Your organization deserves a board that is making a difference, in your organization and your community - in these times and always.
- Is your board 100% focused on creating as much impact as possible in your community?
- Is your board tackling these tough times with strength and courage?
- Is your board community-driven and inclusive?
- Is your board engaged, energized, reaching for their potential?
- Is your board a true asset to the organization and the community?
If you wish this was your board, then this class is for you.
Catalytic Thinking can make the difference between a board that is stuck in old roles and responsibilities and a board that is energized, engaged, and enthusiastic.
A board that is always reaching for what is possible.
An impact-focused board.
Did you know:
While the world has changed dramatically since the 1970’s, governance experts are still addressing the same problems everyone complained about 50 years ago!
Disnegaged boards. Recruitment processes that are stuck in a bygone era. Micromanagement. Board / CEO roles and relationships. Boards focused almost entirely on internal operations (instead of community impact).
And especially boards who are shrinking from this current political moment, afraid to take the kinds of giant leaps that these times call for.
Your community deserves better. Your team deserves better. And your board deserves better.
- A board that is navigating the tumultuous times of 2026 and beyond
- A board that is creating the future of your community (and in the process, your organization).
- A board that is creating smooth and effective board/staff relationships.
- A board that is focused, first and foremost, on the impact your organization is having in your community.
In this class, we will apply the powerful questions of Catalytic Thinking to transform your board into an energized, engaged, force for visionary community change.
The problem with boards…
The reason your board is NOT a force for change is because they have been taught to focus on reactive, internal minutiae instead of community change. That model has led to both board and staff feeling frustrated and stuck.
Your board members want to make a difference.
This class will teach them how!
It’s time to move beyond…
- Beyond the tired lists of roles and responsibilities that focus on organizational operations…
- Beyond listening to reports on what happened in the past (staff reports, financial reports)…
- Beyond rehashing staff work (and maybe micromanaging?) instead of doing work that is actually meaningful…
- Beyond asking, “Where’s the money going to come from?” instead of building on strengths and community…
- Beyond the narrow focus of their legal obligations (duty of care and loyalty to the organization) vs. advocating for the community…
- Beyond encouraging staff to be more business-like…
- Beyond playing it safe and focusing more on the balance sheet than your impact in the community…
The questions of Catalytic Thinking provide a VERY DIFFERENT WAY to think about your board’s role and their effectiveness.
What You'll Learn:
► Why legal accountability is just a bare minimum, and how to instead lead towards what is possible
► Why boards micromanage. Why they get disengaged. Why they are bored, don’t show up, or any of the other common problems of boards, and what to do to aim your board towards their potential
► What real inclusion looks like – at the board table and throughout all your work
► How "accountability for community impact" encourages boards to soar far beyond "accountability for the money" (and how to DO it!)
► What does an impact-focused board do, and how do they do it?
Fiduciary duties are not the main job of the board. They are the bare minimum.
The main job is more energizing, more exciting, more engaging.
The main job of your board is to ensure your organization is making a difference in your community.
► What real inclusion looks like – at the board table and throughout all an organzation's work
► How "accountability for community impact" encourages boards to soar far beyond "accountability for the money" (and how to DO it!)
► The role of listening to bring out the wisdom board members don't even realize they have (and why that works better than giving advice).
► What does an impact-focused board do, and how do they do it?
► How boards can involve the people who will be affected by a decision, to make those decisions together.
► How an organization’s values and vision can transform the board’s work
► How to build more generative conversation into your board's work, for deeper relationship-building, deeper trust, and deeper impact
► What it means for a board to be a force for change in their community – and how to do it
► The role of questions in shifting a board's focus
► Why focusing solely on oversight actually prevents boards from being their most rational and creative – and what will free board members to be their best selves
And so much more!
It’s time to free boards to be their best selves.
This Self-paced Class Includes
Tuition
In the spirit of Collective Enoughness - that together we have everything we need - YOU will determine the tuition for this class!
On the registration form, you’ll see a "suggested" tuition. You will also see the ability to choose a different amount that is entirely up to you.
“No less than you believe it’s worth,
and no more than you can afford.”
~ Gayle Valeriote, founding board member, Creating the Future
No one will be turned away.
Because we never want money to stand between you and learning approaches that will help to create a more humane, healthy future for our world.
Got Questions
When does the class start?
Your class is available right now! Once you register, classes are viewable at your own pace, whenever you choose to watch and as many times as you’d like. And you will have lifetime access to all those aspects of the class.
Can I access the class on my phone?
• All video aspects of this class are accessible on mobile devices, laptop and desktop computers.
• All documents are in PDF format. Any of your devices that can read a PDF will read the workbook and worksheets.
Is there a live component to the class?
Every few months, Creating the Future offers live Q&A sessions for individuals who have taken our self-paced classes. Watch for invitations to those sessions in your email (and please be sure we have your current email address!).
Will you really answer questions forever?
Yes, included in your tuition, our faculty will answer quick questions forever - questions that can be answered in a simple email. And if your questions are more complex, perhaps requiring a coaching session, our coaching is by donation - no set fee. Our goal is not to produce a webinar; our goal is that you take these practices into your life and your work, and enjoy the benefits they will bring to yourself and those around you.
Your Instructors
