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By Dennis C. Miller
There must be a great partnership between the CEO and the board for any nonprofit to be successful. The ability to collaborate will ultimately determine the organization’s effectiveness and success.
The ideal and mature role for any board to succeed revolves around providing leadership to the organization in partnership with the chief executive officer. A leadership board accepts a sense of ownership, asking the right questions, putting forth new ideas and challenges, and partnering with the chief executive to continually refresh and renew the organization.
The crucial qualities of this vitally important relationship are based on the following:
- A partnership built on trust
- A shared sense of accountability and responsibility
- Positive interaction that is focused on results
- Open and honest communication
At the leadership stage it is important for the chief executive to feel a strong sense of security and self-confidence to allow the board to be in partnership in leading the organization. It is imperative that the CEO and board grow together as partners for the organization to fulfill its mission and to have real impact in the community.
One of the characteristics of a highly successful nonprofit is the level of engagement between the board and the CEO. There needs to be a constant open and honest dialogue about the key issues the organization is facing and how to best utilize the talents, experience, and knowledge of each board member. It is also extremely important for every board member to feel that their voices are heard, that their actions matter, and that their ideas are encouraged for open discussion. It is the responsibility of both the board chair and CEO to make sure each board member is an engaged and active participant.
One of the major complaints often heard from the board is the lack of engagement. Here’s a bad example … a board chair having difficulty getting members come to meetings and becoming more engaged. The board chair asked for approval of the board minutes from the last meeting, and everyone said yes. The CEO then read word for word from his report to the board when he could have just mentioned any updates to his report that was included in the board package.
The CFO gave an updated report on the financials, the facility manager gave an update on the renovations and construction being planned, and then the development officer gave an update on their 50th anniversary celebration about to begin next year. After these reports, the board chair thanked everyone for attending and asked if anyone had any questions. They did not. As he adjourned the meeting, he thanked everyone for attending and reminded everyone that the next board meeting would be held in three months. Talk about lack of engagement.
A great technique to encourage real engagement at board meetings is to use the 50% rule. In addition to the necessary board committee reports, add to the board agenda a discussion question designed to engage all members of the board in an open discussion. For example, select one of these questions for every board meeting:
- What is the value we provide to the communities we serve?
- What is the image of our organization in our community?
- Why is our organization worthy of someone’s gift?
- How do we measure our success as an organization?
Make sure that everyone, board and executive team, are encouraged to answer the question. They will leave the meeting with more confidence and motivation to support the organization going forward. It will also create the level of engagement for the board and CEO to feel a partnership has developed. Now each month this might take up to 50% or 80% of your meeting time, but on average is takes about 50% which is why it is called the 50% rule.
Highly successful nonprofit organizations that have strong CEO and board partnership are more likely to achieve their strategic goals in a timelier manner. The board members truly enjoy serving on the board and feel self-confident and motivated to support the organization going forward. Creating this CEO and board partnership is one of the most important keys to unlocking an organization’s true potential.
The ultimate beneficiary of this CEO and board partnership will be those you serve.
Dennis C. Miller is a nonprofit board and leadership expert and author of The Importance of Nonprofit Board Leadership: A Guide to Creating a Highly Successful Nonprofit Board. He is the CEO of Dennis C. Miller LLC, and his email is dennis@denniscmiller.com
