4 ways to make your board better

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/ban.30666
• Published date: 01 April 2018
• Date: 01 April 2018

4 Board & Administrator

DOI 10.1002/ban © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company • All rights reserved

continued from page 1

the best approach to tackle the challenges,” Tem-

kin said. It could be a board governance commit-

tee, a board development committee or an indi-

vidual director to ensure the board is the best it

can be, she said.

“It could be a specialized task force for each

item the board wants to address,” Temkin said. Or

it could be a consultant, or a chair of another local

board. “It should not be the CEO,” Temkin said.

“The board should be responsible for itself.”

• Obtain commitment from each board member.

Whatever approach the board selects, it’s critical

that each individual board member commit to it,

Temkin said. “All must say ‘Yes, we want to make

these changes and will commit the time neces-

sary,’” Temkin said.

• Evaluate the work done and celebrate the

board’s successes. “The board should pat itself on

the back and recognize the hard work it put in,”

Temkin said.

“Then determine which areas need new or ad-

ditional work,” Temkin said. “It has to be continu-

ous. There are always things that can be im-

proved.”

Temkin offered the following considerations for

the board to look at as it works to become self-

correcting.

• What amount of change is realistic at any

given time?

• Who will take on the accountability for en-

suring the group takes action? The best choice is

probably the governance or board development

committee, Temkin said.

• Will the group use technology in its efforts?

“This might require the organization to purchase

something it doesn’t have, and the board will

likely require training on the technology,” Tem-

kin said.

• Look for an underwriter. Temkin said that even

if there is money in the budget for this work, you

may want to get someone to underwrite certain as-

pects of the process, such as the right trainer. “This

can be expensive, and if you need more money, how

are you going to get it?” she said.

• Reinforce the new desired behaviors. “With-

out follow-up, nothing changes,” Temkin said.

Think about reinforcing positive changes and also

reinforcing what you don’t want to see continued,

she said.

• Plan how you will handle those who don’t

want to commit to the work. “It’s a huge issue

if not all members of the board are committed,”

Temkin said. If some members are still on the

board but just floating along and not doing the

work, the realistic alternative is to suggest other

roles in the organization, she said.

For more information, go to http://goo.

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4 ways to make your board better

Here are four ideas that can improve board per-

formance:

1. Veterans help rookies. Use board veter-

ans as role models. New board members look to

and emulate experienced board members. So, ask

board veterans who set a good example to take

some time and share their experiences with new

members.

2. Budget for board training. Budget funds

for board orientation and development. It’s one of

the best investments a board can make. It’s also

a good idea to add a bylaw that requires board

nominees to attend an orientation session after

their election to the board to provide further edu-

cational opportunities.

3. Create a board development committee.

Use a board development committee to identify po-

tential new board members, facilitate new-member

orientation and arrange continuing education for

the board.

4. Monitor progress. To make this work, use

veteran board members as mentors to rookies. A

program that assigns a veteran member to each

new member and asks the vet to bring the rookie

to the first meeting and make introductions can

ease transition.

From then on, the veteran can work to keep the

rookie informed, active and attending meetings. This

system is good for new board members and keeps

board vets in touch with their responsibilities. ■