Board Formation:
The Challenge of Missionfocused Governance
Alice I. Hession
Director of Sponsorship
Xaverian Brothers Sponsored Schools
Models of Formation
Two approaches
 Formational
 Thematic

Formational
Concerned with the faith
journey of individual

Thematic
Concerned with the
values a school holds and
the process by which a
Board member comes to
accept and espouse those
values
Institutional Needs
 Catholic Identity
 Culture of Your School
 School Legacy
 Goals and Values
Three perspectives on Faith Formation
 Those curious about spirituality but with little religious
experience; now they are in our culture—Never before
 The faithful who still need life-giving experiences to reconnect
with saying yes to God; “The New Evangelization” which is ongoing adult faith formation.—Once more with feeling
 Those who have all the words but not the Word, don’t get the
heart of the Good News, need remediation. Often have been hurt
by Christian communities—In need of healing
NCEA – 2000 - Michael Horan, “Evangelizing the School”
Questions for Reflection
 What do we know about the faith journeys of your Board
members? Have we ever asked? Are we even concerned about
it?
 What relevance is the personal faith journey to the role of a
Board member in a Catholic school?
Governance from a mission perspective
 Service
 Stewardship
 Fidelity
"Building Effective Boards for Religious Organizations"
Thomas P. Holland and David C. Hester
Why undertake Board formation?
"Governance must be formed in the "why" of the mission if it is to be an
effective force in the culture of Catholic health care (Catholic education).
The "why" of mission is the transcendent purpose, the greater good of
God's love and God's healing presence that motivates and amplifies
Catholic health care (education) culture. When trustees fail to understand
the "why" of mission -- their institution's greater and more durable good
-- lesser and more proximate goods will drive the engine of Catholic
health care (education). Another way of saying this is that if health care is
to survive as a ministry of the church, someone has to know some
theology. "
Kenneth Horman
Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth Health System
"Ministry Boards exercise the same fiduciary responsibilities for finance,
mission and strategy as the counterparts at publicly held companies or
nonprofits. Our hospitals provide traditional board development activities
that focus on what boards do and how they function. But Catholic health
care is also a ministry. It mission touches on the transcendent, and this
makes it different. This difference means that board members need more
than the usual governance skills to be effective. In my own service as a
board member, I have had to learn about cost-to-change ratios, Starks
laws, and Medicare Disproportionate Share payments. Are words like
"incarnation" , "church", "canon law" and "sponsorship" not equally
important to those involved in Catholic health care governance?"
"The Promise and Challenge of Board Formation"
Rev. Charles E. Bouchard, O.P.
Governance as Leadership
Chait, Ryan and Taylor
 Fiduciary
 Oversight, Accountability, Compliance
 Strategic
 Planning, Priority, External Influences
 Generative
 Inquiring, Creating New Meaning
Formation activities should contribute to generative Board
thinking. Rather that merely "taking care" of their charge
(fiduciary) or planning for the future (strategic) the best
governance should also involve creativity. This is particularly
important at a time when Catholic education, society and the
Church are undergoing massive transformation. One of our
most important discussions must be "How can we image a new
way for the Church to be present in the world through Catholic
education?"
Board Member Competencies
 Articulate their own spirituality
 Articulate how Catholic education is a ministry of the
Church and how it differs from other kinds of Church
ministry
 Use key theological words confidently in board discussions
 Arrive at policy decisions that take explicit account of
mission values
Dimensions of Board Formation
 Understanding Faith and Ministry
 Catholic Identity and Catholic
Education
 Board Leadership Roles and
Responsibilities
 The culture of the institution
"The Charism of Xaverian education"
INDIVIDUAL
ONGOING
BOARD
FORMATION
FORMATION
Understanding Faith and Ministry
Understanding the dynamics of how faith develops how and
understanding a person’s faith commitment flows into
service to others are necessary conditions for being able to
guide a school to foster these actions in students, faculty and
parents. To fulfill this responsibility, Board members need to
understand their own faith perspectives and how their
individual gifts and talents can be placed at the service of
others in ministry.

Ronald Rolheiser, The Holy Longing
“Everyone has a spirituality, either a life-giving one or a destructive
one… Spirituality is about being integrated or falling apart, about
being within community or being lonely, about being in harmony
with Mother Earth or being alienated from her. Irrespective of
whether or not we let ourselves be consciously shaped by any
explicit religious idea, we act in ways that leave us either healthy or
unhealthy, loving or bitter. What shapes our actions is our
spirituality.” …”It is about what we do with our spirits, our souls.”

Ronald Rolheiser, The Holy Longing
…“A healthy soul must do two things. It must put some fire in our
veins; keep us energized, vibrant, full of hope… Second, a healthy
soul has to keep us fixed together. It has to give us a sense of who
we are, where we came from, where we are going, and what sense
there is in all of this.”
Catholic Identity and Catholic
Education
An awareness of the mission of the Catholic Church and the
Church’s understanding of the elements of education is
foundational for fostering Catholic identity in Catholic
schools. While some Board members may not share a
Catholic faith perspective, they need to understand and
support the Catholic approach to education. Knowing the
dimensions of Catholic Education is a significant responsibility
of Board members.
Board Leadership Roles and
Responsibilities
Board members need to be effective as mission focused
leaders – being able to motivate others – administrators,
faculty, staff, parents and students – in understanding and
becoming committed to the Mission of the school. Board
members also model a collaborative style of decision-making
that fosters a team approach to education as they carry out
their major responsibilities as a Board.
The Culture of your school
 Diocesan or Religious Community Sponsored
 Goals and Values
 History
 Key Persons
 Key Stories
 Mission Statement
The Xaverian Charism of education
Being committed to responding to the Mission,Vision, Calls, and
Goals of Xaverian sponsored education is an essential quality of
Board members. The ability of Board members to grow in the
knowledge of the Mission is a significant factor for being
successful as Board members. The Board has a crucial leadership
role in integrating the Mission, Vision, Calls, Goals and Values of
the Xaverian charism into the mission, policies, activities and
management of a Xaverian Brothers Sponsored School.
INDIVIDUAL
ONGOING
BOARD
FORMATION
FORMATION
Questions for Reflection/Discussion
What kind of questions do you ask your potential Board Members?
How can you be assured that they have an initial understanding of
their role in mission-focused governance?

 What particular elements have been the focus of your Board
Formation efforts in the past few years? Why? What elements have
not been included? Why?
 Do you have an operating model, formational or thematic, of Board
Formation for your school? What are the specific goals of your
program? How would a model supplement and inform your Board
decision-making processes?
 You decide that it might be good to have a Board discussion of Pope
Francis' new encyclical on the environment. How would you go
about facilitating this discussion?
Challenges to Formation
 Diversity
 Time
 Symbol, Ritual and Prayer
 Sustainability with Board turnover
 Assessment
“The Catholic School”
“To commit oneself to working in accordance with the
aims of a Catholic school is to make a great act of faith.
Only one who has this conviction and accepts Christ’s
message, who has a love for and understands today’s
young people, and who appreciates what people’s real
problems and difficulties are, will be held to contribute
with courage and even audacity to the progress of building
up a Catholic school.”