A Meeting of the Minds
The start of a new term is exciting for anyone involved in a nonprofit organization, but especially for the CEO/Executive Director and the incoming Chairman of the Board of Directors. Just as organizations take the time to cultivate relationships with donors and community partners, the first endeavor should be cultivating a relationship between the most essential and high-functioning roles in the organization.
Having sat on the boards of organizations like Susan G. Komen and Jewish Family Services, I’ve learned a thing or two about board dynamics and what it takes to create a successful year for the organization. At the top of the list are that establishing expectations, clarifying roles and responsibilities, and ensuring everyone is working cohesively towards the organization’s goals are the secrets to success.
I created the Meeting of the Minds workshop as a specially designed Board Facilitation that touches on exactly these elements as well as provide a meaningful start to an important new relationship. The insights gained, such as a meaningful understanding of each other, are the heart of what this engagement sets out to provide.
In this issue of Coach’s Corner, I’m excited to introduce Beth Sirull, President & CEO of the Jewish Community Foundation in San Diego and Janet Acheatel, Chairman of the Board of Directors. I had the pleasure of facilitating a Meeting of the Minds for them at the start of Janet’s term and today, they’re sharing their learnings and perspectives from that experience.
1. All of my work is rooted in CliftonStrengths. Can you talk a little bit about the insights you gained into yourselves and each other from finding out your Strengths?
The Strengths process is a powerful combatant to imposter syndrome.
Janet: Finding out my Strengths was definitely validating for me in a way that boosted my self-confidence. For example, one of my top Strengths is Arranger. I know I’m an organized person but that little validation that yeah, this is really a Strength of mine, helped me to just go for it in situations whereas before, I may have stepped back a little bit. As for Beth, we had had limited exposure to each other prior to this Facilitation so the Meeting of the Minds was a little window into each other that set the stage for years of working closely together.
Beth: It’s interesting to hear Janet mention the Facilitation has given her more confidence because when we chose her as the Board Chair, she kind of said “Why do you want me?” I hope throughout this experience, she’s been able to learn and grow from it just as much as I have and to see the value she brings to the table.
Janet: The way “confidence” manifested for me out of this Facilitation is that it has helped me be assertive because you know your Strengths and that provides the extra assurance that yeah, I can do this.
Knowing your Top 10 is as valuable as knowing your bottom 10. It’s not that they’re weaknesses, they’re just not Strengths. Nobody can be equally strong at everything. — Beth
Beth: What was really most helpful for me was not my Top 10, but my bottom five. I found understanding my weaknesses was extremely insightful. For example, Context is my last Strength. I’m a decisive person with a bias for action but knowing Context is my last Strength has helped me slow down and to assess if I have what I need before acting.
Janet: Context is my 11th Strength so it gives me the opportunity to say, “Well, maybe we should look at it in another light or get another viewpoint before taking action.”
2. The Board Facilitation focuses a lot on role clarity, expectation setting, and alignment on the mission. What were some insightful, unexpected, or surprising takeaways from these conversations?
The Facilitation removes the intimidation factor behind the vulnerability of saying where you need someone else’s help during a critical time when you’re building a partnership together.
Janet: The Facilitation was very helpful in forging the relationship between the two of us because during our discussion we have Marsha there helping us think about how our strengths and weaknesses can enable us to have a stronger relationship working together in our dual roles. Marsha was so knowledgeable and at every point in the conversation. Any question we might ask, she was right there with us giving us answers and sharing insights… you learn so much. It was extremely helpful for us to be able to feel confident that our relationship was going to be based on mutual understanding.
Beth: Something that was surprising to me was that the whole process was really fun! Marsha is so warm and engaging that the entire exercise was just such a fun process. In particular, I recall the “I Bring, I Need” Strengths Booster. I loved the learnings it brought but even more so, the language it equipped me with. It opened up space for me to say “Hey, I’ve got this covered but I don’t have that covered.” The exercise turned my self-awareness from a reflection into action. It also created a space where it was okay to say that and know it would make our relationship stronger and our work better. This mindset is the embodiment of the phrase “If you want to go far, go together.”
Janet: The idea of feeling safe to have the conversation is something that I think ladders up to the whole experience. You go into it not knowing what to expect and leaning into that vulnerability lessens some of the nervousness.
3. How has the Facilitation influenced how you use the insights you’ve gained or how you navigate situations together?
The Facilitation fosters a better understanding of each other and the strengths of the organization, thus improving our work together.
Janet: It’s not any one thing or moment but rather how the conversations we had during the Facilitation created a dynamic and a deeper understanding of each other that we were able to step into this partnership fully informed and more deeply engaged with each other.
Beth: A strength Janet and I share is Relator. We’re both connectors and value checking in with one another which is more important now than ever. In terms of bringing insights from the Facilitation into our work, Janet also has Learner in her top 10 and that works to balance out Context being my last Strength really well. She wants to learn more about a situation that naturally helps to slow down the Achiever Strength in me. She balances me out in that sense.
Janet: The beauty of Beth and I working together is that I see her as the vision and ideas person and I’m more on the executor side. Once I know the idea, I can make the necessary decisions about it, get excited, and help to get it done. This Facilitation very much set the stage to create that dynamic for us.
Beth: Through all Janet and I have learned about each other and ourselves through the Facilitation, it has reinforced for me the idea that our team is our greatest asset and you have to invest in your assets in order for them to pay off. Having this Board Facilitation wasn’t a cost, but rather an investment.
Janet: The Facilitation reinforced that we should be and have to put people at the forefront of our conversations.
4. The #1 priority of Meeting of the Minds is to build and solidify a partnership of trust, candor, respect, and honest communication between CEO and Board Chair. Since the Facilitation, how do you feel it has helped you work together in the above respects?
“I would recommend it to anyone taking over as Board Chair. I really think it’s a smart way
to launch a Board Chair / CEO relationship.” — Beth
Beth: Marsha describes the work between a CEO and Board Chair as a “three-legged race” and thanks to the Facilitation, we’ve been able to set a pace that’s helped us be successful together. It takes a great deal of time to build the kind of relationship I now enjoy with her and I’m thankful we spent the time and effort to invest in the Facilitation looking back.
5. Any last thoughts you’d like to share?
Beth: I think Marsha has a real skill for knowing when to pose a question and just let us talk vs. when to step in and educate more and I think that's the mark of a great facilitator, knowing when to step up and when to step back. She did a really good job of explaining things and setting stages and talking about each of our Strengths but also of then guiding us into how to integrate those learnings in a way that would be valuable to our relationship.
Janet: Marsha’s way of facilitating gives the Strengths process so much credibility. It comes across through her passion for it but also the intellectual level she can go to through her training. She also just makes it so fun! What was supposed to be a 1.5-hour engagement turned into several hours of us laughing and talking. It was a wonderful experience.
Thank you to Beth and Janet for taking the time to share their experience with the Facilitation and the impact it has had on their work since. If you’re interested in learning more about the Meeting of the Minds Board Facilitation, you can learn more here or by getting in touch with me directly.