March 15, 2012

Working (with) your Board of Directors

Being an Executive Director or Marketing Director of a nonprofit comes is a challenge. One of the biggest comes down to your board of directors: Is your board for you or against you?

In well-run organizations, the board lets you do your job. They represent a broad range of volunteers across the community with expertise in different areas. They check their egos at the door and focus on raising money and awareness for your organization. They trust you to communicate with the public, organize events, create marketing materials, write, give interviews and run your staff. After all, they probably approved hiring you in the first place. 

In poorly-run organizations, the board gets involved in every little thing. The color of the annual report, the placement of links on your home page, the grammar of an article you are writing for a publication. Rather than looking for diversity, they hire their friends as board members. They hired you, now they are watching your every move.

How do you feel about your board? Do they support you or provide a headwind against your progress? If you feel wind in your face occasionally, that’s probably a good thing. If you go through each day fighting a hurricane, it’s time to take action. Sometimes, the situation is not as dire as you may feel, and a few actions will help get them on your side: 

Gossip: Find one board member who seems objective. Talk to her about how helpful Boardmember X was when you were trying to resolve an issue, or how Boardmember Y’s connections proved invaluable at your last fundraising event. Once board members hear that you have been spreading a good word about them, they will stop impeding your progress. Sometimes you have to dig deep to find good feedback.

Push back: Take risks, object, stand firm on what you believe. You will make no progress appeasing the board and you’ll make yourself frustrated if not crazy. Be willing to risk your job if you think you're right. Your integrity and your organization are too important to do the wrong thing.

Be objective: When listening to comments from the board, stand in their shoes and respond objectively. Your gut may be churning at their ineptitude or obvious lack of awareness, but they come at this from a unique perspective. You can always deflect their comments by soliciting a response from the rest of the board, rather than coming up with one yourself. If you remain objective, you may find a tiny gem in their advice.

Finally, keep your cool. Remember that your organization provides an important service to the public and, ultimately, it’s the public you serve.

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