CEO effectiveness & volunteer boards
6 January 2016 1 Comment
I was recently invited to share one piece of advice from what I have learned in my years as an association chief staff officer on effective partnership with volunteer leaders, for a book soon to be published by ASAE. After giving some thought to the matter, for me it came down to what Jim Collins calls Level 5 leadership: “the paradoxical blend of personal humility and [fierce] professional will.” You need to be able to take your own ego-gratification out of the equation when assessing the association’s strategic needs, but also refuse to make allowances for any limitations that might be present on your board by compromising on the level of leadership their role demands from them. You need to be authentic in giving the board credit for association success and in truly owning any board failure as your own. And never, never, never, letting a setback cause you to doubt yourself or become tentative and risk averse. Take the hit, learn what you can from it, turn the page, and move on. In doing so, you become not only something of a safety net for the board, making it less risky for them to take bold action. You also model the behavior that will enable them to be effective in their own leadership roles.
Well said and well implemented! I have a favorite quote too and of course, as an engineer it is an equation. C2 + T2 = L. Courage and Commitment + Talent and Teamwork = Leadership/Legacy. Of course each can be broken down and I always remind folks that Courage cannot and will not exist without Humility! Happy 2016, my friend!