An immediate move towards higher standards of practice by businesses and non-profit institutions should dominate the thinking of their strategic planners.

DALLAS, TX - December 10, 2010 - Any business or non-profit foundation that still views stewardship as an altruistic principle needs only to look to the most recent example of the impact of stewardship negligence with oil giant British Petroleum (BP). BP's board of directors would undoubtedly agree that proper stewardship - taking care of resources that have been entrusted to the company - would benefit all of its stakeholders. But the breakdown of stewardship - albeit, likely for a justifiable cause (e.g., money- or time-saving measures) - results in catastrophic loss, both for the company and for those who trusted them in their stewardship duties. To presume BP or any corporation has a responsibility to anyone other than themselves, we need to examine the philosophy and origination of the term, "steward."

"Stewardship" is originally a Phoenician term, and the root word for "trust." Stewards are entrusted with responsibility - to oversee, properly manage, and/or protect certain given objects, principles or people. "Trust" became the root word for "fiduciary," which is used today to represent something "held or founded in trust or confidence." The link between "stewardship", "trust", and "fiduciary" traces back to the origins of the concepts they extol. Corporate boards are legal fiduciaries to a number of people - their employees and investors, to name a few. Trustees and executives of non-profit foundations are legal fiduciaries to their donors. Stewardship and trustworthiness, then, emerge not just as theoretical guiding principles; but rather, they are embedded, essential ingredients to corporate and charitable money management responsibility.

The focus on stewardship today does not insinuate executives' ignorance of stewardship until now. Leaders have always intended to perform well and create value for their organizations and their stakeholders. They have been stewards all along, but the intentional focus on the practice of prudent stewardship - to retain stockholders or charitable donors, to avoid risk and penalty, and to grow as an organization - is largely a recent phenomenon. The integration of standards into global corporations is the line of demarcation between the "old era" and the "new era" of corporate excellence.

Being mindful of stewardship disciplines elevates an organization's awareness from a singular profit or investment return chasing only perspective to a holistic, process-centric vision, which, over time, produces the most rewarding results - through ethical, responsible, and intentional practices.

Roland|Criss helps corporate leaders and boards of foundations evaluate their stewardship competencies and provides effective ideas on how to improve standards of practice

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