I am thrilled to hear this work is being done!
All of the things that you listed are important. I am especially interested in a board/ED assessment process and wondering what ever happened to the Museum Trustee Association. Many years ago, I attended sessions at AAM that included trustee perspectives and war stories and found them very helpful (to me as an ED). For a very reasonable fee, I acquired, and still use, materials/templates from MTA on Building Museum Boards and The Leadership Partnership. The premise that we must assess our own performance before we assess that of others was fundamental in the process of 1. self-assessment 2. board assessment and 3. executive director assessment. Over time, it has become more and more challenging to get people to complete forms they view as "too long". Also, the data input takes a lot of time. I feel sure that with today's technology the process could be greatly simplified to achieve better response and results. What do other boards do to assess their performance? I feel the museum field needs an assessment tool tailored to the field.
I am also interested in learning how much time boards devote to board training, planning, board meetings, committee meetings, attending events, and fundraising. Are ALL trustees required to fundraise? (Ours are...) Can this information be broken out by budget/staff size?
Times are changing as we transition to new generations. Is there a way to compare generational attitudes toward meeting deadlines and responsibilities?
Thank you for doing this!
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[Shan] Rankin
Executive Director
Museum of South Texas History
Edinburg TX
Original Message:
Sent: 10-11-2016 11:58 AM
From: Kathy Dwyer Southern
Subject: AAM Museum Trustee and CEO Initiative
As a longtime museum trustee and director, my colleagues and I have often wondered how our museum board compared with other museum boards and nonprofit boards as well. Next week, AAM--in partnership with BoardSource and Northern Trust--will launch a national survey of Museum Directors/CEOs and Board Chairs. The effort is based on BoardSource's highly regarded Leading with Intent index, the most authoritative and comprehensive biannual survey on the structure and workings of nonprofit boards.
We hope that every Director/CEO and every Board Chair will participate. With your help, we can identify the most pressing challenges, quantify the most common practices and based on your input, and working with partners, provide resources that will help you and your board effectively lead your museum. Look for the email invitation from us next week.
In the meantime I invite you to share your thoughts: What information would you most want to compare and learn from other museum and nonprofit boards? Is it the board's recruitment practices? Is it creating and maintaining a successful board fundraising plan? Is it board-staff relationships? Is it the length and effectiveness of your board meetings? When it comes to working with your trustees, what is the most important issue you would like to compare with other museum boards?
I know we will all benefit from the survey results and final report which will be released in May 2017 at the Annual Meeting in St. Louis!
We look forward to hearing from you!
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Kathy Dwyer Southern
American Alliance of Museums
Arlington VA
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