How lucky could I be?  A colleague, Steve Bowman offered the experience of a lifetime – the opportunity to co-facilitate a series of master classes on governance to be taught in Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney, Australia.  My bags were mentally packed before we hung up the phone.

Steve, a director and co-founder with his wife Chutisa of the international consulting firm ConsciousGovernance based in Melbourne, is one of Australia’s preeminent governance specialists.  He and I had met several years ago when we both spoke at the first annual Not-for Profit Network Conference in Surfer’s Paradise, Australia.  We had kept in touch and traded ideas over the years. 

We decided that the best time to present the classes would be in late May, which is late fall there.  The day would start at 9:00 am and break at 5:30 pm, and consist of a series of short sessions: Forget the Strategic Plan and Build a Strategic Thinking Board (mine); But Everyone Tells Me I Need a Strategic Plan.  Tell Me Again… How Do I Make My Strategic Plan Work? (Steve’s); Trends in Governance – More Good than Bad or Ugly (mine);  The Top 25 Tips to Enhance Board Performance That You Won’t Find in the Books (Steve’s); and So Where are the Potential Board Members and How Do I Make Sure I Get the Good Ones? (mine).  We created a workbook to supplement our presentations.

We had intended to limit participation to 35 at each site, but over 150 people responded from all over the country, including places like Darwin and Tasmania.  In many cases four or five people from a single organization registered.  Clearly we were offering something that people wanted to hear and they weren’t taking, “We’re at maximum,” for an answer.  With mixed emotions we opened the sessions to include everyone who wanted to attend.

I felt I needed a little time on the ground to rid myself of jet-lag before trying to facilitate three days of training, so I flew in ahead of the first session in Melbourne.  Flying Hawaiian Air, I had to go through Honolulu.  Rather than layover in the airport, I managed to extend the layover to have a full day there.  I used the time to visit Pearl Harbor, which was very moving.
	My first stop in Australia was Canberra, the nation’s capitol.  I chose that stop because I have a brother spending his sabbatical there.  I had heard that the layout of Canberra was based on that of Washington DC.  It is similar in that there is a long mall  with dramatic and important structures on either end.  However, Canberra is a very contemporary city with unique and symbolic architecture  that is nestled in between mountains.  The coolest thing about Canberra is that there are kangaroos running wild in the city!  There are parks and water everywhere, creating a welcoming environment for Australia’s famous marsupial.

From Canberra I went to Coober Pedy – the opal capital – where 95 percent of the world’s opals are mined.  I had heard about this city that has served as a backdrop for such movies as Mad Max and Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.  To deal with the elements – it can reach 140^◦ Fahrenheit in the summer – people have built their homes underground.  I felt alternately like I was like walking on the surface of the moon or I was caught in an old western.  I’m not sure I’ll ever get all the red dust out of my clothes!

I had one more stop before heading to Melbourne and our first gig.  That was Kangaroo Island.  Filled with natural beauty and small cottage industries, Kangaroo Island is a destination for many Australians and their New Zealand cousins.  I didn’t see any Kangaroos there, but I saw plenty of seals, sea lions and fairy penguins.  I also got to climb through the Kelly Caves where the stalactites and stalagmites were magnificent.

Melbourne, a very European city, attracted close to 80 participants toour session.  We even had a guide dog in training!  I think I learned as much as I taught.  In Australia, the average size of a board is 7 – 9.  The participants gasped as I spoke of the trend in the US to reduce the size of boards to an average of 16.  They didn’t understand how we could do business with such “large” boards.  Similar to the British, board members there aren’t expected to contribute financially.  However, different from the British and like us, they don’t expect to get paid for their board service.  Much of the terminology in Australia is different as well.  They use “constitution” where we speak of “bylaws;” “charter” where we use “expectations” or “commitment;” “induction” for what we would call the “orientation;” and “register of interest” for our “conflict of interest statement.”

Our group in Brisbane was the smallest of the three – just under 30.  The best part was that it allowed for a lot of interaction.  In these programs I introduced the Community Engagement Governance Framework developed by the Governance Affinity Group of the Alliance for Nonprofit Organizations, of which I am a part.  This group in particular saw the potential and is anxious to hear more about it.  Steve and I took time here to record about a dozen podcasts  – many of which are already up on the website or will be soon.

We finished our work in Sydney, where we had over 50 in attendance.  By this time Steve and I were finishing each other’s sentences.  What a fabulous experience.

Before I headed home, I took one more day and flew over to Tasmania and spent a day driving through the countryside and touring Hobart. I can see why so many Australians vacation there.  It’s incredibly beautiful.

All too soon, my time was up and I was winging my way home to my partners who had been patient long enough and were ready for me to come back.  Hopefully there will be other opportunities to head back “Down Under.”  For now, I just have to thank Steve (and Chutisa!) again for this special experience.