Engage the board in the public policy debate
DOI | http://doi.org/10.1002/ban.30016 |
Date | 01 January 2015 |
Published date | 01 January 2015 |
B&A For Board Members
DOI 10.1002/ban © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company All rights reserved
The administrator is a vital member of the team
A New England board is currently meeting
without its executive director to discuss his perfor-
mance with certain nonprot employees.
That’s a big mistake by the board.
The executive director shouldn’t be treated like
a typical employee of the organization. This is why
your executive should be included in all board
discussions and activities.
There should rarely, if ever, be an occasion
when the board meets without its administrator.
Closed sessions that exclude the administrator
can quickly damage the teamwork that is vital be-
tween board and administrator. That’s because:
• Closed sessions destroy trust. There needs
to be a sense of honesty and trust shared be-
tween the board and its administrator.
• Closed sessions don’t give the administra-
tor a chance to explain her actions. Without
this information, boards can begin to second-
guess the administrator and undermine her
authority.
• Closed sessions ignore your best resource.
Your administrator understands how the organi-
zation works and will be able to tell you which of
your plans and goals are most workable.
The board is responsible for one employee—the
CEO. As such, it is the board’s responsibility to
evaluate the administrator. The buck can’t be
passed on to the nonprot’s employees.
Rod Braun, an executive director in Pella,
Iowa, said over the years he has served on several
boards and developed thoughts on the touchy
topic of asking nonprot employees to comment on
their executive director’s job performance.
“I have served on other boards where some
board members wanted to do that,” Braun said.
“I always make my best case against doing so and
make it clear that I don’t want to be a part of a
board that does this because it usually has a bad
ending.” ■
Engage the board in the public policy debate
The Stand for Your Mission campaign (http://
standforyourmission.org/the-campaign), a joint effort
by BoardSource together with the Alliance for Justice,
the Campion Foundation, the John S. and James L.
Knight Foundation, the National Council of Nonprof-
its and the Forum of Regional Associations of Grant-
makers, is a challenge to nonprot executives and
their boards to actively represent their organizations.
The campaign’s goals are to:
• Bring about a sustainable shift in the under-
standing and expectations around board engage-
ment in advocacy.
• Move advocacy from an ancillary to a key
board leadership role.
• Strengthen the nonprot sector’s ability to
advance the public good.
Stand for Your Mission offers a free resource
that denes the board’s role in advocacy.
For more information, go to http://goo.gl/
cVOhrP. ■
Answer important questions
when writing or revising bylaws
The Center for Nonprot Leadership at Adelphi
University’s School of Social Work states in “Tips
for Developing Bylaws” that bylaws “are the in-
ternal rules and regulations that guide a board’s
activity and answer important procedural ques-
tions. They provide a road map for how the board
operates.”
As the board works on its bylaws, the CNL rec-
ommends the board address questions such as:
• How are board members elected?
• How many board members may we have?
• What are their terms?
• Are there term limits?
• How can board members be removed?
• What are the standing committees?
• How are new committees created?
For more information, go to http://goo.gl/
XxcZCV. ■
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