The job description and responsibilities of a cooperative director are varied – from establishing policies, representing members, and assessing the cooperative’s performance, to hiring, supervising, and succession planning for the cooperative’s key manager, among many others. Whether a start-up cooperative is building their board, or a longtime director is taking on a new leadership role on their board, directors may be asking themselves, “What skills do I need to lead my co-op effectively?”
Vital Skills for Cooperative Directors
In research using prior literature, interviews, and focus groups with cooperative CEOs/general managers, directors, and service providers of farmer cooperatives in Kansas, researchers identified 11 key skills as necessary to be an “engaged and knowledgeable director,” including:
- Cooperative finance
- Cooperative governance and policy
- Communication
- Time management
- Understanding current economic and industry conditions
- Asking critical and constructive questions
- Strategic planning
- Networking
- Listening
- Teamwork; and
- Leadership[1]
When asked about the “duties, expectations, and strengths of successful directors,” cooperative board chairs and managers in Texas shared some of the following expectations of directors:
- “Come prepared to give your full attention during board meetings.”
- “Train and educate yourself to have an understanding of the audit and financial statements.”
- “Stay current and aware of the status of co-op operations…”
- “Work at being open to change and new ways of doing business.”
- “Have an understanding of director versus general manager roles – both limitations and responsibilities.”[2]
Understanding your Skills
One way directors can build their leadership capacity is to identify skills where they excel and other skills where they would benefit from continued training and growth. However, some cooperative experts have cautioned that board assessments should be used with caution and in conjunction with additional training and development to avoid overwhelming, discouraging, or disengaging directors.[3]
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s “Assessing Performance Needs of Cooperative Boards of Directors,” published a self-assessment tool for cooperative directors that includes seven areas related to cooperative directors’ responsibilities and duties.
Scholars from Texas A&M University developed a framework for cooperative governance based on concepts of personal, board, and organizational development where governance includes influence over self, influence over other individuals and the board, and influence over the cooperative organization.[4] The researchers developed a tool for directors to assess their own competencies in related to leadership in their cooperative called the Multidimensional Governance Assessment.
Resources for Growing Directors’ Skills
Many cooperative boards already provide training for their directors.[5] Regular board training programs may be built directly into regular meetings or as special programs focused on specific areas or skills. The source of expertise can be as varied as the training topics, from internal cooperative employees to partners from federated cooperatives to nonprofit and university educators.
Individually, directors may prefer to learn on their own through reading, live trainings, or connecting with peers. Directors can ask their co-op’s leadership whether they are aware of or partner with cooperative educators, or if they regularly use recommended training materials. Below are a few places where cooperative stakeholders can explore governance training.
- Navigating Your Legal Duties: A Guide for Agricultural Cooperative Directors published by the National Agricultural Law Center that includes chapters in director roles, fiduciary duties, special cooperative issues, and risk management, along with self-assessments for directors.
- Foundations New Agricultural Cooperative Director Training from the Center for Agricultural Cooperative Director Development includes 23 modules areas like board evaluation, CEO evaluation, basics of financial statements, patronage, strategic thinking, and more. This is a paid training developed by scholars at multiple universities across the United States, including individuals at The Ohio State University.
- Programs from the International Centre for Co-operative Management at St. Mary’s University, including degree and certificate programs, webinars, and more.
Literature Cited
[1] Herchenbach, J., Briggeman, B., Bergtold, J., Shanoyan, A., Low, S. & Miller, B. (2023). “A qualitative assessment of farmer director skills in agricultural cooperatives.” International Food and Agribusiness Management Review. Advance online publication. DOI: 10.22434/IFAMR2022.0099
[2] Engelke, T. & Park, J. (Sept. 2008). How to Rise Above the Crowd. Cooperative Management Letter, Texas A&M University. https://agecoext.tamu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/cml0803RiseAboveCrowd.pdf
[3] Jacobs, K. & Fagerlin, R. (2024). Board Assessments: The Importance and Value of Board Assessments [presentation]. National Council of Farmer Cooperatives Director Education Conference.
[4] Park, J. Friend, D., McKee, G., & Manley, M. (2019). “A Framework for Training and Assessment of the 21st Century Cooperative.” Western Economics Forum, 17(2), 5-15.
[5] Berner, C. & Schlachter, L.H. (2022). “Findings from the Cooperative Governance Research Initiative: 2021.” University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Cooperatives. https://resources.uwcc.wisc.edu/Research/CGRI_2021Report_web.pdf