From Boring to Bold: Rethinking Governance

*This article was first published by Charity Village.

In too many boardrooms across the charitable sector, the real conversation happens in the parking lot or over coffee after the meeting. What’s left in the boardroom? A scripted agenda, nodding heads, and safe-but-empty resolutions that check boxes instead of confronting the real issues.

That’s not governance. That’s performance.

The Governance Gap That’s Costing Us Impact

Let’s be blunt: ineffective governance is the biggest risk to mission impact and financial sustainability in our sector today. Many boards don’t know what their job is. Some operate in silos. Others dodge hard decisions or defer to staff. Many boards blame staff for lack of performance instead of taking responsibility for their contribution. And while everyone cares deeply about the cause, too often boards confuse caring with governing.

Here’s the truth: if your board can’t have functional, bold, and sometimes uncomfortable conversations inside the boardroom, your organization is at risk - no matter how noble your mission.

Real Governance Happens When We Show Up Differently

Through my work facilitating board retreats and strategy sessions, I’ve seen what’s possible when directors are given the tools-and the permission-to engage fully, challenge respectfully, and speak bravely.

One way we do that is by creating Accountable Spaces, not just “safe” or “brave” ones. Based on adapted guidelines from UCLA, this approach sets clear expectations that:

• Friction is welcome—it means diverse ideas are being shared.

• Everyone speaks for themselves, not on behalf of others.

• Listening is as important as speaking.

• Harm is addressed with accountability, not defensiveness.

These aren’t just nice-to-have cultural principles. They are foundations for real, productive governance.

Case Study: Client One

This organization was transitioning from a working board to a governing board. Individually there was a lot of energy for the mission. The challenge was that the group wasn’t aligned around roles and responsibilities. And they didn’t realize it.

At the board retreat, we didn’t just review strategy-we rewired the board’s entire relationship to its role. Directors engaged in honest dialogue about governance vs. operations, explored their multiple identities as donors, volunteers, and governors, and collectively clarified what success looks like.

Key breakthroughs included:

• Admitting role confusion and working through it using a governance-operations-strategy Venn diagram.

• Holding space to name fears, uncertainties, and doubts (FUD) without judgment.

• Reimagining board meetings to include storytelling, learning, and shared laughter-not just motions and minutes.

Because of this work, the board left not just with a to-do list-but with renewed clarity, cohesion, and purpose. They are now ready to map out a strategic direction for the future as one decision making body.

Case Study: Client Two

The board retreat wasn’t just about refreshing a strategic plan - it was a cultural recalibration. With the world shifting around them, the board recognized the need to lead not with policy first, but with values, trust, and shared power.

They explored bold questions:

• Should values be co-created with members or enforced from the top?

• How do we reconcile legal responsibilities with community-centered governance?

• What would shared leadership actually look like?

The result: a roadmap for decolonizing governance, experimenting with shared facilitation, rotating power, and embedding protocols that reflect Indigenous and community-centered ways of working.

This wasn’t window dressing. It was deep, structural work that turned the board into a values-aligned leadership body - not just an oversight committee.

The Way Forward: From Checklist to Courage

Too often charitable boards blame staff, gossip in the parking lot and are dysfunctionally polite with each other. The world needs them to do better. Governance isn’t about rubber-stamping decisions or staying in your lane. It’s about owning the hard questions:

• Are we aligned with our values in how we make decisions, not just what decisions we make?

• Do we have the courage to surface conflict and stay in it long enough to learn something?

• Are we willing to be uncomfortable for the sake of the mission?

If your board agenda leaves no room for bold questions, real dialogue, or course correction, then you’re not governing. You’re managing the optics of governance.

Let’s Stop Hiding Behind the Agenda

It’s time for directors to stop holding the “real talk” before or after the meeting and start building boardrooms where that talk is the meeting.

Start with accountable space guidelines. Reimagine your board’s purpose. Bring in a facilitator if needed. But whatever you do, stop waiting for culture to change on its own. It won’t.

Boards have the power-and the responsibility-to lead with integrity and set an example for the organizational culture. But only if they’re brave enough to speak up, show up, and do the real work together. If you would like to start working with your board this way let's talk.

Kimberley Mackenzie, CPCC, ACC is a leadership coach, facilitator, trainer and consultant. A charity executive for 25 years, Kimberley built a six-figure consultancy and held her CFRE for 17 years and is certified by the International Coaching Federation as an Associate Certified Coach and by the Co-Active Training Institute as a Certified Co-Active Professional Coach. She is the former editor for Charity eNews, an AFP Master Trainer and Group Facilitator. You can find Kimberley in Stratford, Ontario walking her dogs along the Avon River and you can reach her at k@kimberleymackenzie.ca