Building a Strong Board: Part 1 |
Aug 31, 2010 |
Ahhh, nonprofit boards… Peter Drucker said of them “There is one thing all boards have in common…they do not function.”
Wow,
he didn’t even put a condition on it like “sometimes they don’t
function”! Are boards really that dysfunctional? I wish I could say
“No, not at all! This isn’t even close to being true!” but sadly I
could tell you more unfortunate stories about board malfunction than
otherwise. The good news is there IS hope and there are things we can do
to develop strong boards that DO function well.
I’m
going to dedicate the next three posts to addressing three areas that
can help you build a board that will become a real blessing instead of
an unfortunate burden! This first post will address the WHO – who
should be on boards? The second post will address the WHAT – what do
boards need to understand about their roles and responsibilities? And,
the final post will address the need to INVEST in the growth of the
board – growth in relation to their role, in relation to the cause and
in relation to their own Christian walk.
(Note: to dive into each of these ideas in greater detail make sure you make it to one of the Mission Increase’s free workshops in September on Board Development.)
First,
how do many organizations go about choosing the right board members?
They seek out lawyers, accountants, wealthy people, and “important”
people who know lots of people. That’s what traditional wisdom tells us
to do so that we can have their expertise for free AND their money!
Nothing like an ulterior motive like that to motivate existing board
members...
Now
let’s consider how we as Christian organizations SHOULD go about
choosing the right board members. First, we’d do well remembering the
James 2 warning not to show favoritism based on a person’s status or
wealth, and that we’re accountable to God in how we respect and treat
people. In that case, worldly advice just won’t do.
Instead,
how we choose board members should be a reflection of our role in the
body of believers, which as leaders is to equip others for good works
helping them to grow in full maturity in Christ as they serve.
So,
who should you look at for your board members? Your chief champions!
The individuals that are already being coached and discipled in your
cause! By ‘chief’ I mean those that are comprehensively involved in the
cause because they believe in the vision, those that are on a
progressive path of learning and growing, and those that are ready for a
larger responsibility. Of course, that doesn’t automatically make them
ready for this type of role. There’s another aspect to consider as
well, and that is their spiritual maturity.
1
Timothy 3 & Titus 1 can guide us in seeking people who are
spiritually mature and able to take on a leadership role in the
organization. Use these passages to identify characteristics of a good
leader.
Let
me share one more bit of advice. There’s nothing that says you MUST
have a large board -- it will be to your advantage to spend more time on
getting the RIGHT board instead of a BIG board. This might mean that
you have a small board for awhile, and it might mean that you need to
spend more time coaching your existing champions to develop a few of
them to step up to the challenge in the future.
I like what Ted Engstrom said in Boardroom Confidence, “If you have the right board members, the right things happen. If you have the wrong board members, the wrong things happen.” Choose carefully!
