Establishing next generation governance

How to take your trust governance from good to great

In Next-gen governance, we set out our theory of change for taking trust governance from good to great. This course is designed to give you a deeper understanding of the concepts and practice underpinning this theory of change - especially around two key domains of board leadership and structures. We will explore what shifts are required to build high performing stewardship and equip you with the ideas and inspiration to take them forward in your trust.

Who is it for?

Chairs of trustee boards and committees
Trustees
Governance professionals
Executive leaders

What you will gain

By the end of this masterclass, you will understand what a more relational approach to trust governance looks like in practice, how to get there, and how to assess it's impact.

This course will give you:

Insights into stewardship, and how it changes decision making and helps build a longer term vision
Ideas on how to design your governance community and streamline your processes
Guidance on how to take a relational approach with each stakeholder group
An understanding of how to lead effectively through complexity

Meet your seminar leaders

Samira Sadeghi, Director of Trust Governance, CST

Course overview

Seminar content

Seminar one: Next-gen board leadership: Stewardship and leading through complexity

The first seminar will provide an overview of the psychology of leadership and decision-making and how to lead through complexity. You will hear from a ‘centennial’ – an organisation that has lasted over 100 years – about how they have achieved their long-term sustainability. We will also explore ‘how you know’ whether your trust has the right culture to enable it to unleash greatness.

Seminar two: Next-gen structures and mechanics: Solutions-focus and eliminating fluff load

The second seminar will explore how trusts can intentionally design a governance community that is coherent and effective. We will consider different structural models to understand how they might better serve decision making by amplifying stakeholder voice and creating strong accountability and information feedback loops. Having considered structure, we then turn to accompanying mechanics such as board reporting and meetings and hear from a trust that has sharpened its practice and eliminated fluff load.

Seminar three: Next-gen relational approaches: Storytelling, active listening and community anchoring

The final seminar will develop your understanding of how to shift practice from transactional to relational, to rebuild mutual trust, respect and understanding between trusts and their stakeholders in order to prevent friction points. We will hear from a trust about how they approached community anchoring and the benefits it has yielded.