So many nonprofit boards are stuck in one way or another. Whether the nonprofit is large or small, I see so many of the same challenges with board governance.

I’m thinking a lot about boards this week, as I prepare for a big workshop on boards.   (I’m presenting Sunday am here in Chicago at the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) International Conference – if you are attending, please join my session!)

Here’s my list of 26 practices every board should follow:

1.    Recruiting New Members.

They are thoughtful about their new members – and select them carefully. They don’t add people just because slots are open. They vet their new members carefully.

2.    Orientation.

They orient their new members carefully – to help them get up to speed on strategic issues and also to help them feel a member of the group.

3.    Clear Expectations.

They lay out clear expectations for board members. My friend Sandy Rees (who’s sitting here with me over coffee this am) says “If they don’t have clear expectations, they are setting themselves up for problems either now or later.”

4.    Enforced Expectations.

They discuss expectations often as a group. That way they stay alive, and get recognized and accepted.

5.    Annual Planning Retreat.

And they have an annual retreat to discuss strategic issues and to forge closer working relationships among board members. The planning retreat helps them establish and know what their goals are.

6.    Social Time.

They make social time among board members a priority. Because they know this helps create closer personal relationships among board members, which in turn, engenders trust and a sense of team.

7.    Meetings.

They make sure board meetings are interesting. That board meetings focus on important issues. That meetings don’t waste members’ time.

“Every board member needs to leave feeling jazzed and excited about the organization,” says Sandy on her second cup of coffee.

NO Boring Meetings!

My fundraising buddy Amanda Preston (who’s helping teach the CFRE Review Course with me here in Chicago) says board meetings need to help connect them to the mission of the organization, as opposed to spending all their time on business issues.

8.    Term Limits.

They enforce term limits, no discussion, no question. Rotating new board members keeps the board fresh, and open to new ideas. Everybody knows and accepts this.

No term limits means that the board evolves into more of a social club – and this is clearly not in the organization’s best interest!

9. Consent Agendas.

They use consent agendas to save meeting time so they can focus on what’s really important – following up on their strategic decisions.

10. Fun.

They have fun together, which establishes camaraderie.  They take time for fun and for getting to know each other. You want your board members to enjoy their time on the board.

Board Members Should Have Some Fun!

11. Group Process.

They pay attention to the intangible issue of group process – how the board members work together as a group.  They do not engage in negativity, handwringing or naysaying.

They make sure that one group (usually the long time board members) does not dominate. So nobody ever says “that’s the way we’ve always done it.”

12. CEO.

They have a strong CEO who the board members like and trust. They stand by their CEO.  They are in a partnership relationship with the CEO.

13. Focus.

They are willing to stay focused on what’s best for the organization -NOT their personal agendas or preferences.

14. Conflict.

They welcome strong discussion at board meetings, but they keep it cordial. Warm personal relationships developed through social time help create a comfortable environment for rich discussions.

They are willing to challenge each other, and willing to ask questions.

15. Respect.

They never embarrass a fellow board member in front of the other board members.

16. Adhere to Structure.

They never go around the CEO to individual staff unless they are working on a specific project directly with staff.

17. Giving.

Board Members All Give

They all make a proud personal gift individually each year, putting their money where their mouth is. They encourage all other board members to give.

18.Messaging.

They know why their organization needs and deserves financial support.  They are clear on what the message is.

19. Self Evaluation Process.

They have a board self-evaluation each year and they discuss it frankly.

20. Monitoring Progress.

High performing boards have a way to measure how well they are doing. They measure themselves against goals, both as individuals and as a group.

21. Bias Towards Action.

Team Spirit!

They are action-oriented. Board members understand that their job is not just to come to meetings and pontificate.

22. Individual Action.

Each board member knows what his or her job is.

23. Decision Making.

They establish who is supposed to make what decision, and they are clear about it.  They have clear ground rules on how decisions are made.

24. Communication.

They are clear on how communication is supposed to flow.

25. Committees.

Committees all have a specific reason for being, specific deliverables and action items. There are not endless committee assignments.

26. Team Spirit.

Your board works together as a team. There is a team spirit energy that pervades everything they do.

Creating a high performing board is just like creating a team. Everybody has to be clear on their purpose and what their job is.

This is my list of best practices – feel free to share this with your board – just let me know if you do, please.

