Seminar and Workshop Calendar

Effective board leadership

• What should we expect of our chair?
  
• Do we have the means to get the right chair?
  
• How important is the chair/chief executive relationship?

The board and the CEO - partnering as a championship team

• The board must do its own job first
  
• Liberating rather than controlling
  
• Restricting to empower

Getting the right people on the bus

• Understanding the capabilities of the board
  
• Succession planning/grooming – board and chief executive
  
• Ensuring that key stakeholders are engaged and supportive

Facilitator:

Boardworks International is a specialist governance consultancy. Its principals, Graeme Nahkies and Terry Kilmister, together with associate Tony Hassed, work on both sides of the Tasman in the commercial, public and not-for-profit sectors. Boardworks has undertaken extensive research and consultancy for SPARC (now Sport New Zealand) and Terry has been involved in major sport sector projects in Australia. They have an excellent understanding of the challenges facing the sector.

Facilitation Skills 

Participants: Chief executives, senior/specialist staff, board members
Provider: Damian D’Cruz (MindSpring)
Dates: 14 March 2012 – Auckland, Novotel Auckland Airport

Seminar overview:

Working together in a collaborative way is a vital ingredient to the growth of the sport and recreation sector.  This one-day seminar is designed to improve participants’ understanding of group dynamics and how to manage these effectively to achieve desired outcomes.     

Who Should Participate?

This seminar is suitable for those who find themselves bringing together and managing groups to achieve organisational outcomes.  If you are actively involved in collaborative group situations, then this seminar will benefit you.   

What Will I learn?

By the end of the seminar you will be able to:

• Design an inclusive consultation process
• Set and manage expectations during consultation
• Communicate with stakeholders appropriately during consultation
• Describe the role of a neutral facilitator
• Facilitate in a bias free / neutral way
• Recognise your own attitudes and behaviours, and your effect on a group
• Structure meetings and group events well
• Establish behavioural ground rules
• Intervene to manage the ground rules
• Know when to, and when not to, intervene
• Establish agreement with a group as to your role as facilitator

What will the seminar cover?

• Consensus decision-making
• Consultation
• Communicating during consultation
• The role of the facilitator
• Neutrality
• Meeting structure
• Ground rules
• Intervention techniques
• Intervention criteria
• Contracting

Facilitator:

Director of Mindspring, Damian D’Cruz, developed the Bisvision strategic planning toolkit for business. He introduced the highly acclaimed Idea Navigator to the business world in 2003. Damian brings a passion for creativity to the design of practical tools for business. His background as a consultant in strategic planning, business problem-solving and leadership development gives him a good understanding of the business world. His research on the Master of Design Programme at Unitec, Auckland, led him to bring creative design to practical business tools. Damian has worked in strategic planning in the for-profit and not-for-profit sectors since 1996. Through SPARC (now Sport New Zealand), Damian has been facilitating strategic planning training in the sport sector at both national and regional levels since 2006.

Introduction to Sport Governance

Participants:      Board members
Provider:             Jane Huria (HSR Governance)
Dates:                   29 March 2012 – Wellington, Terrace Conference Centre
13 June 2012 – Auckland, Novotel Auckland Airport

Seminar overview:

A strong, competent Board is essential for sport and recreation organisations to be successful. The purpose of this one day seminar is to improve participants’ knowledge and understanding of governance in the sport and recreation sector.  The seminar is highly participative-in an inclusive and useful way, and includes best-practice principles as well as practical ‘how to’ suggestions. 

Who Should Participate?

This seminar is suitable for people with governance experience who need to apply that knowledge in a sport and recreation sector context, or those with sector experience who now find themselves in a governance role.
This seminar is designed as ‘entry level’ learning for board members in the sport and recreation sector. It covers both fundamental governance principles and the realities associated with the sector.

What Will I learn?

By the end of the seminar you will have:

• An improved understanding of your governance responsibilities
• An improved understanding of what board-papers should contain, as well as good meeting processes and practices
• A deeper understanding of your organisation’s constitution or rules
• Some practical tools that can be applied immediately to your organisation
• The ability to focus on the key factors that will achieve your organisational goals
• An improved understanding of performance measures and controls

What will the seminar cover?

The governance areas addressed will include:

• the governance/management divide
• the role of chair and board members
• operating in a policy environment
• managing the chief executive
• understanding and managing stakeholder relations
• effective meetings, effective committees
• the strategic plan; creation, monitoring and review
• the legal obligations of board members
• board evaluation and development
• board succession and induction
• quality and structure of board papers

Sector-specific content will include:

• the challenges of the not-for-profit world, and sport and recreation in particular
• the reality of membership-based organisations
• working through volunteers
• structural challenges
• resource constraints, funding sources and accountabilities
• the changing world

Facilitator:
Jane Huria has been involved in governance for the past 25 years, serving on many corporate and not-for-profit boards, advising boards and undertaking governance training both in New Zealand and internationally.  Jane was a founder director of SPARC (now Sport New Zealand) and served for five years on SPARC’s Maori advisory board – Te Roopu Manaaki.  She is a partner in consulting company, HSR Governance Limited, established in 1999 and works in the area of strategic review, governance advice and training. 

Practical Project Management

Participants: Chief executives, senior/ specialist staff, board members
Provider: Ron Eckman (Apex Project Management)
Dates: 21 March 2012 – Auckland, Novotel Auckland Airport

Seminar overview:

In today’s turbulent and complex environment, the ability to plan and manage projects has become an increasingly vital skill in all organisations. Successful project management requires structured processes, tools and techniques.
 This one-day, hands-on seminar is designed to introduce you to a practical approach to planning and managing projects, providing you with a set of skills and tools that you can immediately use in your workplace.

Who Should Participate?

This seminar is suitable for those who lead, plan, manage, or review projects, as well as those who actively contribute as a project team member.  If you have project ideas to bring into reality, this seminar will put you on the right track.

What Will I learn?

By the end of the seminar you will be:

• Equipped with a range of practical project tools and techniques
• Able to define and control a project scope
• Able to construct and review a project schedule
• Better equipped to work effectively in a project team
• Able to identify and mange project risks

What will the seminar cover?

• Practical project management framework and how to apply it 
• Converting project ideas into a robust project plan and schedule
• Getting the best out of project team members
• Spotting potential problems and mitigating risks
• Reviewing the project and keeping it on track
• How to avoid common project pitfalls

Facilitator:

Ron Eckman is a director of Apex Project Management and a fellow of the Project Management Institute of New Zealand. He has more than 20 years’ experience working with more than 120 New Zealand organisations, including many not-for-profit organisations.

Formerly a lecturer in Information Technology in California, Ron was the founding President of the Project Management Institute in New Zealand and was the first person in New Zealand to be formally certified as a Project Management Professional. Ron has trained thousands of project managers and participants in New Zealand, Australia and the United States.