At the first board meeting I ever attended, the only person who spoke was my boss, the executive director. Driving back to the office, she asked me what I thought of the meeting. I told her the board was not very engaged. She agreed and said, “I just don’t know how to change that.” I held my tongue thinking to myself, “You can start by shutting up and letting them talk to each other.”
When it was my turn to be an executive director, I humbly admit that I suffered from the same problem—sitting in board meetings, yammering on, and trying to ignite a new level of board engagement through the brilliance I was spewing forth. Now as a board member, I am sympathetic to the executive directors, who cannot stand the excruciating silence and feel the need to share everything in their brain, and my fellow board members who wish the meeting were a million times more engaging.
According BoardSource’s Nonprofit Governance Index 2010, “Boards that are more engaged spend more time on strategic thinking and discussion.” Or, (this is me talking): “Boards that suck, don’t talk to one another and let the executive director run off at the mouth.”
Neither strong (and talented) executive directors, nor quiet (and thoughtful) board members are the problem. The issue is the 60 to 120-minute monthly, bi-monthly, or quarterly experience they have together. Board meetings run on these deep ingrained scripts that are overwritten and uninspired. Agendas, minutes, and reporting lull us into complacency rather than provoking strategic thinking and creativity that drives us toward improvement and innovation. We need to rewrite the script of our next board meeting with fewer monologues for the executive director and more dialogues involving everyone in the room.
Here are a few ways to rip up the current agenda and rewrite the meeting:
1. Imagine a Future – Discussions of vision and goals are typically relegated to the once-a-year retreat when it should be happening at every board meeting. Set aside 30 to 45 minute in the meeting to raise and discuss major strategic questions, examine the organization’s business model, and identify how environmental changes are affecting the organization’s impact. Don’t just talk, synthesize—define a board point of view on the matter and, when appropriate, mobilize members to tackle the issue.
2. Align Resources – Present a financial report that challenges board and staff to imagine how resources can be used more effectively. Instead of reviewing the balance sheet, discuss how eliminating long-term debt can increase dollars for programs or how restricted assets can be better positioned to forward the organization’s strategy. Discover what is driving organizational income and how the expense budget can be better positioned to grow vital revenue sources. Most importantly, ensure that the budget aligns to the strategies developed by the board and staff.
3. Improve Performance – Throw out the typical program report and let board members dive deep into the cause. Have discussions about how impact is created. Focus in on one aspect of the organization’s work, discuss how it works, and explore how it can work better. Overcome the fear that volunteer board members will never understand what professional staff does. Challenge everyone to move beyond off-the-cuff ideas to thinking that is relevant and meaningful to the work.
4. Frame the Message – If board members are going to be on message, they need to help create the message. Let’s get past spoon-feeding what we want board members to say. As strategies, resources, and impact are discussed, let’s encourage members to frame the message. They need to hear the stories that best illustrate the value of the organization’s work, but they also need to create their own stories, using their own words, and in their own voice.
Creation In Common
Carlo Cuesta
