Board Preparedness: Building a Foundation for Success
Establishing a solid foundation is paramount, as it sets the stage for all subsequent phases of board preparedness – and can be structured to make an impact even before your board meets for the first time. Through strategic early engagement, associations can cultivate leaders who are not only knowledgeable but are deeply aligned with the organization’s mission and future goals.
Cultivating Your Leadership Pipeline
Identifying and cultivating future leaders is not just a strategy; it’s a necessity in association governance. A strong leadership pipeline ensures that your organization remains resilient and adaptable, equipped to meet both current challenges and future opportunities.
Developing Your Board Preparation Checklist
Joining a board can be both exciting and overwhelming. Here are a few tips to help ensure a smooth transition and effective integration of new and returning members within the board.
Setting Your Board Up for Success
Setting Your Board Up for Success delves into the essential steps for giving leaders the tools they need to thrive before, during, and after they become board members.
Anniversaries & Gratitude
Anniversaries give us the opportunity to reflect on the journey that has taken us to this moment, all those who have supported us on the way, and then look up and ahead to what may come next.
Time as a Commodity: Governance
The first article in our Time as a Commodity series, here we explore the implications to volunteerism and our governance structures.
Developing Executive Presence
A balance of competence, confidence, and humility is that which composes executive presence.
Building Inclusivity
Over October 4 – 6, 2022 there will be a conference that “empowers association leaders to face today’s most critical issues.” I will not be attending. And the reason why frustrates me just as much as missing the event.
An executive committee recalibration
The challenge we currently face is one of leaders who have just come out of a period of crisis response where executive committees have been expected to engage in a different type of rapid, frequent decision making for the organization. Because cascading societal disruption has caused organizations to be in crisis response mode, executive committees have taken on responsibilities which in ‘normal’ times, would have been within the purview of the board or staff.
Vista Cova Welcomes Donté Shannon, FASAE, CAE
Vista Cova is excited to announce its collaboration with Donte Shannon, FASAE, CAE, as a contributing Strategy Advisor.
Strengthening Organizational Leadership through Scenario Planning
Over the course of a pandemic, workforce disruption, political discord, race relations, and more, we have seen organizations who shifted from a single, reactive response to a proactive scenario planning approach were better situated to navigate these rocky waters.
Vista Cova CEO Accepted into Forbes Business Council
Vista Cova CEO, Lowell Aplebaum, has been accepted into the Forbes Business Council, the foremost growth and networking organization for successful business owners and leaders worldwide.
Meaningful Organizational Narratives
Over 100 years ago, John Dewey wrote that “all communication is educative.” Yet, as we live in an ever-noisier world, our organizations often approach communication from a place of desperation to feel ‘heard.’ From more emails, to post after post on social media, they are trying anything possible to connect with their members.
Leadership Reflections: Eyes to the Horizon
At what point does disruption become normative? After two years of change, associations have become better surfers, becoming more adept at riding the waves of ups and downs, of challenge and opportunity that have become the de rigeur. Despite this, it is not atypical to still hear organizational leaders talk about “going back” to previous practice, circumstances, and norms.
Leadership Insights: Silence is not Affirmation
When it comes to building strong leadership partnerships with your Board of Directors, silence is not golden. Without their input, without their voice, it is too easy to assume that quiet is confirmation when it may actually be reservation. Here is one approach to structure better Board voice.
How Unanimity Can Weaken Association Boards
As champions of organizational vision, mission, and strategy, our Boards of Directors should have unified voice in how they tell the story of their associations.
Vista Cova announces the addition of Jennifer Lipsey to its team of Strategy Advisors
Vista Cova is pleased to announce the addition of Jennifer Lipsey to its team of Strategy Advisors.
It Might Be the Right Time to Do Strategy If...
New board members coming in must see within the strategy of the organization an inspirational, robust, and innovative pathway to a better future.
CEO Insights: Board Relationship Dashboard
The nurturing of the CEO-Board relationship is a key element to a successful, strong partnership between staff and volunteer leadership.
A Moment of Malleability
Let’s define what we actually want to design, what we actually want to create, what we want to embody in our organization, in our systems, in our staff, and among leadership.