About
The Accountability
Group
Lyn McDonell President
We’re glad you found us.
Welcome to a most unusual place.
We acknowledge here “the end of the world as we know it” and prepare to support the relearning of a new level of good governance, i.e. fiduciary whole systems health.
We’re glad you found us.
Although we have limited capacity as we pivot in this new direction, if your organization needs consulting assistance please do reach out and we’ll see what we can do.
We are all learners here.
Warmly yours,
We are grateful to the photographers and illustrators whose images enhance our website.
GOVERNANCE for LIFE
What
We Do
The Accountability Group has supported good governance and sound strategy since 2006.
We’re now seeding regenerative thinking into the work we do.
Our goal is to help directors, staff, advisors, and changemakers anticipate the transition ahead as the complex of economic, social and ecological realities unfold.
Success to us means helping key individuals and their organizations further develop their own adaptability, curiosity, creativity, resourcefulness, and steadiness — the qualities that are required moving forward.
We Offer
GOVERNANCE SESSIONS
- Basic orientations on the role of the board
- Orientations to regenerative governance, and how to get started
- Training on how to ask effective questions
- Occasional TAG gatherings to discuss ideas with interesting people and share resources and lessons learned so far
RESOURCES
GOVERNANCE for LIFE
The TAG
Team
We’re renewing.
Collaborations take time.
Our affiliated colleagues and resource people will be online in 2023.
Lyn McDonell
Lyn McDonell (FCMC, C Dir.) has been a consultant since 2006, helping more than 200 organizations have real and timely conversations for focus, impact, quality, and multi-perspectival learning.
- Lyn earned her Masters Degree in Sociology in 1976, studying how leaders shape the norms and culture of their organizations through stages of development.
- She experienced firsthand how culture shapes us and what appropriate development means during a nine- month-long experience in West Africa with Canadian Crossroads International, followed by leadership roles in international development organizations.
- Lyn gained her hands-on experience and knowledge while serving as a board member and acting in senior positions in multi-level national organizations where her roles included Regional Director, Executive Director, COO, and CEO.
- She served for nine years on the board of one of Canada’s largest urban community hospitals.
- From 2013 to 2017, Lyn addressed topical issues while acting as chair for the Not-for-Profit Organizations Committee of the Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA), which oversees the production of guidance on governance.
- Lyn has been a Course Director at York University since 2018, teaching “Accountability Issues in the Public Sector” for the Master of Financial Accountability (MFAc) Graduate Program.
- In 2021 Lyn graduated from the MITx program “Leading from the Emerging Future,” an introduction to a method called Theory U, developed at MIT for leading profound social, environmental and personal transformation in business, government, and civil society contexts worldwide.
Lyn is the author of “The Art of Asking Questions as a Director” in the 2nd Edition of The Handbook of Board Governance, published by Wiley in 2020. She is currently at work on a chapter for the 3rd Edition.
Lyn focuses on good governance, exploring its purpose and meaning in new contexts.
She is a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors, CMC-Canada/Institute of Certified Management Consultants of Ontario, the Global Governance Hub of the Presencing Institute, and the Ontario Professional Planners Institute (as a public member).
The Certified Management Consultant (CMC) designation represents a commitment to the highest standards of consulting and to the ethical canons of the profession.
Lyn is active in emergent and informal groups related to governance, social innovation, collective impact and regeneration.
GOVERNANCE for LIFE
Our History
The Accountability Group has set a fresh new direction to facilitate, support and inspire regenerative thinking, thrive-ability and resilience. The tone is positive. The message is perseverance. The intent is moving towards the possible in wise ways.
Lyn McDonell started consulting full-time in 2006. In 2008 she set up and incorporated The Accountability Group (TAG) to provide consulting and training services primarily, but not exclusively, to the public and voluntary sectors.
Typical sessions were about “who does what” (separating governance from the operations function), what good governance, quality leadership and oversight mean, and how organizations can develop smart strategies to have the most impact.
TAG then added board evaluations, governance reviews, strategic planning, and retreats for board development to its services.
Associates were recruited to provide leadership and facilitation on these projects.
The TAG team has always believed in the importance of our own accountability; that positive relationships make the difference between mediocre performance and great results; that leadership creates high-energy environments; that professionalism entails decision-making based on solid information; and in inclusion such that when people create a vision and can describe its success, they will work hard to make it happen.
Over the years, in a responsive facilitation process, TAG helped directors and staff have the key and authentic conversations they needed in order to bring about change.
Boards better fulfilled their key governance responsibilities and, with management, achieved not only good, but truly great and inspired leadership.
With almost no marketing, TAG was able to attract new clients based upon reputation and word-of-mouth recommendations alone. We worked primarily in Canada, with some Asian and American clients.
TAG: What People Say
Our pivot in 2022
We are reinventing our work to focus on leadership discovery and learning regarding the disrupted context of this decade. We now concentrate on 3 things:
1. Facilitating big-picture awareness with a regenerative approach
2. Sharing what is informing and inspiring us
3. Stimulating collective insight
For more information, see Our Services
Lyn McDonell
2008 Our Initial Sessions
2008 Seoul
2017 Inter-agency Consultation
The 2019 TAG Team
2021 “Women in Consulting” Panel
2022 Online Session
2022
GOVERNANCE for LIFE
What
People Say
Process and planning are excellent; Lyn McDonell’s ability to synthesize key trends and ‘hear’ what is being said is remarkable. Lyn has an ability to ‘cut to the chase’ as well, which is really appreciated. She has the ability to facilitate large groups and small conversations with ease. The passion that she brings to the process ‘catches on’ and people engage at a wonderful level.”
Lorraine Sunstrum-Mann
ECEDH, RN, BA, MBA
Executive Director
Grandview Children’s Centre
Lyn McDonell brought her expertise and delivered an individualized approach, tailored to the culture of our group and responsive to our specific issues. The training was very effective … and Lyn’s exploration of the issues and opportunities was insightful. We have had very good feedback from our Board and Staff who found the experience to be positive and valuable. We are already seeing meaningful changes and very interesting conversations about opportunities and how we can evolve our governance structure.”
Tammy Moore
Chief Executive Officer
ALS Society of Canada
The level of professionalism and diligence exceeded my expectations. Lyn McDonell’s style is both open and friendly, yet she never lets the conversation go too far and get bogged down in details. She is excellent at keeping the conversation at the appropriate strategic level.”
Maura McLaren
Former Executive Director and CEO
Real Estate Institute of Canada
Thank you, Lyn, for the tremendously positive governance retreat. You really know your stuff. You challenged the participants appropriately, and your outstanding facilitation skills shepherded us through some very difficult discussions. Working with you and your easy-going style was a joy.”
Dr. Bob Haig
Former Executive Director
Ontario Chiropractic Association
We had really good feedback from the retreat and Lyn McDonell received high praise … one evaluator commented ‘best yet’ in the section regarding the facilitator, so well done …. I appreciated how invested Lyn was in deeply understanding the issues we were studying in the context of our specific sector. As a result she brought great insight to our retreat, which was reflected in the excellent report Lyn and her team assembled for us after the event.”
Lon Knox
Secretary and Corporate Counsel
Queens University
What is unique and stands out about Lyn is her ability to understand complex situations and help groups of individuals reach common understanding of goals and objectives. She is equally at ease with staff and boards.”
François Couillard, CMC
CEO
Canadian Association of Optometrists
GOVERNANCE for LIFE
