Board Development
Winston Churchill famously said “democracy is the worst form of government… except for all the others.” Nonprofit boards are a very local example of our democracy in action. “Society” in the form of the IRS deems an organization’s work worthy of public support in the form of tax exempt status and other rights and privileges. I do not believe that boards are “broken” as many in our field do. I do believe that many, many boards are performing far below their potential.
For a board and an Executive Director to form an effective team, each must understand their own roles and responsibilities. They must negotiate the boundaries of their roles – which change over time – and figure out how to exercise shared leadership.
With boards my work typically includes some degree of self-assessment, informed by the outside perspective that I can bring. I usually work with a small team of board members and the Executive Director to review various models of governance and identify which approach best meets the needs of the organization at this point in its lifecycle.
- self-assessment to identify strengths and weaknesses – informed by consultant’s perspective
- review models of governance and choose approach that best fits
- identify changes in terms of structure (officers, committees, meeting frequency, board terms, etc.) and process (recruitment and orientation, ongoing communications, meeting agendas and planning)
References:
My approach is informed by work I did with Jan Masaoka, much of which is presented in her excellent book “The Best of the Board Café” as well as by Bill Ryan and Dick Chait’s recent book “Governance as Leadership” An article Jan and I wrote many years ago outlines the “Governance-Support” model – I still find this to be helpful. “Why Board’s Don’t Govern”
