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Dear Friends and Colleagues,
Greetings! I want to start by thanking everyone who has contributed their time, insights and wisdom to Bright Ideas in 2008! I am honored by the ready willingness of so many who have taken time from their extremely busy schedules to author articles, submit to interviews, and provide general support for the endeavor. We could not sustain this e-newsletter without this expertise and participation. Thanks to each and every one!
Next, my deepest apology to Lisa Richards, as Stonehill College was left off the acknowledgments for our Annual Giving Trends article in September. Lisa, you contributed greatly and I hope you will forgive this oversight!
This month, as part of our continuing series “What Makes a Good Trustee?” we hear from Linda Mansfield, Chair, Board of Trustees, Elms College, who offers us a trustee’s perspective on this vital question.
We’ve all heard of “executive coaching” --but just what does an executive coach do? Woolbright Group principal Katharine Fisher Britton, whose credentials include 20 years in organization development and training at Dartmouth College, offers a concise summary of what to expect from an executive coach. (See Katharine’s full bio on our website http://www.woolbrightgroup.com)
In “Deans and Development: Creating a Winning Combination” Penny Hunt, Vice Chancellor for Development at the University of Illinois at Chicago, offers her cogent thoughts on the dynamic interrelationship between deans, donors, and development professionals.
And last, just in time for the holidays, please enjoy this month's reading recommendations and remember, you are invited to share the title of any book, article, blog, etc. —it doesn’t have to be strictly work-related—that you have recently enjoyed.
Please share your comments with us and, as always, we encourage you to submit ideas for future articles. Please send your article ideas to: info@woolbrightgroup.com
Until next time, have a happy, healthy and safe holiday season from all of us at The Woolbright Group!
Announcements:
CASE District 1 Breakfast Series
Friday, December 12, 2008
Campus Center, Lasell College, Newton, MA
Networking and breakfast 8 a.m.; program at 8:30 a.m.
For more information and registration: http://www.casei.org/breakfast.htm
$45/CASE member
$60/non-CASE member
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What Makes a Good Trustee? - Part IV
Interview with Linda Mansfield, Chair, Board of Trustees, Elms College
1. Tell us a little about the make-up of your Board of Trustees (number, who they are—parents, alumni, term of service, other)
The Board is comprised of 24 bright and committed individuals who each have a story about their personal affection for the Elms. In addition to several alumni, the Board includes five Sisters of St. Joseph who belong to the order that founded the college 80 years ago. The local community is represented on the board with the participation of bankers, lawyers, small business owners, not-for-profit organization and government leaders.
2. How would you define the role of the board at Elms?
In addition to fulfilling the requirements to ensure appropriate oversight of the college’s financial matters, the board plays a key role in contributing and approving strategic goals and plans that are consistent with the institution’s mission and resources
3. In general, what do you think are the three biggest challenges (or issues) facing boards today?
- Efforts to keep tuition affordable in the face of rising costs at a time of significant economic uncertainty
- Understanding the enrollment and economic consequences of the changing demographics of prospective students
- Garnering necessary philanthropic support
4 In general, what do you see as the role of the board related to raising philanthropic support for their respective institutions? From your perspective, how is that best accomplished?
Raising philanthropic support is a primary responsibility of a trustee; a requirement that some trustees embrace more enthusiastically than others. It is helpful to have the advancement staff assess the skills and comfort level of board members and make recommendations for each trustee as to how he or she can create opportunities to contribute to the financial well-being of the college. It is a rare occurrence when a trustee can not help foster relationships that can eventually result in financial support.
5. In the past few years, we are hearing more and more about board governance. Typically, this is related to the identification, recruitment, evaluation, assessment, and on-going education of board members. In what ways is your board considering this matter of governance? From your perspective, what are the major issues for boards, in general, to consider in this area of governance?
The Elms board of trustees is currently undertaking an overhaul of our governance documents and processes. We determined that we needed to be more explicit about the roles and responsibilities of trustees, descriptions of standing committees of the board, attributes desired on new trustees and a new trustee nominations process. It is a healthy exercise and one that brings all the trustees to a mutual understanding about the governance responsibilities of the board.
6. Are there any other comments, suggestions or observations about the role of boards in raising philanthropic support that you might provide? Any words of wisdom? Any lessons learned from your own experience?
Because raising philanthropic support is an ever-present need, it is challenging for the board to balance the immediate concerns with the requirement to continually create and update long range fund raising plans. And inevitably, it is the leadership of the president and advancement professionals that helps to ensure that the right balance is found and maintained.
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The Woolbright Group provides comprehensive consulting services in the areas of Board and staff development. For more information, please call Cynthia Woolbright at 585.787.0325, or e-mail us at info@woolbrightgroup.com.
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What Does an Executive Coach Do?
Katharine Fisher Britton, Executive Coach, Synergetics LLC
Many people currently have executive coaches, lots of people know someone working with an executive coach, but the majority of people still wonder just exactly what an executive coach does. An executive coach functions in much the same manner as the tennis coach who assesses your level of ability by watching you hit the ball, asks what part of your game you want to work on, and then gives you drills and pointers to help you improve. In executive coaching, the objective is improved performance in the workplace.
