Episode 10: The Benefits of a Purpose-Driven and Profitable Board with Sanchia Aranda AM

Non Executive Director Insider Insights

Managing an organisation requires strategies that can increase profitability without sacrificing purpose. Profit may be the same across organisations but the purpose varies. So how can the board encourage goal-driven values that don’t hamper profit in executives and non-executive positions?

In this episode of Non Executive Director Insider Insights, we speak with Sanchia Aranda AM. Her professional career started out in nursing and has now extended to over 40 years of expertise in cancer control. At the time of this recording, Sanchia was a Board Chair for Scope Australia and Deputy Board Chair for the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre Alliance.

Sanchia firmly believes that profit is not the main driver for non-profit businesses; it’s the purpose or the mission. Although a financial legacy is often seen as a valuable component, having a corporate social responsibility is what sets an organisation apart from others.

When profit and purpose are used in tandem, the board becomes better mobilised to achieve its goals. They contribute better to the organisation and make a difference.

In this episode of Insider Insights, we explore:

• The challenges in clinical governance
• The importance of having a profit and purpose-focused board
• The difficulty of defining purpose for organisations
• How to better support diversity and capability in the boardroom

The ability to leverage profits and to reinvest those skillfully in alignment with the voice of the beneficiary is the key to a well-run NFP health entity.

If you haven’t listened to our previous episode on Getting Into the Boardroom: How To Do It And What Comes With It With Wendy Stops, check out Episode 09.

Quotes

"You need to build an extreme level of trust between the board and the executives. To do this, you need to remove the culture of blame and encourage a culture of inquiry and understanding." -Sanchia Aranda AM

"You can write the policy and procedures, put safeguards and training but that doesn't give boards assurance. So you need to bring in the things that go well and don't into the boardroom." -Sanchia Aranda AM