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John Carver's 10 universal Policy Governance® Principles

NOTE: Violating any of these criteria in adapting the model does not mean that your application of these principles is not valid or important, just that it is not Policy Governance®.

1. Govern proactively through explicit statements of values, rather than reactively or through event-specific decisions. Boards must be at least as disciplined as they expect their staffs to be.

2. Using four categories, address values about:
   • Ends - what results/benefits/changes for which people/needs are worth what cost
     
   • Executive Limitations - unacceptable practices and circumstances
     
   • Board-Superintendent Relations - how power is passed and accountability evaluated
     
   • Governance Process - how the board will govern and on whose behalf.

3. Spend most board time addressing Ends with a long term perspective. This is the board's major contribution to long range planning.

4. Address Staff Means only in a negative or constraining way in order to leave maximum freedom, but within clear limits.

5. Always resolve value issues starting from the largest, granting the Chief Executive authority to decide all further (smaller) issues.

6. The board's job contributions or products must include:
   • Linkage with the ownership
     
   • Explicit governing values (policies)
     
   • Assurance of executive performance
     

7. The Chief Executive position exists solely to accomplish Ends without violating the constraints on Staff Means.

8. Routinize the monitoring of staff performance against all board policies on Ends and Staff Means, recognizing this measurement as the evaluation of Executive performance.

9. Official board committees, if any, are there to help with the board's job, never with the staff's. Their best contribution is to prepare policy options (with implications) for board deliberation.

10. Use board time to create the future more than to review the past, to stimulate debate on Ends rather than Means, and to look beyond the organization more than within.

POLICY GOVERNANCE

POLICY GOVERNANCE REFERENCES

Boards That Make a Difference: A New Design for Leadership in Nonprofit and Public Organizations (1990; 2nd edition, 1997; Revised Edition 2006). This book is the "flagship" explanation of the Policy Governance model as it relates to nonprofit and governmental boards. It is the single most inclusive text on the model.

Reinventing Your Board: A Step-By-Step Guide to Implementing Policy Governance. Co-authored with Miriam Mayhew Carver. (1997; Revised Edition 2006). This hands-on guide is a "how to do it" text meant to help boards or their consultants with the practical issues of implementation.

The Policy Governance Fieldbook: Practical Lessons, Tips, and Tools from the Experience of Real-World Boards (1999). Caroline Oliver (ed.), Mike Conduff, Susan Edsall, Carol Gabanna, Randee Loucks, Denise Paszkiewicz, Catherine Raso, and Linda Stier. This book details the experience of eleven diverse organizations in the U.S. and Canada in implementing the Policy Governance model. The authors (all Policy Governance Academy graduates) apply their proficiency in theory and application to make this a skillful collection of case studies.

The Board Member's Playbook: Using Policy Governance to Solve Problems, Make Decisions, and Build a Stronger Board. Miriam Carver and Bill Charney. (Jossey-Bass, January 2004). This book enables boards to build and maintain governance skills with carefully crafted exercises (rehearsals), using a simple question and answer sequence. The workbook includes worksheets and an accompanying CD-ROM. Foreword by John Carver.

On Board Leadership(2002) John Carver. This book brings together more than one hundred and fifteen articles written by John Carver addressing specific area aspects of Policy Governance.

Board Leadership: A Bimonthly Workshop with John Carver (1992 - present). This bimonthly is an 8 page (occasional special issues are 12 pages) collection intended to keep a board continually focused on governance issues. It is an important ongoing support for boards trying to maintain their Policy Governance investment.

Carver Guides (1996-1997). These booklets deal with one governance topic at a time. Titles currently out:

1. Basic Principles of Policy Governance
2. Your Roles & Responsibilities as a Board Member
3. Three Steps to Fiduciary Responsibility
4. The Chairperson’s Role as Servant-Leader Board
5. Planning Better Board Meetings
6. Creating a Mission That Makes a Difference
7. Board Assessment of the CEO
8. Board Self-Assessment
9. Making Diversity Meaningful in the Boardroom
10. Strategies for Board Leadership
11. Board Members as Fundraisers, Advisors, & Lobbyists
12. The CEO Role Under Policy Governance

Empowering Boards for Leadership (1992). In two audio tapes, John Carver addresses crucial board practices, commenting on typical board room scenarios presented by actors.

John Carver on Board Governance (1993).Video tape originally taped from a televideo conference, this tape uses drawings and John Carver’s presentation to explain the Policy Governance model. Originally produced by Associates of Athens.

The Skilled Facilitator Fieldbook (2005) Roger Schwarz, Anne Davidson, Peg Carlson, Sue McKinney and Contributors. This book is filled with suggestions, exercises, and examples for creating effective relationships, teams and organizations.

The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook: Strategies and Tools for Building a Learning Organization(1994). Peter M. Senge, Art Kleiner, Charlotte Roberts, Richard B. Ross, and Bryan J. Smith. This pragmatic hands-on guide shows how to create an organization of learners and achieve superior performance.

Details about Policy Governance also available through:
John Carver, Carver Governance Design, Inc
P.O. Box 13007
Atlanta, Georgia 30324-0007 USA
Phone: (404) 728-9444 Fax: (404) 728-0060
Web: www.carvergovernance.com
E-mail: polgov@aol.com
Publications can be reached through: www.josseybass.com
415-433-1740 or 800-956-7739