Re: [Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] June minutes from the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees

[Gerard Meijssen]

Sorry,
no clue what that is supposed to mean.
Thanks.
 GerardM

On 24 July 2016 at 23:23, Robert Rohde  wrote:

> L8   v6d44oh
>
> On Jul 23, 2016 2:54 AM, "Stephen LaPorte"  wrote:
>
> Hi all,
>
> The Board of Trustees have published minutes from the summer Board meeting
> on June 22-23 and the Board meeting on June 29 to discuss the endowment.
> You can find the meeting minutes and accompanying documents on the
> Foundation Wiki:
>
> https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Minutes/2016-06
>
> https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Minutes/2016-06-29
>
> Best,
> Stephen
>
> --
> Stephen LaPorte
> Senior Legal Counsel
> Wikimedia Foundation
>
> *NOTICE: As an attorney for the Wikimedia Foundation, for legal and ethical
> reasons, I cannot give legal advice to, or serve as a lawyer for, community
> members, volunteers, or staff members in their personal capacity. For more
> on what this means, please see our legal disclaimer
> .*
>
> ___
> Please note: all replies sent to this mailing list will be immediately
> directed to Wikimedia-l, the public mailing list of the Wikimedia
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] June minutes from the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees

[Robert Rohde]

L8   v6d44oh

On Jul 23, 2016 2:54 AM, "Stephen LaPorte"  wrote:

Hi all,

The Board of Trustees have published minutes from the summer Board meeting
on June 22-23 and the Board meeting on June 29 to discuss the endowment.
You can find the meeting minutes and accompanying documents on the
Foundation Wiki:

https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Minutes/2016-06

https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Minutes/2016-06-29

Best,
Stephen

-- 
Stephen LaPorte
Senior Legal Counsel
Wikimedia Foundation

*NOTICE: As an attorney for the Wikimedia Foundation, for legal and ethical
reasons, I cannot give legal advice to, or serve as a lawyer for, community
members, volunteers, or staff members in their personal capacity. For more
on what this means, please see our legal disclaimer
.*

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Re: [Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] June minutes from the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees

[Dariusz Jemielniak]

On Fri, Jul 22, 2016 at 11:18 PM, Pine W  wrote:

>
> I feel that it's important that Board members be able to ask employees at
> any level of the company how things are going. That is different from
> providing direction, which can remain in the management structure


adding shortly to what Christophe and Katherine have already stated - I
totally agree that it is important for the Board members to be able to talk
to the WMF staff. In the same time, I think it is important to avoid
disruption, sending mixed signals, and so on. Thus, I think we need to work
on creating channels to communicate, and one of the efforts proposed by the
Board Governance Committee is creating such channels. In fact, the WMF
leadership have thought along the same lines and are already implementing
the "Collective Voice" initiative.

best,

dariusz
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] June minutes from the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees

[Christophe Henner]

On Sat, Jul 23, 2016 at 5:18 AM, Pine W  wrote:

> Christophe and Dariusz,
>
> Thanks for the comments.
>
> I feel that it's important that Board members be able to ask employees at
> any level of the company how things are going. That is different from
> providing direction, which can remain in the management structure. But the
> information flow up from employees to the Board can be insightful. I'm glad
> to hear that C-level exit interviews are happening. Staff surveys are
> another element of upward information flow, and I'm very glad to hear that
> the surveys have shown a positive direction recently. My understanding is
> that there were some intense concerns under previous administration about
> employees talking directly to Board members, to the point where somehow
> that became forbidden. I hope that those days are behind us.
>
I hope you'll pardon my intensity on these matters. As you know, I was
> alarmed and frustrated with some of the incidents in the past year. It'll
> probably be awhile before I feel at ease with WMF governance. All that
> being said, thank you for your your responsiveness and interest in making
> positive change. I really am grateful for the good that I see happening in
> WMF, and my guess is that many other people are too.
>
> Pine
>


Nothing to pardon, those are legitimates questions to ask :)

And it is understandable that it will take time, and until such time comes
we will have to deliver on many levels.

