For five years, I volunteered as a director of the board for my local community league. As an operational board, my responsibilities as director included balancing board functions like approving the budget and updating the bylaws and operational functions like organizing events.

During those years, I met incredible people, who I’m still connected with today. I also learned so much, about myself and what a community league even does. In this post, I’m going to share some skills you might learn and develop as the director of a community league board; some opportunities that could find you as a result of your participation; and signs for when it might be time to leave a board.

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While these disclosure requirements aid in increasing transparency and focus on the matter, the slow progress of actual representation begs the question of whether we need something more (i.e. targets) to get this show on the road.

While undeniably, countries with compulsory quotas have increased gender diversity on boards, the concept remains controversial. An article by the Gender and the Economy provides a detailed look at the pros and cons when it comes to establishing targets for female representation; some of which we’ve summarized below. Please check out their entire article for their more detailed elaboration of these points; and more.

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A few weeks ago I wrote this article about the Power of the Pause. The main message was that all events, from a new board member joining your board to a global pandemic, present an opportunity for boards to collectively pause and reflect on the effectiveness of their governing model. What’s a governing model? It’s the way a board defines its work, and the system it puts in place to ensure that work gets done.

My experience is that board members are so eager to prove their worth, (and/or awe struck by their impressive board members), that they immediately jump into performing the work of the board. What’s the risk? This can create a cycle where the board fails to ask questions about how it does or should add value, and how it’s ensuring that work gets done effectively.

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According to PwC Canada’s COVID-19 Response webpage, there are three phases of the Crisis Response Lifecycle:

1. Mobilize - This is the phase where organizations set their communication strategy and implement their crisis management plan;

2. Stabilize - During this phase, organizations are focused on forecasting and are evaluating their short-term liquidity, as well as looking for opportunities to transform;

3. Strategize - Organizations who have managed through the first two phases may be well positioned to innovate and find new ways to go to market. By transforming their cost structure, these organizations may emerge stronger from the crisis.

The majority of organizations are currently in the “Stabilize” phase and now, more than ever, cash is queen! With so much attention being placed on cash flows and liquidity, we thought we’d summarize a few key points to consider as part of your overall cash management strategy.

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