Posts Tagged ‘Jean Block’

[Podcast] Need to clarify roles between your nonprofit staff and board?

Board leadership is an area that demands much of our attention and effort due to its critical role in helping an organization “thrive or dive,” says Jean Block, author of The Invisible Yellow Line: Clarifying Nonprofit Board and Staff Roles treiber lexmark x422 kostenlos.

Block decided the Invisible Yellow Line is a perfect metaphor for the working relationship between a board and staff in a nonprofit organization herunterladen. If you’ve ever watched a football game on TV or your personal device, you have the benefit of a yellow line on the field that shows you how much yardage the team must gain in order to move down the field for a touchdown musik kostenlos downloaden app iphone.

Even though the line is invisible to the players, it’s constantly moving and hotly debated at times. Board members and staff have cooperative roles and responsibilities that seem to be constantly moving depending on the “field position” or goal at hand podcast herunterladen freeware.

In a recent author podcast with Block, we asked:

CausePlanet: What is the most common signal that tells you that your board and staff need a conversation about roles and responsibilities realm royale kostenlos herunterladen?

Listen to her answer hereJean Block on signals

CausePlanet: In chapter nine, you talk about the Invisible Yellow Line Test wincp files. Could you explain what some of those questions might be and how the test can help staff and board members move forward?

Listen to her answer hereJean Block on testing the clarity of your yellow line

If there was one universal nonprofit rule book that contained a set of guidelines defining the roles of the board and staff, we could avoid an incredible amount of miscommunication and angst over getting things done at the leadership level herunterladen. The fact is it doesn’t exist because things change, asserts author Jean Block.

She adds that organizations and people evolve. Block has written The Invisible Yellow Line to provide a way for board and staff leaders to communicate about their roles and “reduce the trap of assumptions and defensiveness.”

Learn more about Jean Block and her services at www.jblockinc.com Free pc games for kids download.

Learn more about this title and related book summaries at CausePlanet.org herunterladen.

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Clear up blurred lines of responsibility between nonprofit board and staff

If there was one universal nonprofit rule book that contained a set of rules defining the roles of the board and staff, we could avoid an incredible amount of miscommunication and angst over getting things done at the leadership level.

The fact is it doesn’t exist because things change, asserts author Jean Block. She adds that organizations and people evolve to. Block has written The Invisible Yellow Line to provide a way for board and staff leaders to communicate about their roles and “reduce the trap of assumptions and defensiveness.”

Is your organization thriving or diving?

Board leadership is an area that demands much of our attention and effort due to its critical role in helping an organization thrive or dive herunterladen. The Invisible Yellow Line author, Jean Block, has taken the literature on this topic one step further.

Block recognizes that a lack of clarity among roles between board and staff members is one of the most common reasons for conflict and inefficiency at the leadership level bilder downloaden iphone. Block provides leadership guidance in the areas of governance, management, operations and development as well as the key responsibilities where most gray areas (or what Block calls Invisible Yellow Lines) exist.

How to get started with using The Invisible Yellow Line

We asked Jean about how to get started with her model:

CP: The list of key responsibilities at the end of each core chapter (worksheet) is very helpful for generating conversation about the many Invisible Yellow Lines that may arise as board and staff work together herunterladen. How did you create these lists?

JB: Practice, practice, practice and on-the-job experience as both a board leader and staff leader. These are the kinds of things that apply to most nonprofits and create a stepping-off place for discussion as to how you might handle them in your particular organization herunterladen. I mean for these discussions to be ongoing because as organizations change and the people running them change, the roles might change.

CP: You state the obvious in the beginning of the book when you emphasize how communication is essential to manage the inevitable Invisible Yellow Lines. Yet knowing this fact still doesn’t always help boards and staffs work together. What’s the best way organizations can start and keep the communication going herunterladen ausschalten?

JB: Obviously, when things go wrong, fingers start to point and often there is no good way to get back on track without feeling defensive. I have seen organizations that have adopted the Yellow Line terminology as a way to communicate without pointing. In fact, using the Yellow Line can even be an icebreaker in tense situations pumuckl bilder kostenlos downloaden.

CP: Is there an area of leadership (governance, management, operations or development) where organizations should start defining responsibilities or do you recommend a different beginning for nonprofits looking to avoid conflict at the Invisible Yellow Line?

JB: I think the answer to this question has to be defined by the organization. For some, defining governance versus management responsibilities is difficult alexa echo app herunterladen. This is especially true in situations where the board has to transition from a “working board” status to a governing and policy-making board. For others, defining resource development is a critical issue. And let’s remember, these roles are likely to change with changes in staff and volunteer leadership as well as changes in an organization’s focus, maturity, etc herunterladen.

Get the best of both worlds—our free summary and 20% off the book

If you feel like your staff and board would benefit from greater clarity, consider downloading our free summary of the book. Inside the summary on the cover page, we’ve included a 20% discount promotion code for the book.  Open up communication with your board and staff and prevent critical tasks from becoming enormous problems later eine webseite komplett herunterladen.

See also:

The Practitioner’s Guide to Governance as Leadership: Building High-Performing Nonprofit Boards

The Ultimate Board Member’s Book

Super Boards: How Inspired Governance Transforms Your Organization

Image credits: CharityChannel.com, JeanBlock

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