nowhere is that more necessary than in the relationship of the CEO/Executive Director and the Board of Directors of a Christian camp. Many Christian camp board members have been micro-managers resulting in an operations board, rather than a policy board. As the boards become more policy oriented and more professional people join the ranks, some key issues need resolution in order to build an effective team.It’s important to define the role of each team member.

The Board has three key responsibilities: wealth (the ability to give and help to raise money); work (the ability to serve on committees and do good board work); and wisdom (the ability to make good decisions). The Executive Director has three key roles: 1) lead the organization and cast vision; 2) carry out the policies established by the Board; and 3) administer and manage the ministry. These roles and responsibilities must be documented. The Board needs an updated board handbook which spells out its role, responsibilities and job description. We spoke about this in one of our earlier Journal articles. The Executive Director needs an updated, clear job description, including expectations. (more…)

Board members should make the CEO selection process a team effort.

The most important work a camp or conference board will ever do is selecting an executive director or CEO for the ministry-the board’s only true employee. A good selection process includes several phases. The amount of attention the board gives to preparing for the search process determines the result. Candidates need to have a good understanding of the current ministry, the vision, and core values of the organization-including a self-assessment of the organization through a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis.

Good search preparation also addresses transition issues: Why is the current director leaving? Are there any unresolved issues? What is the timing for the new start? These are the kinds of questions staff, donors, and others will ask, and the board needs to have accurate, timely answers. (more…)

The selection process of board members for camps is often very haphazard. A board member has a friend who has a friend who might be interested in helping the camp and presto, that person now joins the board.

There are some tried and successful methods of identifying, selecting and evaluating board members which can make a difference in the overall effectiveness of your board.

The identification process is extremely important and has three key ingredients: (more…)