Welcome to another edition of The Sidelight.

Today I’m here with a very special guest: Bonnie Oaks Charron, Governance Specialist (FGOV) / Information Professional (MLIS), a colleague, friend, co-editor of The Elevator Insiders, and a governance practitioner.

Here is what we talked about.

1. Introduction
2. Bonnie’s background in governance
3. How coffee chats led to exploring good governance
4. Understanding Clifton Strengths and its purpose
5. Applying Clifton Strengths to board and director development
6. Lessons from Bonnie’s own strengths discovery
7. Why self-awareness matters for effective governance
8. Final reflections and the value of ongoing director education 

Before we dive into the meat of the podcast, I’d like to give Bonnie a chance to introduce herself and tell us a little bit about her experience as a specialist in governance.

Bonnie Oaks Charron: Thank you, Pat. It’s great to be here. My background is varied, but it’s all about governance—that’s why I call myself a governance specialist. I currently sit on a board where I’m chair of the governance committee, and I also sit on an administrative tribunal. I do some consulting and writing as well, but governance is at the heart of it.

My experience ranges from working at Parliament to corporate secretaries’ offices in a variety of sectors. I actually started as a librarian in information management—and there’s a lot of information management in governance. It all adds up to working in various capacities today.

Pat: Sounds like a fascinating career with lots of twists and turns along the way.

Bonnie: That’s for sure.

Pat: Bonnie and I have been sitting down for many months—always over coffee, and often cookies—talking about the ingredients of good governance. At our last coffee chat, we talked about using a tool like Clifton Strengths to identify talents and develop them into strengths, with the goal of improving director performance.
Most of my listeners may not be familiar with Clifton Strengths. I’d love some background, and how it applies in the context we’ve been discussing.

Bonnie: This is one of my latest projects. Clifton Strengths is a tool and a framework. People have probably heard of Myers-Briggs or DiSC—other assessment tools that look at personalities and work styles. I’ve found Clifton Strengths to be special and unique in how it assesses a person’s top 34 natural talents, ranks them, and helps you develop them into strengths. Governance can be a challenging space to work in, so any tools that help us better interact with people are welcome.

Pat: Governance is all about working with people.

Bonnie: That’s it. After you do the Clifton Strengths assessment, you get a real feel for where your talents lie. The 34 talents are grouped into four domains: Strategic Thinking, Executing, Influencing, and Relationship Building. The reports provide a clear visual of where your talents sit and how you can develop and apply them in your governance work.

Pat: What did you find out when you did your assessment?

Bonnie: Some very interesting things! I expected to be very high in Executing talents because I spent years managing secretariats. But most of my top talents were in the Strategic Thinking domain. It was eye-opening, and I began studying what that meant and how to apply it in my governance practice.

Pat: How are you planning to apply this tool in your own governance work?

Bonnie: I consult in governance education and sometimes in administration and operations. I’ve been bringing this tool to clients, collaborating with a certified Clifton Strengths coach from the Strengths Performance Center here in Ottawa. We’ve started doing presentations and workshops, and we’re giving a workshop this coming weekend at a national conference for governance professionals.

Pat: What are you doing there?

Bonnie: It’s a discovery workshop. Participants—directors and other governance professionals like in-house counsel or corporate secretaries from all sectors—take the assessment and receive reports showing how their unique talents show up. Then we learn how those talents can be applied and how to work with others who may have very different talents.

Pat: Have you seen directors get insights from their results and apply them in real life?

Bonnie: I can speak for myself. My top talent is Input—being curious and always seeking further information. Before I had my results, I didn’t realize that not everyone does this. Studying the framework helped me see that leveraging information is a talent I can develop and use in governance. I make sure I prepare with the right information before meetings—research, best practices, and mastering materials—so I can ask pertinent questions. Clifton Strengths helped me realize this wasn’t “just something I do,” but a strength to cultivate.

Pat: Clifton Strengths sounds interesting, but is this something you’d recommend for a novice director?

Bonnie: There’s no harm in exploring it. The framework can be used in all areas of life—personal, relationships, family, friends. In governance, the typical path starts with learning what you need to know—the basics from a governance education program. Then you apply that knowledge by serving—on community boards, condo boards, etc.—and develop skill through practice.

The third component—the icing on the cake—is Clifton Strengths. Once you know what to do and are learning how to do it, you can refine self-awareness: what makes you you as a governor. What’s unique about what you bring compared to any other director? That comes from understanding your strengths and values.

Pat: I don’t have nonprofit board experience, but on condo boards I’ve seen directors disagree, forget why they’re there, focus on petty issues, and avoid making decisions—because they don’t know what they could learn from a tool like Clifton Strengths.

Bonnie: Exactly. A recent example: someone told me I’m “so calm,” and that it shows I’m really listening. That’s my Input talent at work—gathering information and focusing on what the person is saying. Listening deeply is a crucial quality for a director.

Pat: If you were talking to directors who know nothing about Clifton Strengths, what would you say to make the case?

Bonnie: Learn more. Take a program that guides you through a tool like Clifton Strengths. You need a message that resonates: this is what will differentiate you from any other director. Governance can be competitive—even for appointments. There’s something unique about you with huge potential. You need to tap into it, communicate it, and brand yourself. Clifton Strengths is one tool that helps directors do that.

Pat: What about condo boards, where there’s often no competition—sometimes they’re begging people to join?

Bonnie: Serving on any board brings challenges. No matter the board, you’ll face difficult situations. Clifton Strengths helps you understand how you approach those situations, making you more confident and capable.

Pat: It sounds like something I could have used myself. Why is educating directors such a passion for you?

Bonnie: After many years practicing and observing governance, I see it’s about information, processes, and people—and you only get governance when all three come together. The most difficult piece is people: they’re unpredictable. You can perfect documentation and processes and still have meetings go awry because of human dynamics.

Education that builds self-awareness—through Clifton Strengths or similar tools—helps directors understand their own likely behaviours and recognize that others approach meetings differently. That awareness helps everyone work together more effectively.

Pat: Before Clifton Strengths, where did directors learn this?

Bonnie: Governance is only now starting to think about these things in detail and how they apply at the board table. People have always brought lessons from previous careers, but there’s lots of room for growth. Clifton  Strengths is one tool among others. I encourage directors to reflect on their work style and talents and how to apply them as they practice their craft in meetings and governance settings.

Pat: That’s great advice—and you won’t get any argument from me about the importance of governance. We’ve talked at length about what happens when governance goes awry and people simply can’t or won’t make decisions—but that’s a topic for another podcast.

Bonnie: Definitely. We could go on forever.

Pat: Bonnie, thank you very much for sharing your insights with me.

Bonnie: You’re welcome. I hope to connect again on the podcast to talk about other important topics.

Pat: Sounds great. Anytime. Until next time—bye for now.