Board leaders and executive director of a regional domestic violence agency had become frustrated with limited attendance at board meetings and with the meetings themselves. Though most board members were actively involved in fundraising and committee work, the executive director felt increasingly alone in facing significant strategic challenges to the agency. Privately, she and others voiced concerns about the board's ability to provide leadership in taking the agency to a new level.

• Interviewed board members about their perceptions of the board and its relationship to the work of the agency and shared the results with the board as a whole, thereby demonstrating that individual concerns were, in fact, commonly held.
• Designed and facilitated a board retreat that incorporated information about board governance and work sessions dedicated to better understanding and addressing the unique needs of this agency and board.
• Followed up with workshop sessions for small groups designed to support emerging leadership skills and explore structures and practices to foster strategic thinking and governance.

The board adopted a series of innovative approaches to addressing the simultaneous strategic and operational support that this agency required of its board. This included, but was not limited to, the use of ad hoc committees to follow up on identified priorities, board meetings dedicated to in-depth discussions of key strategic issues, annual retreats, and an attitude of experimentation and risk-taking that the new board president modeled in her leadership role.