Refreshing Your Board
Thursday, September 26, 2024
Effective boards benefit from a mixture of institutional knowledge and fresh ideas. In this session, we examine how the implementation of terms, term limits, and routine evaluation can bring new life and vision to the boardroom.

Getting Board Members Engaged
Thursday, October 17, 2024
Board members commonly are asked to buy tickets, attend special events, bring friends, raise money, and more — but how can we convert good intention into action? In this session, we review the ways board members can contribute, advocate, and recruit, and the importance of defining individual purposefulness to motivate them.

What Trust Means for Trustees
Thursday, November 14, 2024
Healthy opera companies are built on a foundation of trust rooted in transparency, communication, and a shared commitment to mission. In this session, we explore how board members can build and sustain trust at three levels: with their community, with their fellow trustees, and with their company staff.

Working Boards and Governing Boards
Thursday, October 19, 2023
Healthy boards inevitably must adapt as organizations grow and evolve, but these changes can be difficult to navigate. In this session, we discuss the commonalities and differences between working boards and governing boards, and the challenges companies face when transitioning to a new mode of operation.

Organizational KPIs
Thursday, October 26, 2023
Good governance includes sustained oversight of key performance indicators that provide quick insight into a company’s health. In this session, we discuss the roles of board members and staff leaders in establishing these indicators and conducting regular reviews of financial, artistic, human, and civic performance.

The Effectiveness of Board Retreats
Thursday, November 9, 2023
Board retreats provide an ideal setting for in-depth discussion about key strategies and help build stronger relationships among members. In this session, we review how retreats differ from regular board meetings and share helpful suggestions for structuring effective retreats that enhance good governance.

Board Member Evaluations
Thursday, February 29, 2024
Effective boards systematically reflect on policies, procedures, and their collective performance in terms of attendance, engagement, generosity, and other criteria. The evaluation of individual board member performance must be linked to individual goals customized to the abilities and interests of each member. In this session, we discuss the dynamics of group and individual evaluation designed to optimize the effectiveness of boards, board members, and their companies.

Board Members and the Fundraising Process
Thursday, March 14, 2024
Most opera companies depend on professional fundraising staff to achieve yearly goals, but they cannot be successful without committed participation from every board member. In this session, we examine the entire fundraising process and identify ways trustees can engage productively in the cultivation, acknowledgment, and stewardship of donors.

Research for Board Members
Thursday, April 25, 2024
Research studies and benchmarking analyses can provide key insights into audience behavior, giving trends, and other aspects of the opera business, but most companies lack sufficient resources to conduct research on a regular basis. In this session, we explore ways board members can access available information and develop a regular practice of inquiry and investigation to guide organizational decision-making.

Executive Committees
Thursday, September 22, 2022
Helpful or not? In this session, we examine how executive committees contribute to or detract from high-functioning boards, while also exploring the importance of governance committees when optimized to strengthen the effectiveness of the board.

Board Member Recruitment
Thursday, October 13, 2022
How do you lay the groundwork to ensure that board prospects become effective board members? In this session, we discuss how to identify potential board members, establish expectations, and contribute to their success.

Artistic Policies
Thursday, November 3, 2022
What role do board members have in choosing repertoire? In this session, we discuss the role of boards in establishing artistic policies in order to evaluate and support staff decisions.

Trends in Board Engagement
Thursday, March 2, 2023
Where do board members excel? How can they improve? In this session, we summarize the findings of a national survey of senior staff at professional opera companies about the strengths of their board members and ways trustees can become more effective in supporting the success of their companies.

Boards and Budgets
Thursday, March 16, 2023
How can financial oversight become an instrument of organizational strength? In this session, we review board member responsibilities for reviewing company budgets with emphasis on how they can reflect and shape the organization’s vision and core values.

Overcoming Barriers
Thursday, April 27, 2023
What are the greatest barriers to engaging new board members? In this session, we discuss how inherited and unexamined practices must be named and changed to ease the entry of newcomers into company leadership.

Board-Staff Relationship
Thursday, October 14, 2021
How do board and staff members succeed together? In this session, we examine the unique nature of the partnership, with a special focus on how trustees can support and collaborate with the development team to achieve company goals.

Board-General Director Relationship
Thursday, October 28, 2021
How can board members fulfill their obligation to evaluate the performance of their general director? In this session, we review a board’s role in working with company leaders to establish criteria for assessment, as well as discuss company leadership models, succession planning, and leadership transitions.

Strategic Planning
Thursday, November 11, 2021
How can strategic planning help companies emerge from the disruption of COVID-19? In this session, we review the process, scope, and role board members should anticipate when charting a course for their company.

Measuring Success
Thursday, December 2, 2021
Revenue, audience counts, reviews, community touchpoints, personal inspiration — what matters when assessing company success? In this session, we discuss the indicators trustees can monitor when evaluating their company’s work.

Structuring Board Meetings
Thursday, March 31, 2022
How can board meetings include more questions and discussion, and allow for deeper understanding and engagement by board members? In this session, we provide helpful suggestions of ways board meetings can be made more interactive, more informative, and more conducive to building strong relationships among members.

Succession Planning
Thursday, April 14, 2022
Searching for a new general director? Trying to recruit a new board chair? In this session, we address the challenges all companies face during moments of change and review basic principles that contribute to successful transitions and knowledge continuity.

Board Members and the Fundraising Process
Thursday, April 28, 2022
Must every board member really ask for money? In this session, we examine the entire fundraising process and the ways trustees can engage productively in the cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of donors.

Board Roles and Responsibilities
Thursday, September 24, 2020
What do trustees need to fulfill their responsibilities effectively? In this session, we look at the importance of financial understanding, operational awareness, and key indicators of success.

Board-Staff Partnership
Thursday, October 8, 2020
How do board and staff members succeed together? In this session, we discuss the mutually supportive and flexible partnerships that lead to reciprocal effectiveness.

Qualities of a Good Board
Thursday, October 22, 2020
What makes for a good board? In this session, we consider team spirit, strategic clarity, responsiveness, and other qualities identified by opera trustees in workshops across the country.

Board Size and Committees
Thursday, November 5, 2020
Too big or too small? Too many or too few? In this session, we answer these questions by discussing how developing bonds of mutual obligation and creating individual purposefulness fuel engagement.

Increasing Board Diversity
Thursday, November 19, 2020
How can companies diversify their boards? In this session, we identify the historic barriers and show how mutually beneficial partnerships can lead to organic recruitment.

Basics of Civic Practice
Thursday, March 4, 2021
How can companies expand the public value of opera? In this session, we discuss the need for opera companies to engage as active cultural citizens and help address civic priorities, and the role board members play in building strong community partnerships.

Building a Stronger Board
Thursday, March 11, 2021
How can opera companies recruit and retain board members with the skills, connections, and enthusiasm needed to achieve organizational goals? In this session, we look at how strategic cultivation, orientation, and defined purpose — in financial, operational, and artistic areas — can optimize board effectiveness.

Questions of Term Limits and Board Giving
Thursday, March 25, 2021
Rotate or remain? Give or get? Required or not? In this session, we address these provocative questions and how board members can balance answers with the strategic needs of their companies.

Board Members and the Fundraising Process
Thursday, April 8, 2021
Must every board member really ask for money? In this session, we examine the entire fundraising process and the ways trustees can engage productively in the cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of donors.

Planning for Future Possibilities
Thursday, April 15, 2021
Strategic Plan? Operating Plan? Scenario Plan? In this session, we examine the role trustees play in charting the future of their opera companies through three complementary planning processes.