Building the System
Congregations and institutions that make a real difference in the world align authority and accountability with their values, mission, and ends. We help you understand and build a governance system that embodies your values, aligns your congregation's work to advance your mission and ends, sets up clear roles of authority and accountability, and enables regular reflection on the outcomes of your ministry together.
Congregations and institutions that make a real difference in the world align authority and accountability with their values, mission, and ends. We help you understand and build a governance system that embodies your values, aligns your congregation's work to advance your mission and ends, sets up clear roles of authority and accountability, and enables regular reflection on the outcomes of your ministry together.
Related Services
PG101 Board Retreat
The first step in building the system is understanding what board commitments liberate and empower leadership throughout the congregation for its mission, in alignment with its values. We take you through nine board commitments that structure a system for the congregation to align its work with its mission and stay accountable for its outcomes. We consider how these commitments could clarify and enhance decision-making and relationships in the congregation. If you determine that you want to restructure your governance according to these commitments, we map out a transition plan to accomplish the work. Friday night/all day Saturday onsite retreat.
Policy Picnic Board Retreat
Step two in building the system is to write the board's governing policies, the living, breathing expression of the board's values, written for a governing purpose. We help individual trustees draft pieces of your policies in advance of the retreat, and then we help the whole board edit these drafts during the retreat. As we do, we clarify what values you want your governance system to embody, and how to structure the roles and relationships with the system to honor those values and the nine commitments of an effective board. Friday night/all day Saturday onsite retreat.
Making It Happen Board Retreat
Step three in building the system, once the board adopts its policies, is to move into the Leadership Cycle in the Mission-Focused Congregation. We help you establish the tools and systems that keep you aligned with your values and your board commitments, and ensure regular, deep reflection on your shared ministry together, its impact in your lives and in the world, and what dreams your congregation might work to fulfill next.
Ends Assessment Services
We've developed effective tools to assess your ends outcomes. We customize our tools for your ends, coach you through their implementation, and analyze the data to help board and minister reflect together on the impact of the congregation's ministries, in congregant lives and in the world.
Coaching Hours
We offer hourly coaching to help congregations address questions between retreats as they build the system. We offer a discount on our hourly rate to clients who pre-purchase 10 hours of coaching time.
"We have benefitted immensely from the guidance of Laura Park of Unity Consulting. She has partnered with us to provide the counsel, tools, and support we need to confidently pursue our path to establish a comprehensive governance system. Laura is exceptionally good at what she does.”
M. Naples, Congregation President, First Unitarian Society of Milwaukee
The first step in building the system is understanding what board commitments liberate and empower leadership throughout the congregation for its mission, in alignment with its values. We take you through nine board commitments that structure a system for the congregation to align its work with its mission and stay accountable for its outcomes. We consider how these commitments could clarify and enhance decision-making and relationships in the congregation. If you determine that you want to restructure your governance according to these commitments, we map out a transition plan to accomplish the work. Friday night/all day Saturday onsite retreat.
Policy Picnic Board Retreat
Step two in building the system is to write the board's governing policies, the living, breathing expression of the board's values, written for a governing purpose. We help individual trustees draft pieces of your policies in advance of the retreat, and then we help the whole board edit these drafts during the retreat. As we do, we clarify what values you want your governance system to embody, and how to structure the roles and relationships with the system to honor those values and the nine commitments of an effective board. Friday night/all day Saturday onsite retreat.
Making It Happen Board Retreat
Step three in building the system, once the board adopts its policies, is to move into the Leadership Cycle in the Mission-Focused Congregation. We help you establish the tools and systems that keep you aligned with your values and your board commitments, and ensure regular, deep reflection on your shared ministry together, its impact in your lives and in the world, and what dreams your congregation might work to fulfill next.
Ends Assessment Services
We've developed effective tools to assess your ends outcomes. We customize our tools for your ends, coach you through their implementation, and analyze the data to help board and minister reflect together on the impact of the congregation's ministries, in congregant lives and in the world.
Coaching Hours
We offer hourly coaching to help congregations address questions between retreats as they build the system. We offer a discount on our hourly rate to clients who pre-purchase 10 hours of coaching time.
"We have benefitted immensely from the guidance of Laura Park of Unity Consulting. She has partnered with us to provide the counsel, tools, and support we need to confidently pursue our path to establish a comprehensive governance system. Laura is exceptionally good at what she does.”
M. Naples, Congregation President, First Unitarian Society of Milwaukee
Related Resources on Our Website
On Our Good Governance Overview page, you'll find links to videos that:
- Describe effective governance leadership.
- Provide indicators of effective governance.
- Introduce policy-based governance.
- Show how board meetings can change after a governance transition (as well as a script for the skit).
- Lay out the governance transition process.
