“How Can I Get the Best Out Of My Board?”

The look of engaged, empowered board members

Without question, the most common topic among all organizations that we work with is the board of directors.

No matter the mission, the budget size, how established or how new, many (most) organizations are struggling in some way with an issue related to this very important, influential group of volunteer ambassadors.

“My board is not a fundraising board, but we need to change that.”

“The board is too hands-off - we never hear from them.”

“The board is too hands-on - some of their efforts at support are actually disruptive or demoralizing.”

“The board says they care about inclusion and justice, but when it comes to actual practices, they just don’t get it. “

“The board is fine, I just feel like we’re not engaging them well. “

This topic comes up so frequently that when we tried to write just one post about this issue, we decided to publish a series  - because we have A LOT to say. 

There are some roles that all boards need to play. We know that a board provides support in several key strategic areas, including:

• Leadership - strategic, guidance, policy approvals

• Accountability - fiduciary, adherence to standards

• Support - financial, services, for the executive director

• Connection - to funders, services, and new board members

The way they do this important work will vary depending on the organization’s needs: their size, their internal capacity, and their access to expertise. But no matter what, board members need a connection to the mission, the community, and the team leading the work to make sure they are serving from a place of INFORMED service and not ASSUMED expertise. 

In this upcoming series, we’ll explore the stages of board development - what organizations need from their board at various stages of development. We’ll also examine board development and how to best build a board for the future success of the organization. And finally, we will talk about what the board needs from an organization to help them function successfully as ambassadors.