The AICD recently recognised Angie Paskevicius FAICD with the 2024 NFP Director Award for Excellence, for her board work in the not-for-profit sector.
Australia’s not-for-profit (NFP) sector faces the significant challenge of doing more with less. A vital contributor to the social fabric of the country, it delivers a sizeable injection to the economy, with data from McKinsey estimating an input of $129b to Australia’s gross value added in direct and indirect contributions. But resources are being stretched as demand for services continues to rise.
This kind of complexity has fuelled the passion of Angie Paskevicius FAICD for the NFP sector during the past three decades. Following on from senior executive roles and non-executive directorships with NFPs, Paskevicius now chairs the boards of PathWest, 360 Health + Community, and Leadership WA, where she continues to champion good governance and ethical practices.
“I operate from a very strong values base, and making a difference and a contribution has always been important to me, not only in my board journey, but also in my career journey,” says Paskevicius, recently honoured with the AICD’s 2024 Director Award for Excellence in the WA Not-for-profit sector. “I’m also attracted to boards where there are challenges and opportunities for growth, transformation and innovation. The NFP sector is not an easy space for many reasons.”
From executive to director
Paskevicius began her career as a speech pathologist before moving into management roles. After switching to the public sector, she managed the transfer of disability therapy service Therapy Focus from government into the NFP sector, becoming its CEO in 1998. Paskevicius then held the state director role for Mission Australia in WA, followed by the CEO position at community service organisation Holyoake from 2007–21, when she left to focus on her executive coaching business, Angie P Coaching and Mentoring.
While working for the government in the 1990s, Paskevicius had been invited to join the board of a small NFP, to help it navigate through a number of challenges. “At that stage of my career, I hadn’t had much contact with boards, so that was a fantastic learning experience and it helped shape my understanding about the role of boards versus the role of management,” she says.
“It also gave me some clear insights into the importance of the relationship between the chair and the CEO. I’ve continued to focus on that in my own role as chair.”
Dynamics in the boardroom
Paskevicius believes a strong relationship between chair and CEO is built on trust.
“As a chair, I’m there representing the board, but I also feel very strongly that I’m there supporting the CEO, as well,” she says. “It’s that fine line you travel, but obviously the chair has a lot more contact with the CEO than the other directors, so you get to know them very well. I’m also very interested in the dynamics within the boardroom. When you have a director who can be a bit challenging, particularly concerning the relationship with some of the executives, that can be tricky. Not all directors have the insight or the awareness that it’s happening.”
Paskevicius believes such tension can often be mitigated during the process of director and CEO recruitment, where candidates are assessed not only for skills and experience, but also cultural fit. She believes directors should do their due diligence before joining a board.
“Over time, I’ve learned strategies to deal with these issues — and I’ve been on both sides of the table, as an executive and a board member,” she says. “One thing I’ve done in the past, when there were issues with the executive and board not really getting along, was to bring in an external facilitator to help jointly develop rules of engagement. That can be effective.”
Up for the challenge
Paskevicius notes that an NFP board role is sometimes viewed as a stepping stone to a paid board role. As a result, she says, some directors are “not necessarily there for the right reason”.
“But it’s such a rewarding and also challenging space. There are financial challenges in terms of sustainability, particularly if you are government-funded. But NFPs have funding from many different sources. They’re often running a lot of different programs side by side, so understanding the business can be quite complex.”
Paskevicius adds that there are workforce challenges in finding the right people with the right skills. “Regulation and compliance requirements are increasing more and more,” she says. “NFPs also need to consider challenges like climate change, AI and cyber. And, if it’s a smaller organisation, having enough resources to comply with government requirements can be a real challenge. People can come onto an NFP board without realising the level of complexity it faces. That can be very frustrating. Fortunately, I haven’t had that experience too much as a chair.”
Teams are built on trust
Paskevicius has gained valuable insights throughout her career that have influenced her approach to governance. She believes self- awareness is a critical attribute in the boardroom.
“It’s important to know yourself, what’s important to you, what you’re passionate about and where you can add value,” she says. “It’s also really important to be curious and a lifelong learner. As a director, and as a chair in particular, you need to be on top of what’s going on in the external environment from a governance perspective. There’s also the importance of building a strong, trusting relationship with your CEO and board colleagues, which can require getting to know directors outside of the boardroom. At the end of the day, the board really is a team and you need to be able to work together.”
Building a trusting, working synergy with CEOs continues to enrich her leadership.
“It comes down to the relationship between the CEO and chair,” says Paskevicius. “I’ve always enjoyed working closely with someone in a partnership and supporting them to be the best person they can be. There is a strong link with both coaching and speech pathology, which are both one-on-one. I’ve reflected on this a lot. Why do I feel like I’m in exactly the place I want to be? It just feels very natural.”
This article first appeared under the headline 'Teamwork & Trust’ in the November 2024 issue of Company Director magazine.
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