Jillian van Turnhout CDir IDP-C
I had the privilege of joining Aine Kerr on RTE Saturday with… to discuss my expertise in governance and offer insights on the recent RTE revelations. I’m grateful for the opportunity to share my knowledge with such a wide audience. Below is a short video clip. A link to the RTE website with a full playback of the entire program is at the bottom.
You can listen back here.
Carmichael is a leading training and support body for non-profit organisations in Ireland. Jillian van Turnhout is on their panel of trainers for governance.
On April 26, 2023, Carmichael held a Governance Dilemma webinar in which a panel of experts discussed a real-life governance issue that an Irish non-profit organisation had faced. Each of the panel members suggested actions that could be taken. The scenario was anonymised so that the organisation in question could not be identified. The challenge discussed by the panel was that of a board that did not take effective control and oversight of the organisation and a CEO who ignored the board.
The panel members were:
Andrew Madden
Head of Training, Consultancy & Communications at Carmichael.
Andrew enjoys working in the non-profit sector where he sees people motivated by a desire to make a real and positive difference. He is particularly passionate about governance in non-profit organisations as he believes that well-governed organisations are best placed to achieve and realise their own objectives to the fullest.
Gerry Egan
Chartered Director, Company Secretary, consultant, and trainer.
Gerry works with a variety of commercial and non-profit clients specialising in corporate governance, data protection, and strategy and change.
Jillian van Turnhout
Consultant, Chartered Director, and certified by INSEAD in corporate governance.
Jillian has been a CEO, Chair and is an experienced Non-Executive Director (State, Charity, and Commercial boards).
The panel was chaired by Diarmaid Ó Corrbuí, CEO of Carmichael Diarmaid has extensive experience as a board chair and a board member in a number of charities and with working with boards and providing governance support and advice. He is actively involved in the Good Governance Awards, Mentoring, and the Board Chairs Network initiatives led by Carmichael.
Each of the panel members gave a number of possible responses and actions that could be taken by the board in the scenario outlined.
After the panel discussion, Diarmaid Ó Corrbuí, the Chair of the Panel, made the following remarks:
“It can be extremely stressful for people who have stepped onto boards in a voluntary capacity and are trying to do their best but are coming up against difficulties like this. That can be really challenging for a person’s mental health so that’s important to bear in mind and again to make sure there is a team of allies behind you.
The Charities Governance Code can be a great tool to help review your governance structures and compliance. You can use it as a conversation starter since all charities are required to comply with it so it can be a way to encourage the Board to consider a Board evaluation, address trustee recruitment, or review its strategy as these are all specific standards in the Code.”
If you would like to join the Carmichael Governance Dilemma mailing list, sign up here.
The title of the event is ‘The Business of Social Enterprise, a challenging and provocative examination of social enterprise as a business model.’
It takes place in the Apex Theatre, Tallaght on Thursday March 9th 2023, 10.00 to 12.00
“There is a growing awareness of Social Enterprise among the public and businesses alike. However, while it is becoming understood in terms of social impact, it is less understood in terms of being an actual business model capable of profitability, scaling and international expansion. This conference examines Social Enterprise as a business model. The seminar is co-hosted by Partas, SERI and South Dublin LEO. The venue is the new theatre called The Apex, in the Tallaght Enterprise Centre which is currently undergoing a multi-million euro redevelopment by Partas as a major Food Hub for Tallaght.”
Welcome by Tom Rooney, CEO, South Dublin Local Enterprise Office
Speakers:
John Kearns – CEO, Partas
Moderator
Lorraine Corcoran – Director, SERI
Snapshot of Social Enterprise as a business sector.
Carol Gibbons – Divisional Manager Regions & Local Enterprise, Enterprise Ireland
Relating to Social Enterprises as businesses
To be advised – Social Entrepreneurs Ireland
The vital role of the entrepreneur in social enterprise
Angela Ruttledge – Public Affairs and Stakeholder Management, FoodCloud
The business model as part of the DNA of a Social Enterprise
Gavin Callan – Procurement Director CBRE The gaps and opportunities for Social Enterprises to play with the big guys
Jillian van Turnhout – Governance Consulting
Social Enterprises need enterprising boards
Participation is by prior booking only at:
The Board of Directors of Nursing Homes Ireland (NHI) has appointed Jillian van Turnhout CDir IDP-C as Independent Chairperson. Jillian succeeds Maurice Pratt, who stepped down from the role of Chair at the end of 2022, having served the maximum six-year term.
Tadhg Daly, CEO of Nursing Homes Ireland, wrote:
“We thank Maurice for his excellent service to NHI and are excited to work with Jillian. Thanks also to Thora Mackey CDir Institute of Directors in Ireland
Jillian has wide ranging strategic, public affairs and corporate governance experience that she will bring to NHI to support us in addressing the myriad of challenges in respect of the care requirements of our ageing population.
