Five Steps to Successful Board Governance
In the world of nonprofits and associations, boards of directors are essential to success. Their commitment to your association’s mission and willingness to serve on board should be valued. However, setting parameters to help ensure the board functions as well as it can is key to setting the strategy and reaching goals.
Here are five steps to take to achieve successful board governance and help your association’s board of directors be the best it can be for your members.
1. Understand the role of board members (elected by members), the executive director, staff, and volunteers.
One of the main responsibilities of the board of directors is to determine and advance the association’s mission and purposes. This includes selecting a Chief Staff Executive (CSE) or Executive Director, a CPA, and an attorney. They provide oversight of finances and resources. The board works in partnership with the CSE to develop a strategic plan and organizational planning.
The CSE serves as a senior advisor to the board, and the general manager of the organization, not as a secretary for the board or a worker bee. CSE and staff duties include administration and day-to-day operations in partnership with the board as professional advisors on the programming and execution of the organization’s mission.
For the association and the board to work in harmony, it is critical for board members to have a 30,000-foot view of the organization and trust the CSE and staff to implement tasks approved by the board. If board members become micromanagers, it becomes difficult for the CSE or staff to do what they need to do to be successful.
2. Prepare for board and committee meetings.
This means submitting thorough reports on time, reading board packets prior to the meeting, having any questions you have prepared, and directing questions to the CSE or CEO of the board. A fully engaged board will become your association’s best ambassadors, advocates, strategists, and all-around supporters. A forward-thinking board develops a collaborative partnership with the CSE, “work” between board meetings, are willing to deliberate candidly, and partner for fundraising as well as advocacy.
3. Create a strategic plan.
Developing a strategic plan is critical to success. This should include specific and measurable goals, not just a collection of ideas. Use this document to evaluate the effectiveness of the organization, including board performance, as part of the annual planning process. Annual planning should be done each year, as well as reviewing by-laws, creating educational opportunities, developing communication plans, and more.
4. Include essential risk management policies.
These vital policies help the board guard against anti-trust violations, ADA and anti-discrimination violations, restraint of trade concerns, conflicts of interest, and apparent authority issues.
5. Recognize the work of CSE, staff, volunteers, and board members.
As you celebrate milestones, successful events, annual meetings, and more, be sure to celebrate as a team (board members, committee members, CSE, staff, and volunteers). Work to avoid any appearance of board vs staff or any other formation of factions. Speak with one voice and recognize and value the work everyone does to support the association’s success!
Conclusion
To achieve a strong and healthy board-CSE-staff partnership, flexible and resilient leadership impact is needed. A healthy partnership must include trust, respect, candor, and communication, while a weak or dysfunctional partnership hinders the board’s effectiveness as well as the executive, the staff, and most of all, the organization. You can work with your board of directors and staff to set the tone of this partnership and together, you can achieve great things for the association’s members!