Popular wisdom holds that CEOs ascend to the executive mountain top with a combination of management and leadership assets. This combination of knowledge, experience, perspective and relationship capital serves as the foundation of judgment.

From sound judgment, better CEOs create real strategic and economic value for their stakeholders – employees, investors, customers and suppliers. From sound judgment, they shape their company’s strategic agenda for growth, performance and change. And, according to a recent expose by Business Week, they engage in practices tied to:

-     Innovation

-     Customer Focus

-     Productivity

-     Risk Management

-     Organization

A sense of urgency, smart execution, competitive savvy, resilience, strong resolve, collaboration, thoughtful readiness, cultural respect, diligence, insight and communication help. Bringing up executive talent is a critical imperative that deserves serious and specific sound engagement, and in companies large and small, the evolution of C-suite benchstrength has to be a strategic priority.

The CEO of the Future

Building executive-level competence is all about experience in specific management and leadership assets. The CEO of the future will not emerge from a simple formula of skillsets, but rather a dynamic formula of unfolding competencies and evolutionary thought. The capacity for relationships, the credibility of influence and the confidence of personal leadership are all part of the equation.

Nonprofit governance is gaining a lot of attention these days. One reason is the cloud of uncertainty that goes along with economic conditions, political evolution and market challenges. Another issue is the desire for greater board effectiveness by nonprofit stakeholders, consistent with concerns of corporate board governance.

Research on board strategy and leadership points to at least five areas of board engagement that are especially essential for nonprofits:

1.   Foresight and Understanding –

The context for meaning and decision making.

2.   Organizational Perspectives –

The resources, culture, process considerations.

3.   Construction of Strategy –

The elements of direction, integration and execution.

4.   Focus on Cause-and-Effect –

The measures of intent, activity and impact.

5.   Board Thought and Behavior –

The interaction of people, ideas, systems and value.

Boards are accountable for management guidance, general compliance and mission discernment. They are also accountable for the evolution of the nonprofit organization, taking care of the near-term and getting ready for the long-term. The competencies of individual board members and the collaboration of board members and management provide the crucible for strategic leadership at the governance level.

From: Dewar Sloan Working Paper on Strategy and Nonprofit Boards