Welcome Jillian and I very much looking forward to working with you in the interests of our members and those in the care of our members.”
I am delighted to share that I am starting a new position as Independent Chair of the Board of Nursing Homes Ireland.
Thank you to the Institute of Directors in Ireland Board Centre (and in particular Thora Mackey CDir) for putting me forward for consideration. This is a commercial Board role to add to my State Board (Arts Council), Charity (One in Four) and not-for-profit experience. I am relishing the opportunity to lead the Board and bring my governance, strategy, public health, and public affairs experience to this role.
I have already met with some of the members of NHI to learn more about the day-to-day challenges they are facing. Over the coming months, I plan to meet with stakeholders whom I hope to work with to address the current issues facing the sector and to map out the future of nursing home care in Ireland. In my role as Chair I am fortunate to be supported by Tadgh Daly, CEO who heads up the outstanding staff team – I met our small but impressive team last week.
I plan along with the Board of Nursing Homes Ireland to make a difference and demonstrate how an effective Board can further the goals of an organisation.
Jillian van Turnhout is in Canada this week, with a very busy itinerary.
The Wheel are Ireland’s national association of community and voluntary organisations, charities, and social enterprises. Its National Summit takes place on Wednesday, 1 June (9:30 am to 7:30 pm) at Croke Park.
Summit 2022 will bring together top experts and inspiring leaders from the non-profit sector and beyond to explore the key challenges facing these organisations and enterprises.
Jillian van Turnhout is one of the speakers.
If you attend, you can look forward to:
Summit 2022 will have something for everyone, whether you are a CEO, manager, trustee, or volunteer, and both members and non-members of The Wheel are welcome to attend. The cost is €125.00 for members and €250.00 for non-members. Click on the picture below if you want to book.
Jillian is honoured to be appointed to the Board of The Private Security Authority by Minister Helen McEntee. The Private Security Authority (PSA) is the statutory body with responsibility for licensing and regulating the private security industry in Ireland. The PSA is an independent body under the aegis of the Department of Justice.
You can read the full announcement by clicking on the PSA logo below:
The Irish Government put out the below video for St. Patrick’s Day 2022, with this message:
Ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoine”
“We live in each other’s shelter”
On this #StPatricksDay #Ireland stands in solidarity with the people of #Ukraine.
We are thinking of you today
Jillian recently stepped down as Member and Vice-Chair of the Board of the European Movement Ireland, a position she held since 2008. In the November-December Issue of the EMI Members’ Newsletter, Jillian was put in the spotlight.
Jillian talks about the highlights in her role, the success of the European Youth Forum (she was one of the co-founders), her time as a member of the European Economic and Social Committee (1998-2011), her recent meeting with the Vice-President of the EU (Maroš Šefčovič)and leadership and empowerment of young women and girls, and the future of female leadership across Europe.
For Charity Trustees Week 2021, The Wheel and Carmichael organised a webinar to discuss the sensitivities and difficult situations of when things go wrong between the Chair/board and the CEO.
Jillian van Turnhout was invited to be part of the expert panel along with Justin Kilcullen, Debra Allcock Tyler and Diarmaid Ó Corrbuí. It was chaired by Deirdre Garvey.
It proved to be timely and topical debate. People tend to join a registered charity to change some part of the world for the better. Whether we are the paid CEO or the unpaid Charity Trustee sitting on the board, we believe that we take a wholly professionally approach to our respective roles. But what happens when things go wrong, behaviours are bad and people get hurt?
At the core of ‘governance’ is a balancing act of ‘power’ between the board and the CEO. Like any relationship of power, the optimum way to manage it well is through clarity and the mutual understanding of roles, authorities and the availability and regular use of channels for both communications and feedback.
This builds trust and constructive relationships. But these methods need to be used and worked well in order to bring about a productive working environment. Issues around authority, responsibility and accountability are too often obscured in charities through the lack of clarity, understanding and the absence of well worked channels for communications and feedback.
Additionally, the ‘magic ingredients’ for any relationship to work well (i.e. emotional intelligence, empathy and self-awareness) can be missing or only one-sided. The result far too often is that trust breaks down, people get hurt and even seriously traumatised by their experience. This applies to both CEOs as well as Charity Trustees (most often the Chair).
The panel shared their many years of experience of dealing with people in these really difficult situations where it gets personal. With almost 200 attendees, and a lively discussion, Carmichael and The Wheel have committed to continue to identify supports and work with Boards and CEOs.
In addition, Jillian has developed a training course on “Boards, Chairs and CEOs: Roles, Relationships & Boundaries” as part of the Carmichael schedule training programme. There are two courses coming up in February 2022 and May 2022. You can find out more here: