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"When you become a leader, you lose the right to think about yourself."
—The Reverend Gerald Brooks
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Consultant for the nonprofit sector
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| "The most valuable session I've attended in 20 years in this business!" |
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The place in France
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We have a 2nd office in a wine-making village, deep in the south of France. (Note to hopeless Francophiles: we do rent the place.) To take a mental vacation, click. Our village vineyards:
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ABOUT JOYAUX
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Consultant for fund development, board and organizational development, and strategic planning.
Simone is recognized internationally as one of the most thoughtful, inspiring, and provocative leaders in the nonprofit / NGO sector. She works with all types and sizes of organizations. Joyaux presents top-rated workshops all over the world and is a faculty member for the Masters Program in Philanthropy and Development at Saint Mary's University of Minnesota. Her books and writings receive rave reviews.
Worried about cost or availability? Don't. Just ask. Negotiate.
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PRONUNCIATION
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Simone Joyaux
See-MUN Zha-WHY-oh
Don't worry about mispronouncing it. I'm not offended.
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| Simone's Pet Peeves |
| Personal opinion may win, again |
| I'm so tired of this |
A recent email from an executive director: “Simone, some board members are pushing for an executive committee, again.”
The promoters said that board members in similar organizations have executive committees and strongly recommend them. The executive director responded: “But a governance expert – someone with the body of knowledge – says this approach is not necessarily the best.” The ED went on: “Comparing the personal opinion of others to the body of knowledge from an expert doesn’t make sense.”
But the board promoters didn’t get it.
They didn’t get that body of knowledge trumps personal opinion. That body of knowledge matters. That when a knowledgeable expert says something, there’s more weight than personal opinion and personal experience and personal preference.
Why do volunteers, especially board members who serve on lots of boards, think they know better? Why don’t they listen to body of knowledge and explore the qualified opinions and expertise of an expert. Expert. Expertise.
These volunteers don’t deny the recommendations of their attorney or accountant or brain surgeon! (At least I hope not.) These board members don’t deny the advice of experts in other fields. But they question governance and fund development expertise all the time - as if somehow their personal experience (and dare I say, personal privilege, too?) trumps the body of knowledge and expertise.
P.S. By the way, I'm on a worldwide campaign to destroy all executive committees. Just check out previous blogs on this very topic. But at least, the board should discuss the value and challenges of an executive committee rather than blindly following "what everyone else does."
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Copyright © 2005-2010, Joyaux Associates, 10 Johnson Road, Foster, RI 02825
Phone: 401-397-2534, Fax: 401-397-6793, Email: spjoyaux@aol.com
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