'Help! My board is falling apart!' |
Jul 17, 2009 |
Sound familiar? In just the past two days, I’ve heard this cry from two ministries. In one case, it was after a meeting with an ED and two of his board members about their upcoming event.
If you know about Transformational Giving fundraising dinners, you know they’re all about ‘casting the vision.’ So it’s, um, kind of a big problem if three ministry leaders, as I witnessed during that meeting, have differing views of the vision and type of organization they want to be.
I followed up on the phone with the ED to dig a little deeper. That’s when the dark details emerged and I heard the S.O.S call.
So what did I do to help?
I called Dave Farquhar, President, Mission Increase Foundation, to tap into his wealth of non-profit management experience. While we’ll omit the specifics of Dave’s counsel, I’d like to pass along some nuggets that would strengthen any ‘board toolbox’:
- Find a mentor. Ask ‘Who in the community has been through this?’ Look for staff or consultants with your shared values who have been through a similar experience and would be willing to impart their wisdom and knowledge.
- One of the best websites on board governance: www.strive.com. Check out the articles and Top Tips section with great titles from ‘’The Five Dysfunctions of a Board Team” to “Bringing Talent To Your Board Table” to “The Champion Chairman.”
- One of the best books on board governance: Boards That Make A Difference, by John Carver. Admittedly it’s dense but it’s one of the most comprehensive resources on the topic.
- Remember: Boards can teach themselves how to perform better. His suggestion? Take small steps. Allocate time during each board meeting to address a particular governance topic. Give material to your board members to prepare beforehand and discuss at each meeting. Strive offers some great bite-sized resources for board training.
Take some time to check out these resources. If your board is healthy, it can continue to improve. If unhealthy, maybe they’ll help you avoid future S.O.S. calls!
Jul 17, 2009 at 12:36 PM Great advice! Another good resource I like is on Simone Joyaux's website (www.simonejoyaux.com) in her resource section. She has several great white papers on board development.