The only thing I can ask for is to assume good faith and engage openly in
those discussions. At the end of the day, we are all in the same boat,
pursuing the same goals.

Christophe
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] June minutes from the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees

[Pine W]

Christophe and Dariusz,

Thanks for the comments.

I feel that it's important that Board members be able to ask employees at
any level of the company how things are going. That is different from
providing direction, which can remain in the management structure. But the
information flow up from employees to the Board can be insightful. I'm glad
to hear that C-level exit interviews are happening. Staff surveys are
another element of upward information flow, and I'm very glad to hear that
the surveys have shown a positive direction recently. My understanding is
that there were some intense concerns under previous administration about
employees talking directly to Board members, to the point where somehow
that became forbidden. I hope that those days are behind us.

I hope you'll pardon my intensity on these matters. As you know, I was
alarmed and frustrated with some of the incidents in the past year. It'll
probably be awhile before I feel at ease with WMF governance. All that
being said, thank you for your your responsiveness and interest in making
positive change. I really am grateful for the good that I see happening in
WMF, and my guess is that many other people are too.

Pine

On Fri, Jul 22, 2016 at 7:38 PM, Christophe Henner 
wrote:

> Hi Pine,
>
> Short answer is yes we'll take responsability, but as wikimedians I do need
> to elaborate :)
>
> I believe the best way a board can support its ED is by providing
> legitimacy and guidance.
>
> Both needs for the board to make decisions and to be consistent. If we're
> making a clear decision regarding strategy, and we're consistent about it
> if the ED doesn't build on it, it shows at many level.
>
> It's not about giving a blank check but to provide her, and staff and the
> larger movement, with direction, from which you can évaluateurs what is
> being done.
>
> Second, there is on-going work, started before June's board meeting, to
> provide places and processes to provide feedback to the board from staff.
>
> There are different things being worked on with staff. We'll communicate on
> the topic in the coming weeks I hope. Not that I don't want to talk about
> it but it first needs to gets staff feedback.
>
> Lastly, the board HR is now running exit interviews with leaving C-Levels.
> Basicly we spend an hour talking with leaving staff about why they're
> leaving, how was their experience at the Foundation, their opinions about
> the board and th board can improve and the same for the ED and for WMF at
> large.
>
> Which allows us, as a board, to get the insights from employees too. We
> can't do that with every single employees as you can imagine, but we now do
> with C-Levels.
>
> Alice and I did Geoff's one this week. And as any discussion with Geoff, it
> was rich and really insightful.
>
> Anyway, I hope I answered your question :)
>
> Have great day/evening/night
>
> Christophe
>
> PS: I'm sending this email from my smartphone sorry for any typos due to
> french autocorrect ^^
>
> Le 23 juil. 2016 3:17 AM, "Pine W"  a écrit :
> >
> > Thanks Stephen.
> >
> > A brief question to the Board: the board minutes say, "After discussion,
> > the Board identified three goals. First, the Board is responsible for
> > maintaining the long-term plan for the organization. The long-term plan
> is
> > designed in partnership with the executive staff, and also needs to be
> set
> > in coordination with other Wikimedia stakeholders. The Chair of the Board
> > and the Executive Director are responsible for leading this goal within
> the
> > Board. Second, the Board has a strong interest in improving its internal
> > governance. The Board discussed some potential areas for improvement,
> > including ensuring Board continuity. The Chair of the Board Governance
> > Committee is responsible for improvements to internal governance. Third,
> > the role of the Board is to support and empower the Executive Director.
> The
> > Chair is responsible for this goal, with the support of the Human
> Resources
> > Committee."
> >
> > After the events in the past year, I question whether the statement
> "...the
> > role of the Board is to support and empower the Executive Director"
> > captures the full scope of the Board's role here. It seems to me that
> it's
> > the Board's job to supervise the ED, which hopefully includes supporting
> > him/her but also may include providing direction or removing him/her. I
> > personally feel that Katherine is doing well and this is not intended to
> > express skepticism about her, but being the ED of an organization is not
> a
> > blank check, and I hope that the Board also takes a proactive role in the
> > supervision of the ED. After the events in the past year, I hope that the
> > Board will be diligent on this point from now on.
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > Pine
> >
> > On Fri, Jul 22, 2016 at 5:53 PM, Stephen LaPorte  >
> > wrote:
> >
> > > Hi all,
> > >
> > > The Board of Trustees have published minutes from the summer Board
> meeting
> > > on

