Articles by Randall Pearce

Coaches in the Boardroom?

Leading a not-for-profit organisation can be a lonely pursuit but it need not be. Leadership experts say board chairs, non-executive directors and CEOs all need allies to help them monitor and navigate the shifting dynamics of a volunteer board. Increasingly, not-for-profit leaders are looking to organisational or executive coaches to be that thinking partner. And, with good reason. Organisational coaching is a practice that has been proven to increase effectiveness of decision-making, sharpen strategic focus, develop, and encourage constructive board leadership behaviours, and help navigate transitions.

The Gardener or the Lawyer? Who to Call First When Making Governance Change in NFPs

Not-for-profit governance is awash with change in Australia. Some organisations are moving from being incorporated associations under state law to Companies Limited by Guarantee under the Commonwealth’s Corporations Act. Others are replacing representative boards with skills-based boards. And still others are investigating ways of replacing old federated structures with new national ones. As any lawyer can explain, these changes are all relatively easy to make from a structural point of view.

Inviting Stakeholders to Have a Say in Decision-Making

Power to the People: How NFP boards can produce better outcomes by inviting stakeholders to have a say in their decision-making. From collaborative consumption to collective impact, we are increasingly recognising that we have a better chance of surviving the future if we pool our talents to collaborate, rather than using them to compete against one another. It is this shift in thinking that prompted Harvard Business Review blogger, Ben Hecht, to declare that ‘Collaboration is the new competition’ in early 20131.