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CEOs and Governance Seminar

January 26-27, 2007 - Orlando, FL 

One of the best professional development opportunities available to museum executives!

Designed for directors interested in building high performance boards--with a section on planning and fund raising Led by Maureen K. Robinson, an authority on nonprofit leadership and the author of Nonprofit Boards that Work

Register by November 30, 2006 and receive a complimentary copy of Nonprofit Boards that Work (a $35 value).

As the museum's chief executive officer, you need to deploy every asset available to you, particularly the board.

How do you increase your board's effectiveness and build a working relationship that is mutually satisfying and productive?

 

What are the essential components for maximizing your board's performance?

 

Are you leading this all important relationship, or merely making the best of it?

 

Designed for CEO/directors of nonprofit museums, the seminar is designed to:


 

  • Hone your leadership skills
  • Focus on the skills and knowledge you need to develop a highly effective relationship with your governing board
  • Explore ways to build the board's capacity to partner in the critical areas of planning and fundraising
  • Build your network of colleagues interested in sharing ideas, solutions, and experience geared to your job as a museum CEO

About the Agenda
At a time when leading a museum can feel like a high risk occupation, you’ll be given a chance to focus on one of the biggest challenges a CEO faces—working effectively with the board. Guided by a well-known and engaging expert on leadership and governance, the program explores best practices in governance and offers ample opportunity for participants to formulate ideas, test solutions against personal experience, and learn how others approach common challenges. It also offers an ideal setting through peer exchange, facilitated small group discussions, and interactive exercises, in which to develop personal and professional strategies for success.

 

Agenda
The program takes place at the Marriott Orlando Downtown, 400 W. Livingston Street, Orlando, FL 32801. It will be held from 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. each day.

Part 1: Defining a Leadership Role Most CEOs hold their positions because they planned for and sought the role of leader. But few CEOs envision the kind of director they want to be (other than successful) and instead let the daily nature of the job drive their performance. Part 1 analyzes the essential elements of the CEO’s role and the factors that influence how the job is done. It looks at the structural issues that are often determinant: the museum’s corporate form; the historical context a director must grapple with; practical realities, such as budget and staff size; and the important concept of authority—who had it, who has it, and who thinks they have it.

Part 2: Building a High-Functioning Board and High-Functioning Relationship with the Board The CEO’s relationship with the board is critical to his/her professional success. Part 2 takes that relationship apart and shows CEOs how to develop a mutually rewarding partnership with the trustees. It describes the essential components for building a high-functioning board, including: the board meeting, the use and abuse of information, the board’s composition and orientation, the CEO’s relationship with the board chair, and the importance of strategic leadership development, board assessment, and succession planning for the chair.

Part 3:
Good When It Counts—Building a Planning and Fund Raising Partnership While a good board enhances the CEO’s capacity to lead effectively, its true value is often measured by its ability to take part in planning and by its willingness to fund raise. These two critical and time consuming tasks are among the most challenging assignments for a board. For CEOs, the fund raising board is a cherished hope, one that is regularly dashed. Part 3 takes a candid look at the risks and rewards to the CEO of engaging the board effectively as a partner in setting a course or uncovering resources. This session moves beyond clichés to a pragmatic assessment of what it takes to build both capacity and performance.

Part 4: Truth and Consequences —Evaluation, Compensation and Contracts Part 4 pulls the focus back on the CEO with a closer examination of the CEO evaluation process and ways to use it to build performance and goodwill. This part of the agenda provides participants with an overview of compensation issues and a discussion of the protections and common provisions of employment contracts. At the close of the program, participants have the opportunity to reflect on the workshop, review whether the issues that brought participants to the table have been addressed, and create an action plan.

 

About the Program Leader
Maureen K. Robinson is a highly regarded speaker, writer and consultant on the leadership and governance of the nonprofit sector. She is the author of Nonprofit Boards that Work: The End of One-Size-Fits-All Governance and The Chief Executive’s Role in Developing the Nonprofit Board, and writes a regular column for Contributions magazine.

Robinson founded the education program of the National Center for Nonprofit Boards (now BoardSource) and during her eight-year tenure created programs that influenced and shaped the practice of governance nationally and internationally. Among recent and challenging assignments, she served as an expert witness on governance in the Barnes Foundation’s successful petition to strengthen the independence and capacity of its board, and worked with a city history museum facing bankruptcy to restructure its finances, management, and governance.

 

Before You Arrive
In early January, registrants will receive a confirmation letter that will include a complete set of instructions and directions concerning the program and the conference site. The package also will include preliminary assignments or readings. Participants are encouraged to bring samples of related material— job descriptions, performance evaluation instruments, board assessment tools, board recruitment grids, employment contracts— that might be helpful to other participants.

 

What Past Participants Have Said About the Program
“It was the most useful workshop I’ve ever attended… everyone faced the same challenges, wanted to improve their own performance as well as their board’s, and fix problems, not just complain about them.”

“This seminar proved to be highly valuable in terms of knowledge gained as well as connections [made] with peers. A ‘must’ for new CEOs!”

“I benefited enormously from the information and the manner of presentation. Maureen Robinson was outstanding.”

 

Registration
The registration fee is $325 for AAM members and $375 for non-members. Registration includes participation in seminar sessions, handout materials, continental breakfast on Friday and Saturday, lunch on Friday, and refreshments during breaks. Registration closes on Friday, January 5, 2007. Requests for refunds must be received in writing at AAM by this date. No refunds will be made after January 5.

Registration Form

 

Particulars

Hotel
Our host hotel is the Marriott Orlando Downtown, 400 W. Livingston Street, Orlando, FL 32801, which is offering a special rate of $129 per night (single/double occupancy, plus applicable taxes). For reservations, please call (407) 843-6664. Mention the AAM seminar to receive the special rate. Reservations must be made by January 2, 2007; after that date reservations will be handled on a space-and-rate available basis.

 

Travel
Association Travel Concepts (ATC), AAM’s official travel agency, can help with your travel plans. It guarantees the lowest airfare available for all airlines at the time of booking. When making reservations with ATC, identify yourself as a participant in the “CEOs and Governance” seminar. For reservations, call (800) 278-1140, Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. (EST).


Questions
Or special needs? Contact AAM’s Professional Education Program staff at (202) 289-9114.

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