Effective board governance goes beyond attributes to core duties: diligence, loyalty, and obedience. Dave Loewen, SCSBC Executive Director, shares practical insights to inspire school boards to build a positive, effective, and faith-filled culture while advancing their mission.
Last Spring (The Link, Spring 2024), I wrote an article (“Are you an Ideal Board Member?”) where I focused on four key attributes: Big Picture Thinking, Curiosity, Accountability and Support, and Self-awareness. I still stand by those attributes as key to effective board participation in our schools’ governance models. However, I want to continue the conversation by shifting from attributes to duties. This review should be helpful if you have attended one of my governance workshops or your board has hosted one. As someone who serves on three different boards, I find the following core duties beneficial to reflect on and to hold myself accountable to:
- Diligence Board members must be diligent directors. Think of the spheres of your life where you exercise diligence. For me, what comes up are: 1) my marriage – I strive to be diligent in investing in my marriage wisely by setting aside time to strengthen my relationship with my spouse and by attending to her needs at least as much as my own, 2) my fiscal management – both my wife and I have a budgeting app where we track our expenses. We take time annually to review our budget and set goals, including charity and tithes. We do this because we want to ensure that where we spend our money is consistent with what we believe it means to follow Jesus, and 3) my faith in general – I strive to schedule a time and incorporate practices into my life that will draw me closer to Jesus and keep me centred on my faith. In all of these, I hope to be the opposite of flippant. In being strategic about my marriage, finances, and faith, you could say that I am exercising diligence. Likewise, board members are called to be diligent in their service, acting prudently in the best interests of the organisation, taking time to be well-informed, acting cautiously, foreseeing potential risks, and taking reasonable and thoughtful steps forward to manage those risks and moving the school to an increasingly strong position of strength, especially regarding the fulfilment of its mission and vision. Diligent board members come to meetings prepared to engage the content, pray for the school, and avoid making decisions without the necessary information or the time needed to consider that information.
- Loyalty Board members must be loyal to the school. Again, what comes to mind when you think of loyalty? Oddly, the first thing that comes to my mind is Hope Lutheran School’s principal, Danny Nagtegaal, who is an exceptionally loyal fan of the Vancouver Canucks, and believe me, that loyalty has been tested! In all that, Danny has remained loyal despite the Canucks performing somewhat imperfectly at times. Danny exemplifies a simple truth about loyalty: it is not entirely dependent on the object of one’s loyalty, and it’s always perfectly meeting one’s expectations. My example would be my family. In my loyalty to my wife and children, and now son-in-law and grandson, I choose to speak well of them in public and to seek their best interests despite imperfections (it also connected to the reality that they love me despite all my flaws!). My loyalty does not negate the possibility of engaging in challenging or conflict-oriented conversations. It necessitates them. My loyalty is about their flourishing, sometimes requiring honest, grace-filled, and truthful conversations. Board members are called to exercise a similar duty of loyalty. They must put the organisation’s interests first, ahead of their personal agendas. They seek the school’s good as a whole and for all students. They speak positively of the school in the community, not dishonestly positive, but positive, knowing the imperfections but trusting that God is at work in the lives of those involved. Loyal board members must also maintain organisational confidentiality and speak well of each other and the board’s work. Loyal board members believe in Christian education and are excited to be involved in this Kingdom work. As a former board colleague said, “We need board members who are all in for our school!”
- Obedience Board members must exercise submission at appropriate times. Can you think of what you are obedient to in your daily life? We all submit to social norms daily, albeit most often on a subconscious level. For example, we wear clothes outside the house, greet people as they greet us, etc. We also submit to the laws of the land, including taxation laws, traffic laws, and laws around property ownership. We risk being penalised when we choose not to submit to these laws. So also must board members submit to similar laws and regulations. For example, directors must comply with their organisation’s governing documents, including the constitution and bylaws. Not doing so puts the school in contravariance with the Society Act. It also breaks trust with Society members who have elected board members to positions of trust to uphold that constitution and bylaws and to steward the mission and vision of the school forward in that context. We must also comply with external regulations regarding employment law, Canada Revenue Agency requirements for not-for-profit organisations, contract law, and ensuring a safe working environment for our employees. To not do so puts the school at risk of litigation, loss of the ability to issue tax receipts to parents and donors, loss of public trust or any combination of those three. Effective board members help ensure the organisation avoids these unnecessary risks by exercising obedience. It’s important to note that exercising this duty often looks like asking staff and other board members the right questions, like: “Have we consulted a lawyer?” or “Is this consistent with our bylaws?”
As you serve your school, my prayer is that you will continue to grow in your diligence, loyalty, and obedience and, in so doing, help foster a school board culture that is positive, effective, transparent, and faith-filled.
Dave Loewen
SCSBC Executive Director
