If you have ever sat on the board of a non-profit or charity, sports organization, or even that of a company, one of the things you have probably noticed is that most meetings are boring. Usually one person, the president, runs the meeting using Robert's Rules of Order, and after minimal discussion, the board will vote on some agenda items, provided a quorum has shown up. Without a doubt, the agenda item that gets the most enthusiastic response is when someone moves that the meeting be adjourned.
One of my most interesting and gratifying gigs is that once a month I get to sit down with the executive directors of some non-profits and charities to facilitate a peer-support group. We talk about the opportunities and challenges facing each of them in their roles of trying to make the world a better place. I watch as they help each other find solutions based on their own similar experiences.
Because of my previous board experience at a local and national level, I have had professional experiences with executive directors where they ran the organizations that I was tasked with helping provide direction for. I was often frustrated in those positions, sitting on a board, as I found many of the board members disengaged because they were preoccupied, short on time and lacking in vision. Some board members seemed to think that sitting on the board meant that you were only expected to show up for meetings.
Most boards I sat on have been dysfunctional in the sense that either the president or the executive director seemed to have an expectation that the decisions were to be made before the board meetings and that directors should rubber stamp all executive decisions.
I am not the only one unsatisfied at the dysfunction of boards. As I have learned working with my group of EDs over the past couple years, most executive directors are frustrated because their boards aren't functioning the way that a good board should.
So what does that look like?
The purpose of a board of directors is to set the vision of the organization and provide a framework in which the ED is expected to operate. A board should give clear direction as to what achievements they expect from the ED and have key performance indicators, (KPIs) measuring success. A good board leaves operational and managerial decisions to the executive director and supports that director by giving them advice when they ask. Board members should be prepared to do committee work when needed bringing additional information to the board to help the decision-making processes.
A healthy board meeting should have passionate discussions, not boring agreements. There should be a variety of opinions, backgrounds, and diversity. There needs to be clarity about the roles of the ED and of the board members. In addition, there needs to be clear lines of communication within the organization. Staff members should not be coming to the board looking for direction and directors should not be involved in the day-to-day operations of the organization.
A well-functioning organization has regular reviews of the executive director. These reviews should revolve around how well the executive director is performing regarding the completion of the strategic plan, the fulfilling of the mission and vision of the organization while adhering to the core values.
Having surveyed executive directors in my community, I know that most boards aren't functioning the way they should be. In fact over 80 per cent of the EDs surveyed said that their board relied on them to provide the strategic direction for the organization.
Executive directors are typically working very very hard for their organizations. They are often working more than 47 hours a week supervising on average seven employees and 30 volunteers. Most are paid 20-50 per cent less than they would receive for the same effort in government or the private sector.
The executive directors I know are passionate about the work they do and often, they don't receive enough recognition or gratitude that they deserve for the effort they are putting in. This week if you happen to bump into the executive director of a non-profit or charity or one of their employees, please thank them for working so hard for trying to make the world a better place. Our communities wouldn't be the same without them.
-- Dave Fuller, MBA, is an award winning business coach and the author of the book Profit Yourself Healthy. Email your executive questions to [email protected]
