Blog
3 Ways to Build a Strong Board/Staff Relationship (One Way? Use a Board Portal.)
By Dustin McKissen, September 09, 2016
Serving on a board of directors is not easy. It’s a test of
your leadership, patience, and resolve. Yes, it is tremendously rewarding, and
a chance to make a positive impact on an organization and the constituents or
customers the organization serves.
That said, the term “herding cats” was pretty much invented
as a description of board service, and it can have its moments—moments that try
the patience of even the best leader. However, most board members are drawn to
serve because of a passion for what an organization does, so those “moments”
are usually far outweighed by the opportunity to make an impact.
Serving as staff for a small nonprofit, trade association,
school district, community bank, or any other type of board-led organization is
also rewarding—and challenging. Most staff members and executives who work in
an organization like that:
- Are drawn by a passion for the organization’s mission.
- Must accomplish a lot with relatively few resources.
Board members and staff both have challenging, but
rewarding, roles to fill. As a result, the relationship between the two needs
active management in order for the organization to reach its potential.
Here are a few things staff can do to help make sure that
relationship is functioning at an optimal level:
1. Remember, board
members have lives and careers.
Staff need wisdom, guidance, direction, and buy-in from
board members. On occasion, staff also need more definitive contributions—like
a signature on a tax return. However, board members are most often serving in a
volunteer capacity, and have lives, careers, and families of their own.
Of course, it’s critical to make sure board members are
meeting their commitments, and most boards have an attendance requirement. Hold
your board members accountable, but remember that each has other
responsibilities, and there is a strong likelihood that your organization is
not always “top of mind.”
Have a little empathy and understanding the next time you
feel like a board member has dropped the ball on something he or she said they
would do.
Those traits go a long way toward building a strong board/staff
relationship.
2. Try not to let a
board member be surprised.
Most boards involve a group of peers who exist in the same
community. Sometimes that community is defined by geography, sometimes it’s
defined by profession, and sometimes it’s defined by an interest or hobby.
No matter what it is, a board is composed of groups of
peers, and no one likes looking uninformed or unprepared in front of his or her
peers. If you are aware of an issue that your board or executive committee
should know about, don’t wait until the next board meeting to initiate a
discussion.
For example, if your financial statement shows a
bigger-than-planned loss, don’t let your treasurer find out at the board
meeting in front of his or her peers.
Proactive communication also goes a long way in the
board/staff dynamic.
3. Make being a board
member easier.
Board
engagement will increase when staff make it as easy as possible for board
members to fulfill their duties.
One of the best ways to do that is by using technology that
meets a board member where he or she is at.
What do we mean by that?
Chances are your board members conduct a significant amount
of personal and professional business on their smartphone. Giving those board
members the opportunity to access meeting materials or communicate with fellow
board members via their smartphone makes board engagement easier, and more
likely.
That’s why BoardPaq,
the board portal of choice for more than 900 organizations, is proud to
announce its forthcoming availability on the iPhone. This release will make
BoardPaq the first board portal available on the iPhone that is priced specifically
for cost-conscious small and mid-sized organizations.
Have empathy for the demands on your board members. Don’t
let them be surprised.
And give board members the opportunity to fulfill their
duties on their iPhone—or wherever is most convenient for them.
| Tweet |
Dustin McKissen is the founder of McKissen + Company, an association management and marketing firm. He is a Certified Association Executive and has served as an executive or consultant to a wide variety trade associations, professional societies, and nonprofits.
Search Blogs
Search
Best Practices
| Board Assessment
| Board Engagement
| Board Job Descriptions
| Board of Directors
| Board Portal
| Board Structure
| Community Banks
| Compliance
| Co-operatives
| Credit Unions
| Crisis Management
| Fundraising
| Governance
| Leadership
| Membership Organizations
| Nonprofits
| Professional Societies
| Public Relations
| School Boards
| Strategic Planning
| Strategy
| Succession Planning
| SWOT
| Trade Associations