Blog - BoardOnTrack

Who’s Your BoardOnTrack Champion? - BoardOnTrack

Written by Sam Falk | May 20, 2019 7:00:00 AM

Every charter needs someone on the team to be their good governance champion; someone who carries the torch for good governance. That’s true whether or not you’re a BoardOnTrack member.

And, if you are a member, BoardOnTrack needs to know who this person is on your team. So that we can carry that torch with you.

Good governance contains two areas of focus:

The operational functions of your governance team:

The operational side of good governance is about the repeatable processes that enable the strategic work to happen.

That includes scheduling your board’s meetings, taking the minutes, publishing the approved meetings and agendas to your public portal to maintain Open Meeting Law compliance, and running other important tasks.

Your BoardOnTrack Superuser keeps the board’s operations running smoothly.

The strategic areas of focus for your board:

BoardOnTrack helps your governance team maintain and improve every activity within both the operational and strategic areas of your board’s work.

The strategic side of good governance includes measuring your board’s performance, defining how you’ll set a higher bar, and what you’ll do to get there.

Your BoardOnTrack Champion drives the strategic side. They’re the powerhouse behind the good governance practices that support your board’s strategic contributions to the organization.

What exactly does your Champion do?

You advocate with the board to get the right strategic things done.

You’re [already] the one who drives the strategic connection points in the platform — including your board’s goals, assessments, and evaluations.

Naming yourself as the Champion is likely not adding anything to your already full plate. Rather, it’s ensuring that BoardOnTrack knows you’re the one championing the strategic side of good governance for your team. So that we can help you!

You understand how BoardOnTrack supports your strategic initiatives. You know there’s an assessment and why it matters and how to do it. Or, you’re learning these things from us. So that you can communicate the value of the platform to your board.

Here’s a real-life example:

At board meetings, you might be the one to fire up BoardOnTrack and walk the board through where you all are with each of your goals. This keeps your goals — and your tools for tracking your progress — top of mind for your team.

Who makes a good Champion?

In most cases, your BoardOnTrack champion is your Board Chair, Governance Committee Chair, or a member of the Governance Committee. These are people whose roles and responsibilities include caring for the health of your board — and improving your board’s capacity over time.

Your Champion might have been the person who sought out BoardOnTrack in the first place, championing the idea of good governance even before you had access to our tools.

However, we have seen some charter CEOs take on this role — at least initially. When you’re a pre-doors-open charter school, or deep in the first year of operations, your CEO is likely far more involved with the board than they will be over time. In fact, one of your key priorities early on should be to help your board become self-sustaining. And, that’s one of the most dramatic changes school leaders, staff, and board officers see once they adopt BoardOnTrack.

What does BoardOnTrack do to help your Champion?

You’ll hear from us on a regular basis about how to do the strategic things your board needs to do, and how to do them even more effectively with BoardOnTrack.

For instance, when it’s time to complete your annual CEO Evaluation, we’ll reach out to be sure that you know what to do and how to help your board make it happen.

While we’re always just an email or phone call away when you need help, naming your Champion ensures that we can proactively guide you through good governance practices at key points throughout the year.

Identify your Champion today!

Identifying your Champion in BoardOnTrack takes about 30 seconds.

And it’s just about the easiest way to ensure that your whole governance team gets as much strategic value as possible out of your BoardOnTrack membership. Simply log in, click on Settings, and select your Champion.

Questions about your BoardOnTrack Champion? Contact our Member Success team today. They’re happy to help. Or, if you’re not yet a member, learn more about how BoardOnTrack membership works!