
The Board seems comfortable with this. Should I let it pass?
What a Coaching Scenario is
Not quiz style. This is judgement practice — you're put inside a real situation from human-services work and asked what you would actually do. It draws on the knowledge you use on the job, not the kind you can look up.
Every choice changes what happens next, and every choice gets a coaching beat straight after it: what drew you toward that option, and how it played out. What's held back is the verdict on your path, so you stay with what you'd genuinely do rather than working out what you're supposed to say.
- 4 decisions
- Each one shaped by the one before it. No two paths through are the same.
- Coaching as you go
- A beat after every decision, naming the pull behind your choice and where it led.
- A full debrief
- Your whole path replayed at the end, with the reasoning behind each decision you made.
- Evidence you can keep
- A completed scenario is recorded in your PracticeLab and appears in your downloadable ProofKit.
Scenarios are made to be talked about. Most people finish one still turning it over, which makes them a ready-made prompt for supervision, a team meeting or a conversation with a colleague — everyone walks the same situation, and comparing where you each landed is often where the real learning happens.
This one ends with
Before your next board meeting, check whether your conflict of interest register captures dual roles — not just financial interests — and whether your agenda process prompts disclosure before each substantive item.
The situation
You are a board member of Hillcrest Community Services, a mid-sized not-for-profit providing social support programmes in your region. The organisation employs around 25 staff and has a board of eight. Over the past few years, several staff members have taken on board roles at other local community organisations — something that's been quietly encouraged as a way to build sector relationships and staff professional development.
Tonight's board meeting has reached the agenda item for assessing funding proposals. The board is reviewing applications for a regional government contract worth $180,000 annually. Three organisations have applied, including Northside Support Network — a smaller provider offering similar services. You know that Lisa, Hillcrest's programme manager, sits on Northside's board. Lisa was present in the staff briefings where Hillcrest's own bid strategy was discussed.
As the board chair opens discussion on the Northside application, Lisa is also in the room — she attended tonight's meeting in her capacity as a staff observer, as she sometimes does. She hasn't said anything yet, but she's listening. No one has flagged a conflict of interest. The mood in the room is collegial; people seem to regard the overlap as just part of how the sector works.
You realise this situation needs to be named before the discussion goes any further.
What you're practising
Before you start, notice
Real-world decisions in scenarios like this are shaped as much by feeling as by reasoning. People often notice one of these pulls — naming what you feel before you decide is half the skill.
- Discomfort with naming something others seem fine with — the pull to assume someone else will raise it
- Loyalty to colleagues — not wanting to single out Lisa or make it awkward for her
- Sector-normalisation — the sense that everyone wears multiple hats and it's just how things work
- Urgency to get through the agenda — the pressure to keep the meeting moving
- Fear of overreacting — worrying you'll look inexperienced or overly formal if you make a fuss
Policies this draws on
- Your organisation's conflict of interest policy
- Your organisation's code of conduct
- Incorporated Societies Act 2022 (NZ) / Associations Incorporation Act (relevant state, AU)
- ACNC Governance Standard 5 (AU) / Charities Act 2005 (NZ)
- Your own organisation's policies take precedence — check them where they apply.
Heads up — coaching scenarios work differently. You'll make a sequence of decisions as the situation unfolds, and after each one you'll get a coaching beat: what drew you toward that choice, and how it played out. The one thing held back is the verdict on the path you took — that lands in the debrief at the end, with your whole walk replayed alongside it.
New to Good Practice Hub? Coaching Scenarios come with PracticeLab Pro, or browse the practice library to see what else is there.
More Coaching Scenarios
See the whole libraryYou already voted. Now you know something new.
You are the Chair of a mid-sized not-for-profit that provides community mental health services. Three weeks ago, at the last board meeting, the board voted six to one to award a significant service delivery contract — worth roughly $480,000 over two years — to Brightpath Community Services. The decision was made after a competitive tender process managed by the CEO, and the board was satisfied it represented good value and mission alignment.
Governance · ~12 minutes
The conflict of interest you didn't see
You've been on the board of a community health organisation for two years. You're the longest-serving director other than the chair, and you've developed a real feel for the organisation — its funding challenges, its staff culture, and the populations it serves. You care about it.
Governance · ~12 minutes
Coaching ScenarioThe kid really wants me to come. Can I go just this once?
You work as a youth support worker at a community social group for young people. One of the young people you support, 12-year-old Jason, has been attending the group for several months. He started out guarded and disengaged, but over time he has really opened up — and a lot of that is because of the consistent, warm relationship he has built with you. Staff and family have both noticed the positive shift.
Client Services · ~12 minutes