Board & Governance

Today’s uncertain environment has prompted many board members to take on more operational roles, which can be disruptive to the leadership teams executing the work. Leaders who diagnose what’s driving the board’s overreaching behaviour, rebuild clarity with their own teams, and put simple communication structures in place can stop drift before it becomes dysfunction. When everyone is clear on their role, the board shifts from bottleneck to strategic partner, freeing the leadership team to lead with confidence, focus, and speed.

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Chairs today must mediate increasingly divergent stakeholder demands while guiding boards through technological disruption and societal scrutiny. Traditional leadership traits such as strategic acumen and executive experience now matter less than the ability to synthesize vast amounts of information, reconcile contradictions, and facilitate constructive dialogue. Today’s effective chairs foster a culture of learning on the board, creating psychological safety and encouraging open, respectful debate among directors. To make sure the board balances expert insight with broad participation, chairs also conduct rigorous skills audits and provide structured feedback to directors.

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ACNC self-evaluation tool aims to help charities assess whether they are meeting their obligations, and to identify issues that may prevent them from doing so.

The self-evaluation poses questions and prompts you to describe the practical steps your charity is taking to meet its obligations and to list the relevant policies or procedures it has.

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Heidi, an FPA Alumni, highlights the ethical and governance issues when a board chair seeks to become the CEO. Drawing from her own experience, she stresses the importance of clear policies, such as a cooling-off period before board members can apply for staff roles. She advocates for transparent CEO performance management, strong governance, and a culture that prioritizes ethical decision-making over individual ambition. Ultimately, Heidi emphasizes that good governance is essential to maintaining integrity and serving the community effectively

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Tender writing can feel overwhelming, but staying organised helps.

Understand guidelines fully, plan enough time, involve staff early, and get support letters in advance. Show value for money with clear outcomes and data. Repeat key points for assessors, use program logic and risk plans, and always proofread. Keep responses clear, concise, and evidence-based to improve your chances.

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Research based on 90 interviews and numerous board observations reveals that it’s not the volume but the timing and structure, what the authors call “board synchronisation”, that shapes a successful CEO-board relationship.

Concise briefs, sharing the spotlight in meetings, and personally leading focused debriefs, CEOs can prevent power imbalances and trust breakdowns.

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