Advanced Governance – Move Beyond Fiduciary Basics

Move beyond fiduciary basics – build a board that leads with purpose, insight and strategic clarity. This engaging and practical course is designed for not-for-profit board members who want to strengthen their effectiveness, deepen their understanding of governance and confidently steward their organization’s mission.

 

Learning Objectives:

Understand and apply strategic thinking in a not-for-profit context

• Distinguish between strategic and operational issues within the board’s role
• Apply a strategic lens when assessing opportunities, risks and organizational performance o
• Contribute to shaping, monitoring and adjusting the organization’s strategic plan in alignment with mission and community impact

Develop a deeper understanding of risk in decision-making

• Identify key categories of risk specific to not-for-profit organizations
• Integrate risk awareness into strategic discussions and oversight responsibilities
• Understand and apply common thinking fallacies

Recognize and mitigate common thinking fallacies and cognitive biases

• Identify biases that often impact board decisions
• Apply techniques to counteract these biases and support more objective, inclusive and evidence-informed governance

Increase self-awareness to strengthen board engagement and dynamics

• Reflect on your leadership style, values, biases and areas of influence 
• Recognize how personal and group dynamics shape board effectiveness

Strengthen the ability to ask strategic and mission-aligned questions

• Use powerful, open-ended questions to foster generative dialogue and informed decision-making 
• Use inquiry to challenge assumptions, explore alternatives and support better decisions

Improve overall effectiveness as a board member

• Uphold fiduciary, strategic and generative responsibilities with confidence and clarity
• Align individual contributions with the collective role of stewarding mission, vision and values

 

Who should attend?

Board members and Executive Directors/CEOs who have had one to two years of governance experience, have a basic understanding of governance principles and are ready to take their performance to the next level.

 

 

Facilitator:

Judy Murphy through her company Murphy’s Executive Leadership is dedicated to equipping you and your board or teams with the tools and skills you need so you can perform at your best, feel confident and maximize your individual and collective impact on the world. She accomplishes that through supporting organizations and individuals in leadership development, executive and team coaching, strategic planning, and board governance. Judy Murphy Judy draws on her nearly three decades of on-the-ground experience gained from multiple perspectives: CEO, Board Director, Consultant and Coach. Judy’s clients include not-for-profit companies, Provincial Crowns and Agencies and post-secondary institutions. She is President of Murphy's Executive Leadership and well experienced in not-for-profit organizations. Over her career, she has held the roles of Manager Finance & Administration at the Winnipeg Art Gallery, Executive Director of Folklorama, Chief Operating Officer/Executive Director of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet and President & Chief Executive Officer of Safety Services Manitoba. Prior to Safety Services Manitoba, she was Practice Leader for Strategy and Governance at MNP, a national consulting firm. Judy teaches Organizational Behaviour for the 2 Clarity for ImpactTM TEAMS & LEADERSHIP · GOVERNANCE · STRATEGY University of Winnipeg’s PACE Programs. She also teaches Ethical Behaviour and the Essentials of Management Consulting Course for the Certified Management Consultants of Canada.

 

 

Accommodations:

Volunteer Manitoba strives to host inclusive, accessible workshops that enable all individuals to engage fully, and we recognize that everyone performs at their best when they are given the right tools to succeed. If you require any accommodations to support you in your learning journey, please indicate so on the registration form. We will do everything in our ability to support you.

Volunteer Manitoba is committed to accommodating individuals with sensitivity to scented products. Participants are kindly asked to refrain from using perfume, cologne, aftershave, or other fragrances to create a fragrance-free environment.

 

 

Course Cancellation Policy:

Volunteer Manitoba may decide to cancel or postpone any event where the minimum registration level has not been met. In the case of low in-person registration, Volunteer Manitoba may decide to host the workshop virtually instead. If you wish to not participate virtually, you will receive a full refund.

All participants registered for an event that is cancelled by Volunteer Manitoba will receive a full refund.

Refunds will not be issued for cancellations received within 10 days of the event. Registered participants who fail to attend an event are still required to pay for that event, since a space was held specifically for that person. In case of non-attendance and lack of payment, the registered participant will be invoiced for the full fee, due 30 days from the date of the invoice.