By Joe Riley, Phoenix Council Board Member
Good leadership is one of the keys to every successful organization. With this in mind, the following are among the projects and materials the National Governance Committee has developed. It is our hope that these will help everyone become a better servant leader whether as a Conference or Council President, Officer, member of the Board of Directors, or Committee member.
GOVERNANCE TRAINING – We’ve put together a Governance Training program. Although we have presented this live in a few locations, we know this may not be practical for everyone and so we recorded a presentation (click here for the video link: https://vimeo.com/showcase/9185786). Click here to download the training guidebook: https://members.ssvpusa.org/leadership/, then click on “If You Have A Board” to locate.
GOVERNANCE WEB PAGE– We’ve grouped much governance-related material into one convenient location. Search this site for information you need. The direct link to the governance web page is https://members.ssvpusa.org/governance/ When you open this site you’ll find a summary of each of the posted categories and a guide suggesting what documents you should review based on whether you are or are not in leadership and if you are in leadership, based on the position you hold.
MENTORING – We continue to place mentors for new Council Presidents and new CEOs/Executive Directors through our National Mentoring Program.
PARTNERSHIPS BETWEEN CEOs/EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS AND COUNCIL PRESIDENTS – We prepared a paper that explores how to develop and maintain an effective relationship for the good of the Society.
SUCCESSION PLANNING – We also produced a paper titled “Who Me? Why In The World Should I Become A Vincentian Leader?” along with talking points and a list of resource materials. There are significant personal benefits to being a Vincentian leader and the Society needs leaders. Another paper titled “Succession Planning – A Brief Primer” offers guidance on this important subject.
RECOMMENDED SAMPLE POLICIES FOR NONPROFITS – All policies that appear here are meant to be examples of how such policies could read. They are not meant to be adopted as is but rather to serve as examples only.
QUESTION & ANSWER MASTER INDEX – If you have a question ranging from the Rule to how best to operate a Conference or Council or the correct way to go about the day-to-day activities of a Vincentian, there’s a pretty good chance it’s been answered in Frederic’s e-Gazette. For this reason we have a Master Index of questions previously asked and answered posted on the national website Governance page.
We suggest you take a look at the variety of leadership materials on the national website. Take advantage of Leadership Training materials (click here https://members.ssvpusa.org/leadership-training/) and Leadership Mentoring (click here https://members.ssvpusa.org/leadership/). Promote these materials among your fellow members.
We all belong to the Society because of a desire to help people, to live the Gospel message, and to grow in our faith. It should follow then that as we provide assistance it be done in the best possible way, using best practices of our time, following the Society’s Rule, and complying with federal and state laws. In this way we will ensure the good reputation of and the public’s confidence in the Society.
