Have you ever had the feeling that no matter how hard you try, it’s a mathematical impossibility to get all of your board members to agree on a specific strategy or direction? If you answered "yes," you're in good company.
Nonprofit boards are almost always made up of incredibly passionate and driven individuals who want to see the organization succeed. But with this passion often comes tension in the form of different viewpoints regarding how the organization can and should meet its mission and goals.
Applied in the right setting, healthy amounts of tension between board members or yourself shouldn't immediately raise cause for concern. After all, before a train can get rolling, there needs to be a certain level of friction between the tracks and the wheels. However, what do you do when it appears that one of your board members is becoming more challenging? More importantly, how do you handle board members whose differing opinions have turned disruptive and are starting to distract from the organization's purpose?
Below we'll discuss five areas to explore when proactively addressing a challenging board member and how to encourage a passionate but productive nonprofit board.
Establish Meeting Agendas
Even before you've identified that you have a difficult issue to navigate with one of your board members, establishing agendas before every board meeting is a great way to avoid unproductive conversation. If there is an underlying tension between one or two board members and you allow too much time for "open forum" debates, your board meetings can quickly turn from strategic planning sessions into the airing of grievances.
Rather than applying a "wing it" approach to board discussion, come prepared with a list of clear outcomes you want to achieve in the meeting and agenda items to discuss, who will be leading each portion of the discussion, and the times allotted between each topic. Suppose you already know that a particular board member is prone to lead conversations into unproductive territory. In that case, a well-constructed meeting agenda that board members have reviewed and agreed to ahead of time will allow you to limit anyone going off-topic while avoiding unnecessary tension.
Review Board Requirements for All Members
Taking the time to carefully construct your nonprofit bylaws is a critical step to take to help streamline conflict resolution within your board as the need arises.
Your nonprofit bylaws play a vital part in acquiring and retaining the right individuals that will make your organization a success. Review guidelines and standards regularly as the nonprofit begins to grow. Another way to help facilitate this is by creating one-page summaries of board roles (similar to a job description), that provide a clear overview of the board member’s expectations and any commitments that have been made to the organization.
If a particular board member starts to deviate from the principles set out in the bylaws, or board meetings start to feel disjointed, reviewing requirements for all members is a great way to get the board back on track and remind everyone of the unified vision they should maintain as the organization progresses. Many times these subtle reminders are enough to avoid larger disruptions from your board members down the road.
Isolate Challenging Members When Necessary
Sometimes sticking to meeting agendas and reminding the board as a collective of your nonprofit's bylaws may not be enough to bring certain board members back into proper alignment with your organization's needs. When this occurs, it's appropriate to take more direct action by confronting the individual(s) directly.
The board chair and possibly the executive committee should address the handling of board members that are particularly challenging. This should be done tactfully and in a way that avoids embarrassment while quickly addressing the issues at hand. It's essential to be specific about certain types of behavior or actions that you feel are challenging the organization's forward momentum with recommendations of how they can be resolved. Regardless of the resolutions necessary to move forward, it's essential that the board member understands these criticisms do not come from personal viewpoints or perspectives. Rather, realignment is necessary for the betterment of the nonprofit.
Identify When It's Time To Plan An Exit
Unfortunately, try as you may to do everything in your power to keep all of your board members on the same page, at times, it's in the best interest of the nonprofit to plan an exit for a board member who is no longer a good fit. This can be an incredibly challenging decision but one you'll need to carefully consider if all other actions to resolve ongoing challenges with a board member have been unsuccessful.
Depending on how your nonprofit is constructed, taking steps to plan an exit of a board member could contain certain organizational hurdles. Your nonprofit bylaws should be a go-to source for how to deal with all of this. Properly documented and formatted bylaws should state how to bring on a board member, how to orient them, what their roles and responsibilities are, and ultimately, how to offboard them if the need arises. In most cases, however, the best practice is to be open and transparent about your need to form an exit and allow the board member an opportunity to leave the organization professionally and of their own free will.
Improve Your Board Member Recruitment Process
One of the most effective ways to limit challenges or disruptions between board members is to position the "right" individuals on your board. The board member recruitment process is key to getting the right board member in the first place. Ensure that the board member aligns with the organization's mission, vision, and values.
Board members are driven by their passion and the emotional investment they have in the organization. However, by taking the time to build the right board culture and encouraging a collaborative and productive level of engagement, you'll be sure to minimize potential conflicts that can disrupt the execution of short- and long-term goals.
In Summary
No nonprofit board is perfect. Interpersonal disagreements and conflicting viewpoints are often par for the course when working with individuals driven by their passion for the nonprofits they support. However, this doesn't mean you should allow certain attitudes or behavior to distract from the mission your organization is trying to achieve. By taking these five steps to course-correct your board as the need arises, you'll foster the right culture for your nonprofit and its leadership.
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