The Art of Governance as a Competitive Advantage

by Kurt Senske

As I speak with various Lutheran educators and their board members, the conversation often centers on their school’s governance model or governing process. On occasion, the educator perceives that their board has become a hindrance as opposed to a true partner, while a board member may not believe their expertise is effectively utilized.

It is also a given that during this past decade the roles of Lutheran education leaders and board members have become more complex. Heightened competition, tighter margins, COVID-19, the explosion of technology, culture wars, and challenges in recruiting and retaining talented teachers and staff, have created an environment where change is the only constant.

As leaders and board members of our Lutheran schools, … you have the potential to recraft your board governance process to better serve your school’s mission.The good news is that as leaders and board members of our Lutheran schools, if intentional, you have the potential to recraft your board governance process to better serve your school’s mission. In fact, based on research while writing my forthcoming book, The CEO and the Board: The Art of Nonprofit Governance as a Competitive Advantage, a proven dictum is that effective governance coupled with a healthy board-CEO relationship is a key predictor of organizational success.To accomplish this, my research uncovered several common nonnegotiables that must be present.

They include the following:

• A need for trust, integrity, intentionality, respect, and openness
• A very focused mission and reason for existing
• Intentional succession planning
• A culture that holds yourself and each other accountable
• A diverse group of relevant skill sets, perspectives, and experiences sitting around the table
• A perspective that this is a shared partnership in ministry; we are all in this together
• An understanding that each school is unique and that its board governance process must be tailored to and evolve to fit its distinctive environment.

Making the transition from viewing governance as an obstacle to a value added begins with understanding your school. This includes assessing the strengths and weaknesses of your current governance model, identifying the decision-makers at the table, ensuring that your board has the right skills and diversity of experiences, and willingness to confront the elephants in the room. It requires creating a trust-filled environment to wrestle with difficult questions such as the following:

• Are external forces placing the organization at risk?
• Has the process of selecting board members become obsolete?
• Does your board culture stifle necessary conversations about strategy and risk?
• What key issue or issues does the board and executive director need to proactively address to ensure the future success of the school?

To state the obvious, the governance models of Lutheran schools are often unique in their design. Your school may be housed under the governance umbrella of your congregation. Or it may be owned by several “member” congregations. Or it may be a separate stand-alone legal entity. No matter what the structure, one question that every school leader and board should ask is: Is our current governance model a competitive advantage or a hindrance in allowing us to be nimble in proactively adapting our mission and strategy to the changing external and internal environment?

Often, many of the obstacles that stand in the way of a successful governance model are rooted in a school’s or congregation’s history and culture.Often, many of the obstacles that stand in the way of a successful governance model are rooted in a school’s or congregation’s history and culture. To navigate successfully, the board and school leader must create a safe environment to peel back its layers and get to the core of what works.

My very first board member experience, now almost 30 years ago, was serving on the board of a local Lutheran grade school. In retrospect, we spent too much time debating issues that should have been the sole purview of the principal, such as who should have a key to the school kitchen, and not enough time adapting our strategy to the changing external reality.

There will be seasons when a board by necessity will be very hands-on. This might include a time of crisis, selecting the next principal, or engaging in a shared dialogue on creating a more focused, financially stable mission going forward. In other periods, when the school is operating on virtually all cylinders, a board’s role may be somewhat more hands-off as it continues to fulfill its fiduciary responsibilities.

• Is our current governance model a competitive advantage or a hindrance in allowing us to be nimble in proactively adapting our mission and strategy to the changing external and internal environment?
• Are external forces placing the organization at risk?
• Has the process of selecting board members become obsolete?
• Does your board culture stifle necessary conversations about strategy and risk?
• What key issue or issues does the board and executive director need to proactively address to ensure the future success of the school?

Serving as a leader or member of a Lutheran school board is not for the faint of heart. It will require your full attention and personal sacrifice coupled with a dose of humility and a willingness to, on occasion, forgive as imperfect children of God.

The good news is that as leaders of Lutheran schools you each possess a unique advantage in that that your mission is faith-inspired, and you can openly bring our deep faith to the table. Your sole purpose is to be of service to others.

Numerous Bible passages instruct us for our shared governance work and missional journey. They include these:

• “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9 NIV).
• “Iron sharpens iron; so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend” (Proverbs 27:17 NKJV).
• “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather in humility value others above yourselves” (Philippians 2:3 NIV).

Collectively, as a leader of a Lutheran school, you have the privilege of serving as the hands and feet of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. You have the task of educating our students in an environment infused with the message of the Gospel. You have responsibility to double the talents entrusted to you. It is indeed a vital calling that deserves our prayers, time, talents, and treasures.

Dr. Kurt Senske is the author of The Board and the CEO:  The Art of Nonprofit Governance as a Competitive Advantage (CPH: April 2023). He is the founder/principal of CEO-Board Services, a consulting firm that specializes in working with mission-oriented organizational leaders and boards around issues of governance, strategy, organizational structure, succession planning, coaching, and mergers and acquisitions. Dr Senske currently serves as chair of the boards of Lutheran Hour Ministries and Thrivent Charitable. He previously served as CEO of Upbring, formerly known as Lutheran Social Services of the South. Dr. Senske can be reached at kurtsenske@gmail.com.

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