Is your non-profit board a hot mess? Does it sometimes feel like a futile attempt to manage and organize the Board, like herding cats? Do you long for the day it will become highly functioning and more productive? If we look at the symptoms and indicators of a Board not doing the intended job, the solution must follow. As varied as the reasons may be, and for whatever internal or external conditions exist that permit undesirable performance, identifying these factors is the first step to a higher functioning Board, officers, and members.
It has been professed that the key to any successful body, particularly those who are empowered to govern and set policy, all share important traits. Some include strong leadership, well-defined Board operations, excellent interpersonal communications, and closely held convictions to work together in a team atmosphere toward a common set of goals. In considering this, realize that not all non-profit Boards are created equally. While some organizations take great care to vet and qualify Board members and re-elect or re-appoint those who contribute the most for the greater good of the mission, unfortunately, this best practice is not utilized by all organizations.
For some, this may be the beginning or key factor to identify why a Board is a “mess.” To paraphrase Jim Collins in his book Good to Great, “getting the right people on the bus, is essential.” How to recruit and retain the most capable and talented volunteer Board members is a subject worthy of a separate discussion. With countless articles and an abundance of books about nonprofit Board development and Board efficiency, let’s take a moment to recognize a few of the more classic issues that can plague Boards, ones that are beyond a “hot mess.”
Four areas most often identified are 1) rubber stamp Boards, and 2) Boards that spend too much time micromanaging executive directors, senior staff, and special events. And let us not forget no. 3) the “special interest” Board members, (loyalty to certain missions’ objectives only) also referred to as the “balkanized Board,” and finally 4) those that lack diversity. A diverse Board can bring a range of perspectives and ideas to the table, which can lead to better decision-making. Make sure your Board is representative of the communities you serve, and actively seek out Board members with diverse backgrounds and experiences. It’s a lot easier to talk about having a diverse Board, versus finding willing qualified candidates. Even these types of Boards and hybrids of them can function well enough, given a strong CEO. However, this article will assume your Board members are well-qualified committed individuals but don’t function at the expected level. Therefore, it focuses on more easily fixed messy volunteer Boards.
Problematic Board Functionality
One of the main issues and root causes of a problematic dysfunctional Board is a lack of clarity around roles and responsibilities. Make sure each Board member understands their role and what’s expected of them. This includes defining clear lines of authority, setting expectations around attendance and participation, and establishing protocols for decision-making. A well-thought-out Board orientation program and training for officers is imperative. A lack of standard operating procedures and proper orientation can create frustration and drain the energy out of Board members and their ability to function well.
To sustain a high-functioning governing body, a Board members’ handbook, whether physical or electronic, is a “must have” for all nonprofits. Later we will describe some of the key components of the Board members’ handbook. Understandably all expectations of membership should have been previously laid out during recruitment. Creating these materials can be arduous and time-consuming, but it is worth the effort overall. All Board members will appreciate the professional approach to the importance of their role in the mission and organization’s success. The absence of such can result in poor meeting attendance and resignations.
Other shared challenges confronting Boards include: meetings that never end on time, absence of a quorum, members talking out of turn or over one another, confusion about how to make or pass motions, (parliamentary procedure), inaccurate or no meeting (including committees) minutes.
When critical issues are not addressed on a timely basis and dealt with, most often the problem only worsens. Boards are notorious for putting off big decisions that will have negative consequences. Nonetheless, if your Board meets quarterly, for example, and more than half of the members miss two meetings or more, it is unlikely any fixes put in place will be effective. Other factors in the dysfunction of the Board could be from how it operates historically due to the “we have always done it that way” syndrome. Ultimately, the management style of the chief executive can greatly influence how well a Board functions.
Run well, they can bolster an organization’s revenues, provide access to influential figures, inspire confidence in stakeholders, help manage risks, improve leaders’ performance, and contribute to the crafting of a compelling mission and strategy. The famous management consultant Peter Drucker said, “Efficiency is doing things right. Effectiveness is doing the right things.”
What Are Some Transforming Steps?
A Board retreat is often a big step to resolving strategic issues facing a nonprofit. It would be important to consider that as a best practice, a retreat in some form should take place once a year, even if the goal is just to socialize, and or has a light agenda with fun team-building exercises. This is particularly true of Boards with more than ten members. Herein lies the beginning of a foundation that promotes a friendly atmosphere and interpersonal communications.
People work together more efficiently if they know one another, and know more about their respective backgrounds, experiences, family members, and the like. Furthermore, the joy of getting to know other generous individuals with a common passion is most satisfying and meaningful for volunteers. Spending a day or weekend together, facilitated by a seasoned professional can reap non-profits’ significant improvement.
However, before attempting this activity, the focus, topics of discussion, and objectives of the retreat must be agreed to in advance. Understanding the difficulties and symptoms a Board is facing will determine a retreat’s objectives. One way to determine this is through self-evaluation. We recommend that the Board engage in a comprehensive self-evaluation of the Board’s performance prior to planning an annual retreat. This is also a good time to ask Board members to consider their own performance as individual Board members. Tools are available to aid the Board in performing these self-evaluations.
Take Away Best Practices
Advanced agendas and meeting dates for the coming year are paramount. Do yourself, the organization, and the Board members a favor: When vetting and recruiting Board members, set out the expectations for participation. Have all regular meeting dates for the year finalized, giving requirements, meeting participation, committee assignments, and special event attendance. A Board handbook should also be issued to every Board member, followed by an orientation program.
Providing special online portals for Board members to access meeting minutes, agendas, and other pertinent Board documents has become a widespread practice and an excellent means to increase communications and functionality. Board management software such as BoardEffect, DonorDock, My Board View, and Boardable can assist in organizing board operations and orienting new members. You can also use something as simple as a Microsoft SharePoint site linked with Teams channels to share documents and foster communication. These are available through a Microsoft 365 Basic account, which can be obtained by 501(c)(3) nonprofits as a donation from Microsoft through TechSoup.
What The Board Handbook Should Contain
Your organization’s logo in full color on the cover, handbook name, and issue date are a good place to start when designing your Board handbook. A Table of Contents with section dividers will add a professional touch. A warm welcome and introduction letter from the organization’s leadership, including the board chair, executive director, and other key staff members should be next.
Other Board Handbook content would include:
- Organization Overview
- Board of Directors
- Board Governance
- Financial Information
- Program Descriptions
- Fundraising
- Marketing, PR, and Community Relations
- Personnel
- Strategic Plan
Download a copy of Soukup Strategic Solution’s Board Manual: Sample Table of Contents
Other Best Practices for Your Nonprofit Board
Always adhere to the timetable set for meetings, unless the group agrees to go past that time. The real secret to smoothly running meetings is the chair’s knowledge of basic parliamentary procedure and control discussion. For these reasons, it is a particularly clever idea to have a table of basic parliamentary procedures included in the Board orientation and the Board handbook. Why? Because most bylaws indicate that meetings are to be run according to Roberts Rules of Order, which are often taken lightly or not consistently enforced. Reviewing some of the most common motions and procedures, particularly if it is expected to be relevant to upcoming business, is advisable.
It is important to read, understand, and abide by your organization’s bylaws. If the bylaws are unrealistic, amend them rather than ignore them. This writer personally witnessed the lapse of parliamentary procedure in an organization where the bylaws were rarely referenced allowing the nominations committee to not only meet in secret, but also recorded no minutes, and presented a slate of officers for election among just the existing board. The bylaws called for the membership to elect the board that oversaw a six-figure endowment. This went on for several years and had legal consequences once discovered.
