Cultivating High-Performing Boards:
Hone in on Relationships, Trust, and Strategic Decision Making 2025
A board's success hinges not only on the qualifications of its members but critically on how they function together. Effective board dynamics – the blend of interpersonal relationships, communication styles, decision-making processes, and overall board culture – are the engine that drives impactful governance and strategic oversight. Poor dynamics and dysfunction can lead to inefficient meetings, unresolved conflict, lack of trust - and ultimately - suboptimal decisions hindering an organization's potential.
This workshop will explore the often-unseen forces shaping boardroom conversations and outcomes. Participants will learn practical strategies to cultivate a culture of trust, enhance communication, manage constructive conflict, identify and address a dysfunctional board dynamic, and refine decision-making processes. Discover how to move beyond procedural formalities to foster genuine collaboration and leverage the collective knowledge of your board members, ultimately maximizing the board's effectiveness and its contribution to organizational success.
Join us to gain insights and tools to transform your board's working relationships and culture to unlock its full potential.
Learning Objectives:
Upon successful completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:
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Diagnose Board Dynamics and Culture: Learn to pinpoint specific signs of dysfunction—such as power struggles, lack of engagement, overreach, or role confusion—as well as the characteristics of a healthy, high-functioning board. Apply this lens to assess your own board’s culture and dynamics with clarity and confidence.
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Understand the Dynamics-Effectiveness Link: Articulate how specific interaction patterns (communication, conflict styles, trust levels) directly impact the board's ability to perform its governance, strategic, and oversight functions effectively.
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Build Trust and Collaboration: Identify strategies to cultivate a robust and healthy Board culture, and build stronger, more trusting relationships among board members.
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Improve Meeting & Decision Processes: Implement practical approaches to make board meetings more efficient, engaging, and conducive to effective decision-making.
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Navigate Conflict Constructively: Recognize different conflict styles and learn methods for addressing disagreements productively to strengthen outcomes rather than derail discussions.
Who Should Attend:
This session is designed for experienced directors, board leaders, and senior executives seeking to master the complexities of modern governance and contribute to the organizations strategic direction.
Ideal for those who have a foundational understanding of Board governance and are ready to deepen their strategic contribution and leadership in the boardroom.
About the presenter:
Mariam Waliji
Vice-President - Equity, Impact & Governance, Pillar Nonprofit Network
Mariam has a passion for connection – whether it be with people, place, or community. Her years studying evolutionary genetics and ecology sparked questions about how local food systems and restricted access to well-grown food impact society in multifaceted ways; this encouraged her to work towards addressing inequities and barriers to access more broadly in our current systems.
Her work with Pillar Nonprofit Network allows her to reframe the definition of success for social impact organizations while creating space to explore what it means to have intentional, meaningful impact in community in long-term and viable ways. Mariam’s experience and leadership as a Board member to various local community organizations uniquely equips her with the knowledge and skills required to understand nonprofit governance, social enterprise models, and community development work; a lens she brings with her to her work at Pillar Nonprofit Network. By commiting to being deeply embedded in community, Mariam strives to understand the needs of those both working in, and being supported, by the nonprofit sector -- allowing that to guide her approach to equity, impact, and governance.
Through education, an emphasis on sharing narrative, an understanding of intersectional environmentalism, ongoing personal development, and a genuine connection with her community, she aims to encourage growth and power in a collaborative economy. Her hope is to participate in creating a more just, equitable, and joyful future for us all.
This event is part of a 3-part series:
Advanced All About Boards 2025: Strategic Governance for Complex Times and Purpose-Driven Boards
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