Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Who is on your Personal Board of Directors?

"Ask your team; they know the answer." -- Chuck Carlson

That's great advice -- if you have a team. And I'll bet you do...you just might not have thought about it that way. I think of my team as my Personal Board of Directors.

Non-profit corporation law states that the Board of Directors has three primary duties: Duty of Care, Duty of Loyalty, and Duty of Obedience.

Duty of Care: A board member has the duty to exercise reasonable care when he or she makes a decision for the organization. Reasonable care is what an "ordinarily prudent" person in a similar situation would do.

In your personal life, who would you trust to make good decisions with you, or even for you, if need be? Who would regard your well-being as highly as her or his own? Is it mutual?

Duty of Loyalty: A board member must always act in the best interests of the organization, and never use information gained through his/her position for personal gain.

In your personal life, who acts in your best interest? Who is loyal to you in your absence? Who's got your back?

Duty of Obedience: A board member must act in a way that is consistent and aligned with the goals of the organization, and be faithful to its mission. The board member is also trusted with fiduciary management aimed at fulfilling the organization's mission.


In your personal life, who suppports you in developing in your own unique direction? Who gives you room to grow and well as acts as a touchstone for your core personal values? Who would call you on your BS -- or step if if he or she saw you going down a path that might take you away from yourself? And who would you trust with your most personal information -- health decisions, financial data, etc.?

Take a few minutes to think about it. Who is on your Personal Board of Directors? Why? And have you told them?

I guess there's nothing wrong with blogging for board recruitment, right?

Hey, Wendy...can I officially recruit you to my Personal Board of Directors?

Deb

www.myjewishcoach.com
www.myjewishcoach.blogspot.com

2 comments:

Wendy Shanker said...

Yes Deb - I will happily switch from President of the Deborah Grayson Riegel Fan Club to official Board Member without missing a beat - getting so much out of your blog. Thank you.

Howard S. Feinberg said...

As a colleague and friend from United Jewish Communities, I can attest to the great sense of passion and expertise Deborah brings to her work. As you can see from her blog entries, Deborah has much to offer regarding training in general, communications and board development, human relations and organizational effectiveness. Thanks for sharing your work with your growing fan base, Deborah!

Howard Feinberg
212-284-6793, work
201-207-9866, cell
howard.feinberg@ujc.org