GRCC Board of Trustees Policies
Board leadership requires, above all, that the board provide vision. To do so, the board must first have an adequate vision of its own job. That role is best conceived neither as volunteer-helper nor as watchdog but as trustee-owner. Policy governance is an approach to the job of governing that emphasizes values, vision, empowerment of both board and staff, and the strategic ability to lead leaders.
Observing the principles of the policy governance model, a board crafts its values into policies of the four types below. Policies written this way enable the board to focus its wisdom into one central, brief document.
1. Ends
The board defines which human needs are to be met, for whom, and at what cost. Written with a long-term perspective, these mission-related policies embody most of the board's part of long-range planning.
2. Executive Limitations
The board establishes the boundaries of acceptability within which staff methods and activities can responsibly be left to staff. These limiting policies, therefore, apply to staff means rather than to ends.
3. Board-Executive Linkage
The board clarifies the manner in which it delegates authority to staff as well as how it evaluates staff performance on provisions of the ends and executive limitations policies.
4. Governance Process
The board determines its philosophy, its accountability, and specifics of its own job.