{"id":16166,"date":"2014-02-11T16:12:45","date_gmt":"2014-02-11T21:12:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cccc.org\/news_blogs\/?p=16166"},"modified":"2023-06-20T06:08:18","modified_gmt":"2023-06-20T10:08:18","slug":"collective-wisdom-a-boards-added-value","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cccc.org\/news_blogs\/john\/2014\/02\/11\/collective-wisdom-a-boards-added-value\/","title":{"rendered":"Collective Wisdom: A Board’s Added Value"},"content":{"rendered":"
This entry is part 5 of 5 in the series How a board adds value<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

The senior staff leader and the board chair both lead teams, but the staff leader has decision authority while the board chair does not. This crucial difference is the basis for another way the board adds value to the ministry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Collective Wisdom<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Since the board chair cannot override the board or act without board authorization, every board decision must be a group decision<\/strong>. The practical consequence of this design is that collective wisdom is built right into the board’s fabric, resulting in five key benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fuller Discussion<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Since no one can unilaterally jump in and make a decision, and even a request to end discussion needs the group’s approval, no one on their own can force a premature vote. Discussion cannot be cut off until at least the majority feel that everything has been well researched and discussed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is more likely, then, that the board will have fuller deliberations than any individual would have on their own. One person may be sold on a particular decision that seems obvious and be ready to rush forward, succumbing to the temptation to save time and ‘just do it.’ But in a group situation, others may feel that alternatives have not yet been seriously explored and cause the board to slow down and go into deeper or broader analysis and debate. While the decision may take longer, the board’s collective wisdom will result in a better quality decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Synergy<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If you want creativity or new thinking, there’s nothing like a group to make it happen. A comment by one person sparks an idea in another. Yet another person observes the line of thought and comes up with a fresh angle. Collective wisdom develops as people gain insights and “Aha’s!” from what others have said. A single jumping off point for discussion becomes multiple jumping off points when a group gets ahold of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Smoothing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Collective wisdom evens out the directors’ individual risk tolerances and personal preferences, including those of the chair (which might dictate the decision if the chair made the decision alone).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each individual risk tolerance or personal preference will have less influence on the group’s decision than they would if a person decided alone. Each one can be identified and objectively tested for validity and reasonableness. Risks can be challenged, mitigated, or accepted by the group, when they might have been too much for one person to accept. Personal preferences or biases (present in all of us) will be uncovered and considered, thus arriving at a decision which is better thought out than would otherwise be the case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Breadth of Perspective<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Staff are hired for their skill related to the ministry’s work, and over time they become encultured to the ministry’s way of seeing things. This is what employers want, but it also has its downside, because staff will gradually come to think more and more alike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Directors, on the other hand, are selected because they represent a demographic (chosen by the board as significant to good governance at the particular ministry), and for their skill at governing. They should have a passion for the mission, of course, but they come from a wide variety of backgrounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In the case of the CCCC board, we have people representing church ministries, denominational ministries, and Christian agencies. The directors live anywhere from New Brunswick to British Columbia.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

They also have a variety of professional and educational qualifications and experience. The staff can only afford to hire people with the particular qualifications the ministry’s current work demands. The board is where you can assemble volunteers with a much broader set of qualifications that are beneficial to the ministry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The directors should therefore have a very wide breadth of perspectives to add to the depth of perspective contributed by staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Boundary-Spanning<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Directors are in a unique position to help the ministry. Like staff, they are well-educated in the business of the ministry, but unlike staff, they are not immersed in the ministry because they spend most of their time away from the ministry’s day-to-day operations. Since they span the organization’s boundaries, they can critique budgets, action plans and strategic plans from both external and internal perspectives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Summary<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Collective wisdom increases as board diversity increases. When board recruiting becomes a strategic process, there will be a consequent improvement in the quality of governance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Downside of Group Decisions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Having to come to a group decision does have its limitations. Getting a decision from the board may<\/span> mean that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n