Help your newest members with this tip

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/ban.30360
• Date: 01 November 2016
• Published date: 01 November 2016

November 2016 • Volume 33, Number 3 3

DOI 10.1002/ban© 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company • All rights reserved

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Tips for clarifying board role

with employees

The board/staff connection seems

simple enough to explain: The board

hires the CEO and the CEO man-

ages personnel, but in practice it

can derail an administrator’s career

quickly if the board does not respect

his authority to manage the organi-

zation’s personnel issues.

So here are some tips for teaching

your board about its relationship to

the organization’s employees:

Have policy

The policy message needs to be

simple and direct on matters like

board-to-employee contact: “The

board will not give instructions

to persons who report directly or

indirectly to the Chief Executive Of-

ficer.” So:

• Use a board member job descrip-

tion that includes language such as

“Board members will refrain from

making special requests of the staff,”

to reinforce this point.

• Convey the message in other

areas. A board code of conduct can

also make the same point to board

members by stating that all inquiries

from staff should be channeled back

to the CEO.

Act when necessary

• Use discussions about the

board/staff connection when you ori-

ent new board members.

• Seek support on this issue from

your board chair when you must.

• Always stress open communi-

cation between the chair and ex-

ecutive.

• Be prepared to revisit the topic of

board/staff interaction with individu-

al board members when you need to

hold your ground.

• Hear your staff’s concerns so they

don’t feel compelled to take them to

the board. If a staff concern comes to

your attention, review it thoroughly

so that other employees see you give

their issues a fair hearing.

Train regularly

• Use an expert. An attorney or

consultant can be useful for remind-

ing board members that their role is

governance, not inserting themselves

into the management of the organiza-

tion on a daily basis.

• Spend time at board meetings on

the issue. Fifteen minutes of board

education at every board meeting is

time well-spent. ■

Help your newest members

with this tip

Sometimes, new board members need

a little help to find their way when they

first join a board. This issue can often

rear its head on basic role issues, so it is

the wise CEO who is prepared to assist.

To ease new board members into

the job, Executive Director Kelly

Rosenleaf (Missoula, Mont.; kelly@

childcareresources.org) uses a board

mentor/buddy approach.

“Matching a more experienced board

member with each new member to

answer questions and help them find

their way is helpful,” Rosenleaf said. ■