There are lots more practices for high performing boards. What did I miss? What would you add? Leave a comment and let me know!

Managing your board is one of the greatest challenges for every nonprofit leader. And talk about a pain point!

Lots of my nonprofit friends are wildly frustrated by their relationship with their board members:  “Tell me what to do with my board,” a nonprofit colleague once desperately asked me.

That wonderful group of well-meaning volunteers who are in charge of your organization may be cohesive and high-performing — or they just might be dysfunctional and unorganized. (We’ve all been there.)

What is YOUR board like? Are they 100% supportive of you and your initiatives?  Do they respect you and treat you professionally? Do they get along?

There actually ARE some organizational and process strategies you can employ to gently manage them and get what you need out of them.

I’m tackling this tough subject in my next webinar on October 26. I’ll have a world-class organizational development guru on line to take your questions and offer strategies for handling ineffective “group process” or unenlightened board members.

Here are my own hard-earned strategies along with a couple of  war stories:

Your greatest weapon to manage up.

Every smart executive director needs to have a couple of key influencer board members in their back pocket.

They are a couple of people who see eye to eye with you. They trust you and you trust them. These are board members who “get it.”

They should like and admire your leadership. And they have enough confidence in you to stand by your ideas and back you up.

Any director who does not have these board member allies is going to have a miserable experience. And I mean whether you are a CEO or a Development Directors alike.  You need your insider supporters on the board.

How to make sure your ideas get a fair hearing from your board.

Count your votes. Line up your support privately and in person. Don’t leave important discussions to chance.

Never let an issue or subject that’s important to you come to the board for discussion without already having your supporters in line.

Say you need something voted on and passed. Here’s a war story:

Once when I was board president, I had a terrific idea that I really liked and wanted to implement. (we were an all volunteer organization with no staff at the time.) I introduced the idea to the board at our regular board meeting. One member took issue with it and proceeded to turn everybody to her point of view.

Then we took a vote. Few supported me, and her side won. I was voted down. All my energy and enthusiasm went down the drain. I couldn’t believe it. How could MY board do this to me?

Lesson?  Count your votes in advance. If there is something important to you that you really need to get passed by your board, make sure you line up your votes.

Personally visit or call the “key influencers” on your board and have a personal conversation with them about it. Persuade them privately. Secure their support. And secure their vote.

When your issue comes up for discussion, you’ll be able to relax. Your board will give you the support you so urgently need from them.

Moral of the story: Never leave an important discussion to chance.

How to rein in wild ideas from board members.

We all know the syndrome of “boards gone wild.” Check out my other blog post on the subject. : )

And we’ve all been there. Someone on the board pipes up with the strangest, weirdest, most outlandish idea that will never work. And somehow the board members rally around this idea as something that will ‘save’ them or whatever.

Then they are all off like a herd of wild horses, in a stampede, heading in the wrong direction.

And there sits the staff, with their mouths open, wondering what on earth has happened. AND they are wondering how to implement this.

Here’s what you do:

If your allies on the board are present when the stampede looks like its going to start, you can state your case about why you don’t think this is a great strategy. Your board member allies should be able to catch on quickly, especially if you cut them a sharp glance. (Hopefully they are aware enough to read body language.)

If they are daydreaming or distracted, and you can’t get their attention, then do what it takes to get their attention:  go to the bathroom or go get refreshments – move around the room to catch their eye.

Above all, don’t sit there passively and let it happen to you. Do anything you have to do to stop those wild horses from stampeding.

More Secrets for Managing Up and Getting Your Board Members To Do What You Need Them To DO

If you need to get more support from your board members, plan to join me for my next webinar on Monday, October 25 at 1pm ET.

I’m going to share some psychological, motivational and organizational process strategies to give you a real-world, very practical guide for gently managing your board.  You have more power than you think with these folks, but you have to use it subtly and wisely.

I’ll have Dr. Thomas Griggs on the line (who has taught me everything I know about managing boards) to answer YOUR questions and give you a practical framework for figuring out what’s going on in their head so you can respond appropriately. I think this will be fascinating!

Leave me a comment and tell me what you think of my ideas for “gently managing??” What are your own suggestions? : ) I bet there are a lot of war stories out there!

