Is Your Approach to Board Management Dead Wrong or Dead Wronger?

Where did you get your training on how to manage a board before you stepped into your leadership role?

What training, you ask?

Just like managing your first staff team, there is precious little formal training on how to manage your board before you occupy the hot seat at your first board meeting.

If there is training, it is more of an apprenticeship. Most leaders learned to manage a board of directors by being invited into the boardroom by a leader they report to.

And now, to rattle off some pluses and minuses of that model:

• Plus: We get to see a successful pro in action.

• Minus: We don’t see the before and after. Like a play, we see the production, not the rehearsal, the postmortem, or cast party (unless invited).

• Plus: We experience replicable approaches firsthand that work (and maybe a few we earmark for the leadership trash can)

• Minus: We may be watching bad habits, not knowing they are bad habits because everything seems under control.

• Plus: We witness someone who has figured out a workable group dynamic.

• Minus: Most individual engagement happens outside the board meeting. We don’t see how those individual dynamics cultivated the group dynamic.

• Minus: Every board is unique. The board you inherit will not resemble the group you know.

No matter how wonderful the person that you worked for is, imitating them will not suit your approach to management or work for the board you inherit in most cases.

I am generally an asset-based person; eager to encourage good behavior, first and foremost.

All the same, in my work, I sometimes feel the urge to say “STOP THAT” when someone describes how they are going to deal with their board on some organizational issue. Hopefully, I say this in a curious, not ALL CAPS, kind of way.

As I pondered these experiences, my own experience, and the privilege of having watched some great leaders manage their boards, I amassed a list of practices that are wrong – destined for failure wrong.

With more pondering (last week was particularly ponder-heavy), I realized, there is an opposing ideal practice – something we can aspire to but that, often, is also not practicable.

We all hope to travel along a continuum with Dead Wrong on one end, and Never Fails at the other.

More often than not, the continuum is from Dead Wrong to Dead Wronger - neither extreme is effective in isolation (and more often than not, backfires).

Here are some of the extremes executive directors navigate in managing a board and some thoughts on how to make sure you don't end up at one end or the other.

Treating them only as a Group vs.

Treating them as only Individuals

Managing a board is a balancing act of attending to individual interests, counsel, and proclivities and getting them to act as a group – a twenty-headed lovable creature – to benefit the organization. Individual opinions of board members lead to richer decisions and more buy-in from your board as a group, but all that listening can slow you down if you overdo it.

My advice: Reach out selectively to those board members with an expertise or viewpoint you need as you think through an issue. When in doubt, mention who you are reaching out to when you check in with your board president. They may add to your list and help you think through the political dynamics involved.

Treating them Like an ATM vs.

Getting Less than the Organization Deserves

Yes, a major responsibility of a board member is to help bring more resources to bear to help keep the lights on, meet payroll, and grow impact. They are equally responsible for setting strategy and assuring beneficiaries and donors that resources are stewarded with utmost care and attention.

Getting only money from board members puts the burden of the organization's success on your shoulders alone. This is swell when things are going well and a recipe for disaster when they are not.

But wait. Board members should be more than counsel and oversight. Giving significantly (whatever that means for them and your organization) is also a public statement of trust in the organization.

My advice: Define the various ways board members can contribute to your organization – cash, network expansion, expertise, etc. – and evaluate how each board members does on each area. You might even discuss this during a one-on-one meeting, if appropriate in your relationship with that board member.  It’s most important to feel good about the unique contributions of each board member (which is rarely all advice or all financial).

Excluding them vs.

Not Making a Move Without Them

Did you ever have a direct report who surprised you with decisions they made that you should have weighed in on? Or the other extreme – wouldn’t dot an “I” or cross a “T” without asking for permission or approval?

A board's job is to understand what might be coming down the pike that could affect the organization. At the same time, the board needs to know what of the many shenanigans in progress at your organization and in your field are worthy of governance-level attention.

The first adage I heard about board management is “no surprises.” That principle holds true in every situation I have encountered.

My advice: To set the right balance here, ask yourself, “Is this something I might need to bring to my board in the next one-three months?”  If so, let the sharing begin!

Saying “No” to everything vs.

Saying “Yes” to everything

Yes, the board hired you to lead the organization. They may have even used the word “run.” Don’t be confused by those traditional leadership terms. They hired you because they believe you will be a good partner in the work and a steward of the mission they are charged with defending and expanding.

Just like with any boss, always agreeing leads to less effective outcomes. But treating your board like they are always wrong because they don't understand the organization the way you do robs you of the opportunity to rethink the way the organization works, its strategy, and other key issues.

My advice: For every time you say “no” to a board member, actively look for the time you can say “yes” or “maybe” in an upcoming situation. The no’s are easier to handle when they are part of a broader collaborative approach to working with your board.

Maintaining a Firewall vs.

Oversharing

One way that strong executive directors support their boards in meeting their duty of care is to ensure that they have all the information they need to govern the organization. That information might be about trends related to the mission, changes in policy, or new practices in nonprofit organizational management (among a host of other possibilities).

The balance here is between never sharing information (often defended by excusing it as preventing a meddling board from meddling too much) and sharing so much that your board spends most of your time together asking clarifying questions.

My advice: Establish the optimal level of sharing by testing topics with your board president before going live to the broader board.

Forgetting Them When They’re Gone vs.

Treating them like they are still board members

The end of a board member's term, no matter how dear they are to us, is an important ritual – an ending. The board member has relinquished their governance duties, and the executive should now maintain a respectful boundary.

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas and what happens in the boardroom stays in the boardroom. It is important that those who have dedicated significant time and treasure can maintain that connection and remain a trusted longtime supporter.

My advice: It is appropriate to call former trustees for their counsel on matters related to their expertise or relationships they hold.

Some Wrap Up

The relationship between an executive director and their board of directors is one of the most significant factors contributing to an organization’s success and sustainability. Together with the board president, the executive director sets the tone on governance and helps maintain a healthy relationship dynamic.

Where you place your approach on the continuum is a discussion that I encourage executive directors to have regularly with their board president (as you see in my advice throughout this post).

A quick check-in with your board president about whether a particular issue is governance worthy or management related can solve the matter quickly, ensure that you are aligned, and provide justification if any board member has a reaction. Hopefully, you’ll never need that cover, but it’s good to know it’s there.

Balance and alignment are good things, right?

Want to manage your board more effectively?  Send me an email at gary@garybagley.com or DM me on LinkedIn.