October 2008

October 2008: od180 Management Letter #30

Don't Waste Their Time...

Dear Friends:

This month I launch a series of several articles on topics related to the specialties of this consultancy. In this first installment, I reflect on board member involvement - good and bad. Your comments and questions are always appreciated. Contact me anytime at davidnorgard@od180.com.

Peace,
David

Don't Waste Their Time...

The See-saw

We have all been there...to the board meeting where one or two members just won't let go of a topic, no matter how ready everyone else is to move forward. We have also all been to the meeting in which a long agenda is laboriously worked through with little discussion - only to be followed up by remarks from earnest but disgruntled members that the meetings are a waste of their time.

So what is the right balance of engagement and detachment with our board members? And how do we arrive at it? It is helpful to consider the question from two angles, during regular board meetings and between them.

Staying Usefully Engaged: Between Meetings

There are two keys to appropriate, effective board member involvement outside of the board's meetings. The first is a thoughtful, on-going board development program that helps members familiarize themselves with the agency's programs, sites, clients, staff, and volunteers. Without such background, directors may (rightfully) feel ill equipped to offer useful insights during board deliberations. Short of disrupting the proceedings then, with demand for extensive background, they are left to sit and say "amen" to what is presented by the executive director or other staff member. Of course, the foundation to any board continuing education plan is an annual orientation of new members in which the veterans participate as mentors.

The second key is a committee structure in which board members and others can delve deeply into important topics to a degree that simply is not possible in a regular board meeting. Committees do not always fulfill their potential in this regard, however, insofar as they hold meetings in which the staff liaison takes the lion's share of the "air time." At their best, committee meetings are designed in such a way that they call out and call upon the special talents and enthusiasms of all those around the table. Thus it is critical that committees be seen not just as oversight bodies but deliberative ones just as much.

Staying Usefully Engaged: In the Meeting

The key to rewarding engagement during the meeting is to provide the space for genuine, thoughtful conversation about an issue - and preferably one which does not require an immediate decision. (I realize this may be unavoidable if confronting a true emergency.)

So, in this era of instant, paperless communication, it is preferable to distribute full reports in advance and keep verbal reports to a minimum. I also urge making clear distinctions among the three major components of an effective meeting - deliberation, decision, and dissemination (of information) - and resisting the temptation to rush one for the sake of another.

An Outline of a Board Business Meeting Agenda

The Board

• Welcome: call to order
• Introductions: new members, staff members, guests
• Review of agenda
• Review of minutes of last meeting
• Learning: topic related to a program area or an area of nonprofit leadership and management

Topics for Deliberation

• Major discussion: time for real conversation on an important issue
• Secondary discussion: as time allows and circumstances require

Topics for Decision

• Consideration # 1: optimally, on topics previously discussed
• Consideration # 2: routine business

Items for Dissemination (not requiring action)

• Regular reports: committee briefings, sometimes the prelude to a future discussion topic
• Brief announcements: upcoming events, etc.

The Meeting

• Welcome: call to order
• Outstanding questions and concerns
• Future agenda items
• Next steps
• Adjournment

Q&A

This month's question is courtesy of the Rev. Andrew Green, Rector of the Church of St. Paul in the Desert, Palm Springs CA.

Q: In the face of the significant financial crisis that our country is facing, how can I faithfully and effectively engage my congregation and encourage their continued support of our parish mission?

A: Andrew raises an issue that is on the mind of all of us these days who have some responsibility for getting the work done in the midst of very trying times in the development arena. Thanks, Andrew, for such a timely question.

I have a three part answer.

• First, I would urge everyone to avoid any special purpose funding drives to the extent possible. Except for emergency purposes, asking for "extra" money during this time of economic anxiety could appear insensitive and out-of-touch. So, unless the special need is an urgent one, I would postpone any appeals for it.
• Secondly, if ever there was a time to pay special attention to donor relations, now would be it. Don't give your donors cause to say, "The only time I hear from you is when you are asking for money." Stay close to them now and they will remember the thoughtfulness when economic times improve.
• That leads me to my third point. It is important to stay in communication with your donors/members and to let them know how the organization is doing financially. Are you trimming your budget? Say so. Are you postponing some new initiative? Announce it. I believe this will not show anxiety as much as demonstrate prudent leadership. Transparency and prudence go hand in hand.

Finally, if you can say "yes" to the prior four questions, then ask: Can we realistically divert enough resources, tangible and intangible, to develop this new concept? If so, then I would say "it's a go." (Rob, is that enough reasons to say "no"?)