Governance as Leadership - by Richard P Chait & William P Ryan & Barbara E Taylor (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

A new framework for helping nonprofit organizations maximize the effectiveness of their boards.

Written by noted consultants and researchers attuned to the needs of practitioners, Governance as Leadership redefines nonprofit governance. It provides a powerful framework for a new covenant between trustees and executives: more macrogovernance in exchange for less micromanagement.

Informed by theories that have transformed the practice of organizational leadership, this book sheds new light on the traditional fiduciary and strategic work of the board and introduces a critical third dimension of effective trusteeship: generative governance. It serves boards as both a resource of fresh approaches to familiar territory and a lucid guide to important new territory, and provides a road map that leads nonprofit trustees and executives to governance as leadership.

Governance as Leadership was developed in collaboration with BoardSource, the premier resource for practical information, tools and best practices, training, and leadership development for board members of nonprofit organizations. Through its highly acclaimed programs and services, BoardSource enables organizations to fulfill their missions by helping build effective nonprofit boards and offering credible support in solving tough problems. For the latest in nonprofit governance, visit www.boardsource.org, or call us at 1-800-883-6262.

From the Back Cover

Governance as Leadership offers trustees and executives a new and practical framework to govern nonprofit organizations more effectively. The book provides ideas, tactics, and examples that enrich the work of trustees and enhance a board's value to the organization it governs.

The authors reframe the purpose and practice of nonprofit governance by drawing on theories that have reshaped the concept and practice of leadership. In contrast to conventional advice that unwittingly urges trustees to think and govern like managers, the authors' new approach invites boards to think and govern like leaders.

Governance as Leadership describes three modes of governance--fiduciary, strategic, and generative--that together enable effective trusteeship. While the first two are more familiar to most boards, trustees often overlook opportunities to be a source of leadership as well as a source of advice, expertise, and fundraising. Most important, the book explains the power and payoff to organizations and boards when trustees govern in the generative mode--the most neglected yet most consequential type of work a board can do.

When trustees gain proficiency in all three modes, the board practices governance as leadership. The trustees discover and do meaningful work, and the organization derives maximum benefit from a previously underutilized resource.

Written by noted researchers and consultants, Governance as Leadership introduces a fresh way to think about governance with sensible guidance to turn these ideas into concrete actions. It will be particularly valuable to trustees and senior staff of professionally managed nonprofit organizations, as well as many others, including foundation officers, donors, consultants, and students of nonprofit organizations who are interested in improving nonprofit governance.

Review Quotes

"Governance as Leadership remains necessary reading for its intended audience as well as for the academic audience at large." (The Journal of Higher Education; Nov/Dec 2007)

About the Author

RICHARD P. CHAIT is a professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. His research and consulting focus is on nonprofit governance and college and university management. He was recently honored as one of Harvard University's "outstanding teachers."

WILLIAM P. RYAN is a research fellow at the Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations at Harvard University, and a consultant to foundations and non-profit organizations. His work focuses on nonprofit organizational effectiveness and foundation strategy.

BARBARA E. TAYLOR is a researcher and consultant to nonprofit organizations whose work focuses on trusteeship, executive search, and organizational planning and assessment. She is a senior consultant with the Academic Search Consultation Service and a former vice president of the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges.