What are governance and leadership?

What do we mean when we talk about governance and leadership in a housing co-op? By governance we mean the guidance and safekeeping of your housing co-op by the board of directors. Leadership is about the directors themselves. It is the qualities and values directors need to do a good job on the board as they meet their duties of care and loyalty to the co-op. This guide is all about these twin themes of governance and
leadership.

The members of a housing co-op also have a governance role to play, and we'll be talking about that too. Mostly, though, this guide is about your board.

What this guide won't do

Even though good governance is about the role of the board in your co-op, this is not a board of director's manual. We won't tell you what to look for on a financial statement, or how to run a good meeting. That ground is already well covered by resources available on the CHF Canada website, and in workshops offered by CHF Canada and our member federations.

Here we'll look at how you go about being a director rather than what the job involves on a day-to-day basis. You'll hear a lot about the importance of values for directors, and nothing at all about minute-taking or what the treasurer does.