Whenever I bring up the subject of boards, so many fundraisers roll their eyes. Why are our boards such a huge pain point and what can we do about it?

I say we have to face reality about some sensitive topics: people, motivation, volunteers and commitment rather than chasing after some myth of the ideal board.

Let’s be realistic and see what we really can expect from our board – particularly in the area of fundraising.

Let’s remember that most board members are afraid of fundraising because they are embarrassed and fear rejection.  And they generally are not sure what your expectations are of them.

Get your expectations in the right order and you’ll have a happy relationship – and a productive one – with your board.

Here’s what you can count on – and what you can’t  – with your board members.

WHAT YOU CAN COUNT ON

1.  Most board members really do want to help. They just don’t know how. It’s really up to you to make it easy for them. You’ll need to motivate, guide and support them.

If you do make this investment of your time and energy, then you’ll have a gold mine of great board members on your hands.

2.  Most board members are open to and even enjoy education. They don’t like “training” but they do like “education.” June Bradham, author of “What Nonprofit Boards Want” says that the word “training” makes them feel like seals.

Most board members are eager to do a good job and want to know what their job is. The clearer your job expectations are for board members, the more you’ll get out of your board.

3. Most board members are capable of being terrific friendmakers if they know the right thing to say and they are pumped up.  But you need to teach them what friendmaking is all about or they may go in the wrong direction.

4. Most board members are happy to help thank donors. In fact, they love it!  And you can increase donors’ future gifts if your board members make thank you calls quickly to donors.

5. Most board members can be terrific “sneezers” spreading the viral message around your community. Just make sure they can practice what do say in a comfortable, natural fashion.

HERE’S WHAT YOU CAN’T COUNT ON

1.  You can’t expect them to be good at soliciting. That’s a special skill and personality type. Frankly I don’t even want all my board members out there soliciting because some of them would not be very good at it.

Treasure the board members who are good at soliciting and find other productive jobs for those who are better at other things.

2.  You can’t expect them to show up at every event. You need to tell them what your priorities are – what’s essential and what’s optional.  Then, when they have a clear idea of what you need from them, they can give it to you.

3.  You can’t expect them to know exactly what to say. You might think they know the mission, vision and case for support, but they need practice, practice, practice putting it into their own words.

4.  You can’t expect them to maintain their passion on their own. It’s your job to keep them pumped up and excited about the cause. If you do, you’ll have an enthusiastic, fired-up team helping you spread the word and make connections!

5.   You can’t expect them to keep coming to boring meetings. Busy people will flee if they feel their time is not well used. If you liven up your meetings, then you’ll also liven up your board!

So set your own expectations correctly,  provide the leadership and support your board needs, and you’ll be rewarded with a high-performing team!

I ran across a terrific post today by Lisbeth Cort from the “Nonprofit Execs on the Edge” blog.

She discusses why board members need to set aside time to discuss bigger picture issues. And how important it is to “just talk” in order to “think more expansively.”

Here you are, having spent a lot of time and effort enlisting a group of smart, capable people for your board.

Then you waste their time and energy on low level discussions.

Is This Your Board Meeting?

Then what do you have?

Someone once said: “the greatest waste of human brain power in the world is the typical nonprofit board meeting.”

What are your impressions of THAT quote? : )

You may have heard me rant and rave about boring board meetings – one of the most dangerous perils for any nonprofit board.

Because if you have boring board meetings, what kind of board will you end up with?

A BORED BOARD.

And is a bored board willing to take real action? Will they dive into fundraising and friendmaking for the cause? Forget it!

Time to liven up your board meetings – and liven up your board!

Is your board taking enough responsibility for your organization’s results in the world? Do your board members really understand how firmly the monkey is stuck on their back, so to say?

Let’s hope they recognize it!

Do Your Board Members Understand that the Monkey Is on Their Back

I really wonder if board members understand their incredible responsibility.They are the LEGAL GUARDIANS of your organization.

I’ve been thinking a lot about boards this month as I work on my new webinar series, “Create a Fired Up Board in Action for the Cause.”

I personally study “high performing boards” that I run across in my work. And I pay attention to what they are doing to be so successful.I find that many, many boards don’t even understand their legal job.

So let’s just lay this out.  I’m quoting from a great little web article from BoardSource, that aptly summarizes the legal responsibilities of boards.