In this episode, Carol Gundersen with The Food Literacy Project shares about board transitions. The Food Literacy Project's mission is really about inspiring a new generation to build healthy relationships with food, farming, and the land. Here are a few highlights:

FINDING BOARD – STAFF PARTNERSHIP. It's certainly possible for a board member to do both roles, but it takes a lot of communication and even then it can be tough for board members to do both: to have the big picture perspective that a board member needs to govern effectively and also, to be involved in some of the minutia of day-to-day work.

DON’T ASSUME. One thing that's been a really key lesson for me is to not assume what goes without saying. And it can be really hard to anticipate what does and doesn't go without saying. It's just an ongoing journey for everyone to understand what their role is and what authority they have to make which decisions. Sometimes it can feel like over-communication to say the things that we perhaps thought might go without saying, just say them.

EMPHASIZE THE BIG PICTURE. As our board was shifting from a hands-on board to a more governance focused one, it was useful for me to emphasize the big picture whenever we were reviewing a financial statement or anything like that. And then we can get into some of the minutiae of specific line items or whatever. But starting with the big picture with any communication with them. Helping everybody understand that we’re there to look at, was the big picture.

Find more information on the podcast at www.SocialGoodInstigators.com.