I've always enjoyed a frigid cold February and March because people don't feel like going out. They cancel meetings and then I can actually get some work done! For me, the last few months and the next month are all about doing a bunch of rehearsing and not quite as much work. Fitting in leisure, health priorities, and culling my "stuff" has also taken a back seat. I haven't blown my new year's resolutions per se, but progress on them is simmering instead of boiling. Still, I am grateful to have such wonderful opportunities in my life. As they say: Seize the Day!

     When I saw that early morning Tweet that the Roxy Theatre in Edmonton burned down, I was gutted. It took me two weeks to be able to drive by it, and I had to pull over to compose myself. I frequented the Roxy cinema as a kid, and I loved the venue's transformation to live theatre, thanks to Theatre Network. My first play premiered at the Roxy and I will never forget seeing the name of something I created on the marquis. Dreams do come true, and for me that happened at the Roxy!

     As I watched the news footage of the sign coming down and as I looked at the pile of misery that's left behind, my heart went immediately to Theatre Network's Board (hey, I'm a board nerd and we all know it). How does a group of volunteers respond to microphones in your face when all you want to do is weep? How do you instill confidence in your artists, subscribers, and patrons when all you really want to do is curl up in a ball and pray that it was all a nightmare? What plans and policies did they have in place for disaster and business continuity? And what about the 10,000 operational considerations? It makes my head spin and my heart break.  

     So those of us who are a little annoyed that our boards are not engaged enough (or too much) or not doing their share of fundraising or not RSVPing far enough in advance -- should just settle down. Take a minute to be grateful because these problems now seem small compared to being on the board of a organization that just lost everything. It really could happen to any of us.   

     The Theatre Network board and staff have been working hard to keep everyone informed (and doing a great job with social media, too!). The board appears solid and united during this crisis and the arts community is stepping up to help keep things rolling. I suspect there will be a hundred "association do's and don'ts" coming out of this that we can all learn from, but for now let's hold that board and organization in our thoughts and prayers. I'll also continue to thank my stars that I had the chance to create, display, and play at the Roxy.

Q:  IF WE COULD FIX ONE THING ON OUR BOARD, WHAT SHOULD IT BE?

A: In most non-profit literature and discourse, the answer to this question is "passion for the mission." This is soooooo important, but it's not number one in my view. I think that spot goes to fiduciary duty -- and yes, I risk getting a reputation of having a one-track-mind. There are only so many ways to explain fiduciary duty, so I get that I'm repetitive to the point of nagging. Sorry, but I'm not likely to change.  

Fiduciary duty has to do with a) subordinating your personal interests to those of the organization; and b) making decisions in a prudent manner. If you do these things, much of the noise around the board table dissipates. Honestly!

I was delighted to read an article by Domenic Barton and Mark Wiseman in Harvard Business Review (January 2015) called "Where Boards Fall Short." The article uses research from McKinsey's 2013 and 2014 studies of directors on boards. While it focuses on the corporate sector, I believe it applies equally to non-profits. A shocking number of directors surveyed indicated they do not understand how their organizations create value nor their own role in creating that value. They concluded that Fiduciary Duty is the biggest issue.   

The article states, "A good first step might be to help everyone firmly grasp what a director's 'fiduciary duty' is. Most legal codes stress two core aspects of it: loyalty (placing the company's interests ahead of one's own) and prudence (applying proper care, skill, and diligence to business decisions). Nothing suggests that the role of a loyal and prudent director is to pressure management to maximize short-term shareholder value to the exclusion of any other interest. To the contrary, the logical implication is that he or she should help the company thrive for years into the future." They go on to say that sometimes that means pushing management to challenge the status quo and other times ignoring market pressures and "backing a credible corporate strategy that will take years to bear fruit."  

This definitely parallels NFPs! Some board members are adverse to making decisions that tie the hands of future boards (but you must! It's what you're elected to do!). Others just don't want to be unpopular (this is especially true of boards that regulate professions and industries). What's best may take months or years to play out, but what's popular today could prevent a board from having the courage to take those steps.

Barton and Wiseman predict that "If directors can keep their fiduciary duty firmly in mind, big changes in the boardroom should follow. They will spend more time discussing disruptive innovations that could lead to new goods, services, markets, and business models...and they will spend less time talking about meeting next quarter's earnings expectations, complying..., and avoiding lawsuits."  

That's the stuff of generative thinking, and it's what boards should be spending more time on. So for now, back to the basics -- be there for the right reason and do your job with care.

Here's the entire article:  Click Here 

      Linda and the cast and crew of SPRING ALIBI
thank all our sponsors and supporters for helping us get to the Adelaide Fringe in Australia:   

Kangaroo Sponsors 

Edmonton Arts Council, Terry Ruddy Sales, LUE-42 Enterprises 

Wallaby Sponsors

Pixel Blue College, Russ Hewitt Photography, Metro Cinema,  

Minuteman Press Leduc 

Wombat Sponsors

Jiffy Lube, InStep Physical Therapy, Melltech Consulting Ltd., Delta Appraisal Corporation, Many Odd Faces on Stage

  Koala Sponsors