Current e-Journal

Exercise:
Boards and Leadership
What would be possible if your board members were visionary leaders for community change?

In the nonprofit world, we don’t think of boards as leaders, not really. We know they’re supposed to be at the top of the org chart, and that means they’re perhaps supposed to be leaders. But mostly when we think of leaders, we think of CEO’s. When we hear the term “leadership team,” we don’t think of the board – we think of senior staff members.

It’s no different in the for-profit world. Do any of us know offhand who is on Tesla’s board of directors? Unless something goes egregiously wrong, boards are not where we seek leadership.

So then what might it look like for boards to actually be part of that leadership?

First it would mean that yes, as a baseline, boards would need to understand their job as legal fiduciaries. But that bare minimum is not leadership. That is an operational function, an inward-facing organizational function.

Leadership is about end results, not operational means.

Visionary leadership is about engaging as members of the community the organization serves. Visionary leaders are working to create the kind of future the community aspires to. When boards hold themselves accountable for that higher leadership, they are acting as catalysts for community change.

So what would it take to transform your board to be such a catalyst? The first step is to remember that most board members join boards because they want to make a difference. (Setting aside for the moment the rare board member who joins boards because they want to sell everyone insurance…)

Unfortunately, most of what they talk about at the board table is NOT about making a difference. It’s mostly about listening to lengthy reports of things that have already happened. Staff reports, financial reports. When boards do talk about the future, it’s too often about money or other internal concerns.

So step one is to remember that board members join boards because they care about the issues at the heart of the mission.

What, then, does it take to move board members towards the reason they joined the board in the first place?