When your organization has faced serious and urgent questions in the past, how has it responded? Do these practices serve you in the new economic environment? Right now your leadership may require a combination of learning new skills and approaches and also unlearning previous behavior.

Many of us do not like conflict and we do what we can to avoid it. We may feel that conflict will damage relationships. While this is true of personality-focused, mean-spirited attacks, conflict is essential when it is limited to concepts and ideas.

The role of the board of directors in personnel or human resource administration is frequently a sticky issue for non-profits. Should the board approve all salaries, or just the executive director's? If a staff member has a grievance, should it come to the board?

It is estimated that Canada's charities and non-profit associations need to recruit 400,000 new directors each year. Add a commitment to diversity and the task seems even more daunting, yet it is essential.

There are warning signs that a governance review is warranted. This article by Jane Garthson outlines the proper procedure for reviewing your team.

Too many people who are elected to govern on boards tend to feel uneasy about speaking up and asking questions.

Perhaps the single most important attribute of an effective board is also its most intangible: an independent sense of itself. This sense of self is the board's identity as a BODY rather than, for instance, as a loose collection of individuals who each finds ways to support the organization.

Sometimes closure of the non-profit is the best choice of the possible options. How do you close down in a way that protects constituents as much as possible, and honors the organization's achievements?