Services - The Governance Guru

Through expertise and comprehensive services, The Governance Guru helps organizations across Canada gain better oversight, accountability and ultimately, success.

With 60+ years of cumulative board experience ranging from volunteer-based community organizations to large international organizations, we’ve seen it all. No matter the size or type of organization, we can help your board function better and accomplish more.

Governance Support

Strategic Planning

Board and leadership training

We specialize in delivering high-quality training on governance and leadership, designed to empower boards and organizational leaders to thrive. Our courses are tailored to meet the unique needs of each group, ensuring that participants gain practical knowledge and actionable insights to enhance their effectiveness. From foundational governance principles to advanced leadership strategies, our training equips boards with the tools to excel in their roles and drive organizational success.

Find out why Governance Guru training has been called “the most valuable time I’ve ever spent in a class” and “mandatory … for every board member.”

Introduction to the board
Board financial oversight
Running effective meetings
Chair-specific training
Board evaluation
Strategic planning
Board/staff relations

Executive coaching
Board coaching
Chair coaching
Implementation and change management

Coaching

Whether you are a new executive director, an incoming board chair, or a seasoned CEO, executive coaching can help you navigate your unique challenges and become more effective in your role. Coaching provides tailored guidance, accountability, and opportunities for growth, empowering leaders to refine their skills and confidently address complex responsibilities.

For new executive directors, coaching can ease the transition into leadership by providing clarity and support in areas like board relations, strategic planning, and organizational oversight. For incoming board chairs, it offers tools to facilitate effective meetings, manage group dynamics, and foster collaboration. Seasoned CEOs benefit from a fresh perspective, strategies to address blind spots, and the chance to continuously evolve as leaders.

Coaching bridges the gap between experience and excellence, helping leaders achieve their goals and drive organizational success. Discover how coaching can elevate your leadership today.

Strategic and operational planning

With years of experience, we specialize in helping organizations craft effective strategic and operational plans that set a clear path to success. Our approach focuses on understanding your unique goals and challenges, ensuring the plan aligns with your vision and mission. From identifying priorities to outlining actionable steps, we guide you through the entire process, equipping your team with the tools needed to execute the plan effectively.

Strategic and operational planning is about more than setting goals, it’s about creating a roadmap for sustainable growth and resilience. Whether you’re looking to enhance your organization’s impact or navigate a changing environment, we provide the expertise and support to guide you toward a successful future

Let’s make a plan

Facilitation
Consultation
Training and guidance
Development and copywriting

Board retreats
Decision-making
Complex conversations
Annual general meetings
Mergers
Conflict resolution

Facilitation

Our facilitation services are designed to provide the support your group needs to effectively navigate complex meetings, strategic discussions, or challenging processes. Whether you’re tackling organizational planning, addressing sensitive topics, or working through major decisions, we bring a structured, unbiased approach that ensures every voice is heard and progress is made.

With extensive experience in guiding diverse groups, we focus encouraging open dialogue, keeping discussions on track, and building consensus. We create a safe and productive environment, enabling your team to explore options, identify solutions, and achieve actionable outcomes.

Let us help your organization navigate its most important conversations with confidence and clarity, ensuring that challenges are met and objectives are reached.

Governance support

We specialize in reviewing governance structures and procedures as well as bylaw reviews and policy evaluations to help your board operate more effectively and deliver greater value to your organization. Governance reviews focus on assessing your governance structure, identifying areas for improvement, and ensuring alignment with best practices.

By providing clear recommendations and actionable insights, we empower your board to strengthen its oversight, enhance decision-making, and support your organization’s mission. Whether it’s updating bylaws, refining policies, or conducting a comprehensive review, our expertise ensures your governance framework is robust and effective and our inclusive processes ensure that all voices are heard. Partner with us to help your board excel and better serve your organization’s needs.

Maximize our potential

Governance audits and reviews
Bylaws and policy review
Expert guidance and consultation
Best-practice implementation

Kevin’s session was very insightful and informative, it really gave us an opportunity to think about our practices and really think hard about the work we are doing. Go check out Governance Guru’s website, the information he has shared with us has helped so much and you can apply it to your boards.

Allison Purcell

Board Member, Alberta School Boards Association

Kevin facilitated two full days of great training for our board, covering ideas including board responsibilities, financial oversight, succession planning, and evaluating our board. The days were efficient, fun, and chocked full of valuable and practical suggestions we are already putting in place. He made dull topics interesting and kept everyone engaged and laughing, even people who joined online. Kevin also provided a number of really helpful templates and documents for us to use and was able to answer all of our governance questions. He really knows his stuff and his experience is evident! Your board should definitely have Kevin come out and do some training!

Jackie Tower

Chair, College of Medical Laboratory Technicians

Kevin’s session was engaging, well-structured, and tailored to meet our needs. He demonstrated an excellent understanding of good governance and the role of a trustee and passed on this understanding well. The training was accessible and valuable for new and returning trustees, as well as staff. We highly recommend Kevin’s training and facilitation services to any school board seeking meaningful and practical professional development.

Tim DeRuyck

Superintendent, Wolf Creek Public Schools

Kevin knows his stuff. His classes were jampacked with information but presented in a way everyone could understand. His board classes should be taken by every board member!

The course was amazing. Kevin is very aware of the class and adjusts to different skills and experience of the board. Everyone learned something even us long-time board members.

He tried to get everyone involved and had us all participating just a few minutes after the class started. His speaking is clear and he had thoughtful answers to all our questions

I was thrilled to have the Guru as my facilitator for NPO Board Governance! Incredible, knowledgeable, entertaining! The participants were never ready to be done at the end of the evening! They learned so much that will be so beneficial to the Non-profit boards they sit on. If you are looking for an excellent facilitator do not hesitate to look to Kevin to fill that need!

Attending Kevin’s course on Non-Profit Board Roles & Responsibilities was invaluable. He kept my attention, and gave some fun anecdotes to help explain points. I am eager to learn more from him. Highly recommended!

Rules and resources

Join hundreds of boards around the world and use Guru’s Rules to help you run a more effective nonprofit board meeting and set a stronger board culture. We’ve also harnessed our extensive experience to develop additional tools and templates that streamline your work.

Browse resources

Get in touch

We’d love to hear from you! Send us a message, and we’ll get back to you shortly.

Book a consultation

Join us for a no-obligation consultation to see how the Governance Guru can make your board better. Pick a meeting date and time that’s convenient for you.