This author has not written his bio yet.
But we are proud to say that Kevin Smith contributed 81 entries already.
Who’s Doing the Talking in Your Board Meeting? Here comes the new “talking” audit. It’s not unusual for the CEO to do the most talking in board meetings. But it’s critical to get the right balance of voices and to have input from everyone in the group. Paying attention to this balance and making some […]
Credit union board members are dedicated volunteers for the credit union movement. They are the embodiment of the CU adage, “People helping people.” As the job gets more difficult and more complex, it’s my job to worry about directors and to figure out where they need help and how to help them. I look around […]
After Covid forced boards into virtual meetings, directors learned to adapt. But just because we can, doesn’t mean we should require everyone to meet in person again. There’s value in keeping flexible with virtual and hybrid meetings. Make sure you’re doing what it takes to make them work effectively. By Tim Harrington and Kevin Smith […]
Staying at the strategic level and avoiding operational micromanaging is a significant challenge for most boards. This can and should be addressed with systems to prevent it from happening and wasting valuable meeting time. By Kevin Smith Some of you have heard me talk about the E.L.M.O. card. If you haven’t, you can go here […]
Cognitive bias in the boardroom is a danger to decision making. Boards can (should) mitigate the effects of this by understanding it and calling attention to where it can and does come up in the board room. As a group, directors can hold each other accountable and address bias. A learning board will create systems […]
The time at the board meeting should be carefully thought out and protected as the limited and valuable resource that it is. Boards that meet once a month for about two hours need that time focused on the most strategic and the most valuable items. Not on operational details, updates and review (rear view mirror) […]
We’re doing things a bit differently this month. It’s time for some audience participation. Click on every example of board bad behavior that you’ve experienced. And fill in any that we missed below or in the comments. We hear about a lot of these privately. But we don’t hear about these being called out and […]
Nice Can Be Deadly to a Board Midwest Nice, Board Culture & What to Do with Evaluation Results Great board culture is more than simply having everyone “get along,” and having good discussions. It requires mutual accountability, a culture of ongoing learning, and increased complexity. Boards that want to thrive must move past old […]
Ad hoc or lassaiz faire approaches to director education are no longer good enough. The board must have a formal approach, codified into governance policy. The benefits are many: transparency, higher expectations, tracking and accountability among others. The credit union world is complex, requiring directors to have ongoing education to keep up. By Kevin Smith […]
The NCUA has proposed new regulations for succession planning in credit unions. These would make explicit the tasks that credit unions must do at the board, committee and leadership levels. This includes formal, written succession plans for board leaders, committees and the operational leadership of the credit union, which must be tailored to the size and […]
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