Re: [Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] June minutes from the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees

[Christophe Henner]

Hi Pine,

Short answer is yes we'll take responsability, but as wikimedians I do need
to elaborate :)

I believe the best way a board can support its ED is by providing
legitimacy and guidance.

Both needs for the board to make decisions and to be consistent. If we're
making a clear decision regarding strategy, and we're consistent about it
if the ED doesn't build on it, it shows at many level.

It's not about giving a blank check but to provide her, and staff and the
larger movement, with direction, from which you can évaluateurs what is
being done.

Second, there is on-going work, started before June's board meeting, to
provide places and processes to provide feedback to the board from staff.

There are different things being worked on with staff. We'll communicate on
the topic in the coming weeks I hope. Not that I don't want to talk about
it but it first needs to gets staff feedback.

Lastly, the board HR is now running exit interviews with leaving C-Levels.
Basicly we spend an hour talking with leaving staff about why they're
leaving, how was their experience at the Foundation, their opinions about
the board and th board can improve and the same for the ED and for WMF at
large.

Which allows us, as a board, to get the insights from employees too. We
can't do that with every single employees as you can imagine, but we now do
with C-Levels.

Alice and I did Geoff's one this week. And as any discussion with Geoff, it
was rich and really insightful.

Anyway, I hope I answered your question :)

Have great day/evening/night

Christophe

PS: I'm sending this email from my smartphone sorry for any typos due to
french autocorrect ^^

Le 23 juil. 2016 3:17 AM, "Pine W"  a écrit :
>
> Thanks Stephen.
>
> A brief question to the Board: the board minutes say, "After discussion,
> the Board identified three goals. First, the Board is responsible for
> maintaining the long-term plan for the organization. The long-term plan is
> designed in partnership with the executive staff, and also needs to be set
> in coordination with other Wikimedia stakeholders. The Chair of the Board
> and the Executive Director are responsible for leading this goal within
the
> Board. Second, the Board has a strong interest in improving its internal
> governance. The Board discussed some potential areas for improvement,
> including ensuring Board continuity. The Chair of the Board Governance
> Committee is responsible for improvements to internal governance. Third,
> the role of the Board is to support and empower the Executive Director.
The
> Chair is responsible for this goal, with the support of the Human
Resources
> Committee."
>
> After the events in the past year, I question whether the statement
"...the
> role of the Board is to support and empower the Executive Director"
> captures the full scope of the Board's role here. It seems to me that it's
> the Board's job to supervise the ED, which hopefully includes supporting
> him/her but also may include providing direction or removing him/her. I
> personally feel that Katherine is doing well and this is not intended to
> express skepticism about her, but being the ED of an organization is not a
> blank check, and I hope that the Board also takes a proactive role in the
> supervision of the ED. After the events in the past year, I hope that the
> Board will be diligent on this point from now on.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Pine
>
> On Fri, Jul 22, 2016 at 5:53 PM, Stephen LaPorte 
> wrote:
>
> > Hi all,
> >
> > The Board of Trustees have published minutes from the summer Board
meeting
> > on June 22-23 and the Board meeting on June 29 to discuss the endowment.
> > You can find the meeting minutes and accompanying documents on the
> > Foundation Wiki:
> >
> > https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Minutes/2016-06
> >
> > https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Minutes/2016-06-29
> >
> > Best,
> > Stephen
> >
> > --
> > Stephen LaPorte
> > Senior Legal Counsel
> > Wikimedia Foundation
> >
> > *NOTICE: As an attorney for the Wikimedia Foundation, for legal and
> > ethical reasons, I cannot give legal advice to, or serve as a lawyer
for,
> > community members, volunteers, or staff members in their personal
capacity.
> > For more on what this means, please see our legal disclaimer
> > .*
> >
> > ___
> > Please note: all replies sent to this mailing list will be immediately
> > directed to Wikimedia-l, the public mailing list of the Wikimedia
> > community. For more information about Wikimedia-l:
> > https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l
> > ___
> > WikimediaAnnounce-l mailing list
> > wikimediaannounc...@lists.wikimedia.org
> > https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaannounce-l
> >
> >
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] June minutes from the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees

