Our course starts out by having a look at Amado and his expectations from the board. Read the case study below and answer the questions that follow.
Tonight’s board meeting was amicable enough but not very helpful for the decision. NorthStar Ministries had outgrown its facilities and needed to move. Amado Martinez Carrion, the founder, had spent a lot of time over the last few months exploring options and brought his recommendation to the board tonight. In Amado’s mind, this was an important milestone for NorthStar. Up to this point, they had been residing in a small, single-room office that they had rented month-to-month for the last three years. Now they needed to double their space, and the only acceptable alternative was 15 miles across town and would require a five-year lease. That would put some stress on the staff who would have to commute on public transportation. In fact, it would be unlikely that Maria, his secretary, would make the move because this would extend her commute, which was already long. Just as importantly, a five-year lease was a very significant financial commitment. In fact, it was the biggest the organisation had ever made.
Amado had presented the need to the board, expecting a robust give-and-take conversation and a show of support for this important decision. In the meeting itself, Alejandro Rodriguez, the chairman and an old friend of Amado’s, thanked Amado for his presentation and observed that he was sure NorthStar would be well served by the new facility.
Amado suggested the board explore the pros and cons of the issue. Roberta Molinere, another longtime board member, responded, “I am sure we can trust your hard work, and I, for one, support whatever you think we should do.” The other board members nodded in agreement. After several attempts to get a dialogue going, Amado gave up and moved on to the next topic.
“This is a big financial commitment,” Amado observed. “I was hoping, even anticipating, that you as a board would become involved with this initiative from a financial perspective.” Again, there were smiles and nods but no clear indication of support.
Later that evening as Amado took some time to reflect on the board meeting, he decided to text his wife Marisa and express his frustration.
As Amado read the last text from his wife, he realized something. Maybe they weren’t aware of the fact that as the organisation grew and developed, so would their role, and maybe this is a conversation that he would need to have with them.
After reading through this case study, take some time to reflect and answer the questions below: