Consulting · Case study
Civic Trust Board Development
A 12-month board development engagement that doubled meeting effectiveness scores.
- Partner
- Civic Trust Foundation
- Location
- Chicago, Illinois
- Duration
- 12 months · 2024–2025
- Reach
- 17-member board · 60-person staff
Outcomes
2x
meeting effectiveness scores
17
board members engaged
100%
committee charters refreshed
3-year
governance plan adopted
The challenge
A long-tenured board with deep expertise was meeting six times a year and not moving the work forward. The chair wanted a board operating system without losing the relationships that made the board what it was.
What we built
- 1
Restructured meetings around three standing questions instead of departmental updates.
- 2
Built a board dashboard the ED reviews quarterly with the chair.
- 3
Coached committee chairs through a full cycle of new charters and workplans.
- 4
Facilitated an annual retreat that produced a three-year governance plan.
What changed
We started by sitting in on two meetings and reading three years of minutes. The diagnosis was simple: the board was being managed, not led.
The shift to three standing questions was uncomfortable for the first two meetings and then became the new normal. Board members tell us they look forward to meetings now.
"We stopped reviewing reports and started making decisions. That's what a board is for."
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