Emerge unscathed after those ‘tough talks’ with the board

• Published date: 01 June 2015
• Date: 01 June 2015
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/ban.30084

Editor: Jeff Stratton

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View this newsletter online at wileyonlinelibrary.com • DOI: 10.1002/ban.20147

Emerge unscathed after those ‘tough talks’

with the board

At times, the nonprot executive will be the

bearer of bad news to the board or the board will

have a nonperforming member it must confront.

If the executive director faces a difcult issue

with the board or with an individual board member,

what is the best approach for surviving unscathed?

Nonprot executives and board consultants

share their thoughts on this topic:

Tricia Dell, a fundraising coach, facilitator and

strategist in the San Francisco Bay area (http://

triciadell.com), suggests creating an anonymous

online survey for board members with two or three

questions that require going deeper with thinking

about the issue the board faces.

“Have the chair compile the data for discussion

at the next board meeting,” Dell said.

Marilyn Donnellan, founder emeritus of Non-

prot Management Services LLC,

said the administrator rst needs to

assess whether she is facing a prob-

lem with one board member or with

the board as a whole.

Depending on the circumstances,

it can be better if the conversa-

tion is initiated by another trusted board member

rather than “staff” in the form of the executive

director, said Donnellan (Leesburg, Ind.; http://

www.nonprotmanagementservices.com).

If the executive does have that difcult discus-

sion with board members, practice active listen-

ing to get the most benet from what the board is

thinking, she said.

Gary VanDyke, president and founder of Food

for Orphans (Colorado Springs, Colo.; http://

foodfororphans.org), said it is important that the

executive director not avoid the difcult subject

with his board. But he can’t start with the difcult

conversation either.

“There must be a history of candid conversa-

tions and genuine openness before the difcult

subjects are tackled,” VanDyke said. “You also

need to get to know the directors so that these

conversations can be wisely managed.”

Once you know how board members might react

to troubling news, then you know what path to

take when bringing up a difcult subject, he said.

“Some people are able to handle direct confronta-

tion, while others must be nessed wisely,” Van-

Dyke said.

Consultant Susan Detwiler (Wilmington, Del.;

http://www.detwiler.com) said don’t think “board”

when dealing with a difcult issue. “A common

error is to use the term ‘board’ when you really

mean ‘board members,’” she said.

“Each person on the board is an individual and

will hear you differently,” Detwiler said. You need

June 2015 Vol. 31, No. 10 Editor: Jeff Stratton

continued on page 4

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Don’t take that job! 2

Make your board committees ‘engaged and

focused’ 4

Advice for speaking with nonperforming

board members 7