[Dariusz Jemielniak]

hi Pine,

On Fri, Jul 22, 2016 at 9:17 PM, Pine W  wrote:

>  It seems to me that it's
> the Board's job to supervise the ED, which hopefully includes supporting
> him/her but also may include providing direction or removing him/her. I
> personally feel that Katherine is doing well and this is not intended to
> express skepticism about her, but being the ED of an organization is not a
> blank check, and I hope that the Board also takes a proactive role in the
> supervision of the ED.


as you pointed out, one of the roles of the Board is ED supervision, and I
don't think the Board intends to shy away from this duty.

best,

dariusz ("pundit", a current Trustee)
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] June minutes from the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees

[Pine W]

Thanks Stephen.

A brief question to the Board: the board minutes say, "After discussion,
the Board identified three goals. First, the Board is responsible for
maintaining the long-term plan for the organization. The long-term plan is
designed in partnership with the executive staff, and also needs to be set
in coordination with other Wikimedia stakeholders. The Chair of the Board
and the Executive Director are responsible for leading this goal within the
Board. Second, the Board has a strong interest in improving its internal
governance. The Board discussed some potential areas for improvement,
including ensuring Board continuity. The Chair of the Board Governance
Committee is responsible for improvements to internal governance. Third,
the role of the Board is to support and empower the Executive Director. The
Chair is responsible for this goal, with the support of the Human Resources
Committee."

After the events in the past year, I question whether the statement "...the
role of the Board is to support and empower the Executive Director"
captures the full scope of the Board's role here. It seems to me that it's
the Board's job to supervise the ED, which hopefully includes supporting
him/her but also may include providing direction or removing him/her. I
personally feel that Katherine is doing well and this is not intended to
express skepticism about her, but being the ED of an organization is not a
blank check, and I hope that the Board also takes a proactive role in the
supervision of the ED. After the events in the past year, I hope that the
Board will be diligent on this point from now on.

Thanks,

Pine

On Fri, Jul 22, 2016 at 5:53 PM, Stephen LaPorte 
wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> The Board of Trustees have published minutes from the summer Board meeting
> on June 22-23 and the Board meeting on June 29 to discuss the endowment.
> You can find the meeting minutes and accompanying documents on the
> Foundation Wiki:
>
> https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Minutes/2016-06
>
> https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Minutes/2016-06-29
>
> Best,
> Stephen
>
> --
> Stephen LaPorte
> Senior Legal Counsel
> Wikimedia Foundation
>
> *NOTICE: As an attorney for the Wikimedia Foundation, for legal and
> ethical reasons, I cannot give legal advice to, or serve as a lawyer for,
> community members, volunteers, or staff members in their personal capacity.
> For more on what this means, please see our legal disclaimer
> .*
>
> ___
> Please note: all replies sent to this mailing list will be immediately
> directed to Wikimedia-l, the public mailing list of the Wikimedia
> community. For more information about Wikimedia-l:
> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l
> ___
> WikimediaAnnounce-l mailing list
> wikimediaannounc...@lists.wikimedia.org
> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaannounce-l
>
>
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