March 21, 2002 | Read Time: 1 minute
Transformational Boards
by Byron L. Tweeten
This book provides guidance and strategy for boards of directors and senior management officials during times of significant change, whether their organization is charting a new mission, starting a new business venture, or attempting to increase donations.
Mr. Tweeten, a nonprofit-management consultant in Milwaukee, promotes what he calls the engagement model of board leadership. That approach, he says, encourages boards and chief executive officers to work cohesively to set objectives and strategies for their organization, and ultimately suggests a larger role for board leaders. That, he notes, is contrary to a popular view of how boards should work.
“Many theorists and practitioners still propose that the board’s role is simply to be a policy-making body and that the organization’s CEO should represent the board and manage day-to-day operations,” Mr. Tweeten writes.
In the book, he devotes a chapter to each of the following duties that he says boards and staff members should share: recruiting leaders, preparing for meetings, reviewing policies, conducting planning and public relations, allocating and monitoring financial resources, and evaluating performance. Throughout the book, Mr. Tweeten cites research, gives how-to examples, and concludes each chapter with study questions.
Each chapter discusses why board members should take more responsibility than they typically do. For example, Mr. Tweeten suggests that all trustees get involved in recruitment of their peers and the chief executive officer, instead of giving that responsibility to small committees or outside consultants. If all trustees are involved, he says, board members have an extra opportunity to get to know the new recruit.
Publisher: Jossey-Bass, 989 Market Street, San Francisco, Calif. 94103-1741; (415) 433-1740 or (800) 956-7739; fax (415) 433-0499 or (800) 605-2665; http://www.josseybass.com; 240 pages; $28; I.S.B.N. 0-7879-5913-8.