Frederick Hudson defines a coach as a “trusted role model, adviser, wise person, friend, Mensch, steward, or guide.” I would replace “or” with “and.” Coaches ask questions, listen, provide relevant and helpful information, ask more questions, listen, offer feedback… The executive coaching relationship is client-centered. The client sets the pace, their goals, and the objectives for each session. The coach is there to guide, affirm, inform, and help the client make decisions to move forward on key goals.
A typical client could be a newly promoted director of, say, the stewardship office. Let’s assume the client is therefore a high potential employee, has worked in the advancement office for over five years, starting as an assistant, and then moving up to assistant director, and now director. The client has managed projects well and is personable but has no supervisory or program management experience, and she will now supervise a team of six, manage a large budget, attend senior leadership meetings as part of the senior management team with responsibility for the entire stewardship program as your institution enters its new capital campaign.
In conjunction with the client’s supervisor, the coach and client will set goals and establish a coaching agenda. The client will complete assessments and, with the coach, use the results to identify preferred communication and leadership styles and discuss the implications. The client, focusing on events that have come up at work, will drive each session. Guided by the coach, the client will come to better understand how her actions influenced outcomes and what, if anything, the client might do differently in the future. The client develops the supervisory and leadership skills to successfully manage, with confidence, the challenges of the new job.
A client might also be a current, valued director of your leadership gifts office, looking to advance to the next level and seeing no immediate opportunities in the division. Coaching can serve as a retention tool for that employee.
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The Woolbright Group provides comprehensive consulting services in the areas of Board and staff development, including executive coaching. For more information, please call Cynthia Woolbright at 585.787.0325, or e-mail us at info@woolbrightgroup.com.
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Deans and Development: Creating a Winning Combination
Penny Hunt, Vice Chancellor for Development for the University of Illinois at Chicago Principal, The Woolbright Group
Deans ascend to their leadership roles because they have excelled as academics and administrators. Rarely have they had much engagement in fundraising, yet as deans they are expected to play a significant role in the development efforts of the college. A quick scan of the position postings in major trade publications shows that almost every ad for a dean position includes mention of development responsibilities.
There was a time when the divide between academics and fundraising was vast. But in today's world of shrinking resources, savvy deans recognize that philanthropy is an important part of the financial mix of their college. They engage in the development program because it offers them a source of income that can have a significant impact on their ability to enhance their program.
Deans are also often thinking of their own futures as they get involved in development: provosts and presidents are expected to be comfortable and skilled fundraisers. Deans who want to be successful candidates for top positions in a few years are often interested in honing their development skills now.
A dean's role in development can be powerful. Often the dean's vision and endorsement of a project is more important to a donor than the president's, because it is the dean who will make the project a reality. Donors want to know their college's leader, and a visit with the dean can be a powerful step in moving a relationship forward toward a gift.
Development professionals play an indispensable role in helping deans maximize their effectiveness in development. Providing a development orientation for new deans helps them get a sense of their role, the time they should expect to commit to development, and how they fit into the big picture of development at the university.
Deans are often eager to participate in development training. Development conferences for deans regularly sell out, and academic conferences now often include sessions on development. Providing specialized training for your deans on your campus can be a great way to ensure that they are getting the support they need, in the areas that will be most relevant to their work in your program. Group training promotes camaraderie among the deans, and newer deans can often learn directly from their more experienced colleagues. These sessions are also opportunities for the development staff to be an integrated part of the deans' learning process. Many development leaders have found that spreading training sessions over several months is more effective than putting it all into a single-day retreat format. The intervals between sessions allow deans to practice what they have learned, and they come to subsequent sessions with a deeper understanding of the topics they are exploring. Deans also benefit from one-on-one coaching between sessions to help tailor the concepts they are learning to their particular circumstances.
Training your deans is one of the best investments you can make in the success of your program. An engaged and effective dean is a powerful advocate for your program, and a meaningful partner for your donors.
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The Woolbright Group provides leadership training for deans and the development directors with whom they work. For more information, please call Cynthia Woolbright at 585.787.0325, or e-mail us at info@woolbrightgroup.com
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The Reading File:
Reader’s Recommendations and Reviews
Welcome to The Reading File, a regular feature of Bright Ideas where our readers share their reading recommendations. We invite you to share the title of something you found worthwhile. It doesn't have to be a book and it doesn't have to be strictly work related! Feel free to submit just the basics (title, author), or include a brief review. We'd love to hear from you–thank you in advance for your participation!
Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
To open the academic year, Greg Mortenson came to campus to address the Class of 2012 and tell, first hand, of his experiences of building schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan. A very informative read that really opens your eyes to the conditions that people live with in this mountainous region and also how one person can make a difference.
Tim Lawlor
Assistant Vice President for Advancement
Stonehill College
Gilead
By Marilynne Robinson
[This book] won the Pulitzer Prize in 2005. It is a wonderful story about a preacher in the mid-west in 1956 who had a son when he was older. He is dying and begins a diary to his son to be read after he is gone. It is not anywhere as depressing as it sounds. It is inspiring, thought provoking, and moving. I highly recommend it..
Sylvia R. Racca
Executive Director
Dartmouth College Fund
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