About Policy Governance at the UUCC

Our Board of Trustees, 2011-2012
Front row: (l to r) Katy Ridnouer, Colleen Beale (chair); Second row: Kelly Greene, Michael Elder, Carol Rousey; Back row: Greg Schropp, Jim Lay, Brad Smith Not shown: Eric Blau

Policy Governance is a fundamental redesign of church management. It calls on a board to focus on the organization’s vision and goals rather than minutia, and to give staff more freedom in making decisions. The concept was developed and trademarked by business consultant John Carver over the past three decades.. Many Unitarian Universalist congregations have adopted Policy Governance and many more are considering it. It is especially valuable to congregations experiencing growth surges.

The basic principles of Policy Governance:

• The governing board shifts away from hands-on, day-to-day management and focuses instead on articulating vision, comprehensive policy-making, and oversight.
• Staff and volunteers are empowered to make day-to-day decisions. The board controls staff not by telling them how to do their jobs, but by setting boundaries—defining what’s unacceptable—and allowing staff to design their work within those boundaries.

The UUCC transitioned to a form of Policy Governance in 2004. The UUCC Board of Trustees with input from the congregation, established a set of “Ends Statements,” which states in present tense the goals to which we aspire. The Board recently approved a statement of “Strategic Outcomes,” which identifies the ways in which we will know that our Ends Statements are being lived and experienced by our members, our children and youth, our visitors and the larger Charlotte community.