This local Syracuse non-profit reached out to the Institute to help build a cohesive community with its Board by engaging in a series of interactive culture development activities that will result in a revised strategic intent, vision, virtues, and mission touchstone for the Board.
The process sought Board member input on current and desired state, interviews of leadership, and review of organizational documents. A draft set of new mission-vision artifacts including norms to guide essential aspects of board culture were developed. These materials were refined, affirmed, and/or challenged through iterative workshops and applied practice with the Board.
The process engaged participants in intentional strategic conversations that explored the current state of the organization and of the desired-state objectives, while clarifying the organization’s unique brand value and the related brand promise. The focus was on authentic reflection about what the organization aspires to promise those it serves, and how it then aligns everything done by the board in a mission-driven way in the service of that promise.
Through the process, stakeholders developed a sense of community and put into practice the signature culture practices needed for a high performing board, including clarity and fidelity of expectations, habits, mindset, and accountability.
The second phase of work with Joseph’s House involves program development, training and assessment. This phase will design curricula and programming for residents based on Joseph’s House mission, vision and virtues, and professional development training for Board and organization leadership and staff. It will also include development of an assessment strategy for measuring quality of implementation and depth of impact. Work is ongoing.
Our engagement with the Institute came at an incredibly challenging time of transformation for the Joseph’s House. Matt and the Institute led us through a thoughtful, strategic, and sometimes challenging exercise that has enabled us to strengthen the Board’s collective understanding and support of our vision and mission and to develop a strategic plan to enable dramatic growth in the impact we are having.
Jimmer Szatkowski
Joseph’s House Board Member