Board Life Cycle Pop Quiz

Are you a performing arts organization executive or board member? If so, then get ready because today’s post is a pop quiz.

1. According to Julia Classen, co-founder and president of Aurora Consulting, Inc., adjunct faculty member at the University of Minnesota’s Hubert Humphrey School of Public Affairs, and a senior fellow at the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits (fit that on a business card, I dare you!), which of the following is not a typical stage for board cycles?
   1. Founding Period
   2. Supermanaging Phase
   3. Corporate Phase
   4. Ratification Phase
   5. Dissolution Phase
2. Which of the following characteristics best describes a board’s Founding Period?
   1. New board members defer to the judgement and expertise of the executive until a crisis occurs.
   2. Board focus may shift more toward good governance and accountability.
   3. Boards depend on executive and staff to lead.
3. Which of the following characterizes best describes a board’s Corporate Phase?
   1. Regularly scheduled committee meetings with detailed agendas.
   2. Board members transition from running day to day operations to hiring a professional staff.
   3. Board meetings are more about approving prepared motions than oversight or strategic responsibilities.
4. Which of the following characterizes is not part of a board’s Supermanaging Phase?
   1. Boards begin recruiting members with specific skill sets and experience.
   2. Improved governance and accountability.
   3. Increased focus on mission and oversight.

Everything you need to verify the correct answers can be found in a recent article by Joe Patti’s at ArtsHacker.com.  Patti distills the salient points on board life cycles from Julia Classen’s longer article on the topic at nonprofitquarterly.org.

Granted, you should take the time to read both articles, but if all of this is new to you or you simply like shorter, easy to digest versions of things, start with Patti’s piece.

Stages of Board Life Cycle