Beyond Board Orientation
Article Co-Authored by Lowell Aplebaum & Trevor Mitchell
Our organizations are incredibly lucky. Year after year we have caring, committed members who are willing to give up a significant piece of their life to serve at the highest levels of leadership. These leaders are entrusted with the highest levels of responsibility – and the ultimate ability for an organization to advance its mission by evolving in a meaningful direction while ensuring fiscal and legal stability has a high correlation to the organizational fluency these leaders possess.
It is not surprising that many Board members come to service with gaps in knowledge and understanding – whether it is organizational background, current governance structure and flow, their capacity as a strategic thinker, or even their own responsibilities. These dedicated volunteers may be experts in their respective field, have dynamic backgrounds that can provide the range in perspective that can help a Board make better decisions – but it is rare that they come with the kind of depth of executive-nonprofit-volunteer knowledge that they need to succeed. The ubiquitous solution is Board Orientation – and though it is a step in the right direction, it is all too rare to find the Board leader who emerges running at full steam.
In part, a contributing factor is likely that we solely focus on orienting NEW Board members without also embracing that every time new volunteers join a board, it is a whole new Board – and that this new group as a whole could benefit from connection/learning/team building activities.
As we reflect on what it could take to help Board members function at excellence from their first day of service, here are just a few options to consider:
Current common approaches to Board preparation and management mastery:
Provide a Board Reference Guide – a manual or book or set of resources that have documents, definitions, and templates to aid a Board member coming into service. If a guide is meant to serve as an ongoing reference tool, they should be indexed so that the relevant section to any situation that arises can be easily referenced. Finally, expectations should be clear what parts need to be read as a Board member starts, which are for future reference, and which – if any – parts should be re-read annually by Board members for reminder/reinforcement.
New Board Member Orientation – Usually a workshop -type session or retreat that will orient a Board member further to an organization and, more specifically, what the duties of a Board member are. Depending on what additional components, as outlined below, are included in helping a Board succeed, the orientation goals and agenda will vary to some extent from organization to organization.
Position Mentorship – Many organizations will connect incoming/outgoing officers, assuming that by assigning mentor/mentees that there is clarity in the knowledge to transfer. The power of these relationships comes to play not just in what is shared before a new Board member is in office, but in the mentor serving as an ongoing resource and sounding board during service. When these mentor matches transition from information transfer to co-leadership development, this can be a truly meaningful approach.
Governance excellence includes the above, while also possibly including:
Pre-Election Organization & Board Responsibility Orientation – Ideally, anyone running for the Board should go through a two-part preparation series. One is an in-depth orientation to the pieces of the association that any Board member should know, making sure they can talk about most aspects of the organization with some fluency. Some pieces may include:
In-depth review of the governance flow chart – which entities exist and how they are connected.
Comprehensive review of programmatic investments and priorities of the organization – while Board members don’t need to DO everything in the organization, they should be aware of what is being done so that they can make the proper resource investment decisions.
The second is a greater, in-depth understanding of what it means to serve as a Board member for this organization – from tactical responsibilities (meetings, appearances, thought leader contributions, etc.) to board culture definitions and commitments. At the end of this, every candidate can sign an agreement to fulfill these commitments as part of their service to the organization – setting a minimum threshold standard for Board service.
Full Board Orientation – Though new board members may need a greater orientation to service, every time boards rotate members, there should be a full board orientation to the team, leader perspectives, and the direction ahead. Full board orientation can include a review of the current state of the union of the organization, what strategic vision, plan, and guidelines are in place, key factors of disruption or opportunity in the environment, and any places of Board input for strategy needed to guide the organization at the start of a new term.
Clarity in Board Listening – Board members serve to represent a full membership – not just single segments that may speak to their own background. A clear line of approaches available where Board member can (and should) throughout the year connect with varied member perspectives to enhance and expand their own will broaden the voice they can bring to key organizational discussions and decisions.
Ongoing Learning in Nonprofit Governance Excellence – Orientations of any variety should be the start and not the end of how we help board members succeed. A monthly sharing of resources for their review, inclusion of a few minutes on regular board agendas to share a key insight, even mentorship of leadership to those in pipeline, can all provide further depth of knowledge to those who need to be the governance Jedi’s for their organization.
Practice Having a Strategic Mindset – Board members are charged with setting the direction and monitoring the environment to keep the organization moving forward. We spend time educating ourselves and boards to be strategic thinkers during strategy-setting processes. We expect these board members to carry this knowledge through their term but tend to fall short in this area. It is more comfortable and more natural for individuals to fall into operational mode. Being strategic, even when you know how to do something, can be a challenge. Providing a quick reference guide that board members use regularly, can continue to reinforce the strategic mindset. This may include:
A reminder that questions generally beginning with what or why can lead to strategic discussions while questions beginning with who, how, when, where are more focused on the implementation.
Providing them with sample questions to ask of themselves and others can aid being strategic focused. An example might be are you looking to understand or solve the issue? Looking to understand will provide a deeper understanding to discuss future impact whereas looking to solve is focused on the short term.
Focus on Future Succession – Board members are responsible for the long-term stability of the organization. Many times, this is manifested in revenue and members. We often forget about the future leadership of the organization until the next election cycle rolls around. Successful board members begin looking for potential successors from the very beginning, engaging them in various processes, and finding a way to bring them on when they are ready.
