News

• Date: 01 November 2020
• Published date: 01 November 2020
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/bl.30176

NOV.–DEC. 2020 7

How Board Members Can

Promote Mission Themselves

Board members can serve as an

extension of an organization’s or

brand’s presence and mission them-

selves, acting as top-level ambassa-

dors by establishing and maintaining

a thought leadership role that’s prev-

alent on all channels. Given this, it’s

valuable to periodically conduct a

self-assessment of your digital activ-

ity just as you do with that of your

organization.

For starters, the lowest-hanging

fruit is likely adding your involvement

to your LinkedIn profile. This is a

great way to display your connection

with the organization because it may

not be your place of employment and

can be incorporated under “Experi-

ence,” “Volunteer Experience,” or

“Accomplishments,” depending on

which category best suits how the

board role fits into your professional

profile.

As for content, it’s important to

“go beyond the like” and give the

content posted by the organization

whose board you’re on more than

a mere mouse-click. This means

sharing it with a comment about

its importance, sharing additional

content related to the cause, and

tagging the organization, and the

like—essentially, using your personal

content to promote your organiza-

tion’s mission in any way you can.

This not only broadens the content’s

reach, but creates content for your

page and showcases the pride you

take in your involvement. Your net-

work of followers will see that you’ve

interacted with the post, which will

generate more impressions, and ulti-

mately, an increase in engagement,

continuing the web effect of exposure.

For example, although I do not work

in the Broadway industry, I follow and

share content from not just Broadway

Crew itself, but also high-level industry

media outlets and popular shows. This

has a two-pronged result: It increases

engagement for like-minded content

that’s related to Broadway Crew and

connects the dots of my involvement

with the organization.

When engaging, it’s key to portray a

clear tone and stance on topics relating

to your mission and be mindful of the

sources you’re sharing and citing so

that your content aligns well with both

your intention and that of the organiza-

tion. And, similar to the organization’s

content strategy, it’s also important

to tailor your posts to each platform.

If you’re sharing a photo of board

members at Happy Hour, for example,

Facebook or Instagram would be an

appropriate medium, whereas an initia-

tive announcement would perform best

on Twitter and LinkedIn.

There’s clearly a lot to consider when

it comes to the ever-changing world

of social media, but the importance of

a digital presence is something that

boards—and board members—both

big and small can’t ignore. It’s always

valuable to remind yourself that you

joined the board because you believed

in what the organization does, and

putting a renewed focus on in its

social media presence—whether on an

internal level or by working with pro-

fessionals with expertise in the digital

world—will likely be well worth the

investment.

Upcoming book explores new

approach to working with

boards

A new book from leadership

coach and organizational develop-

ment consultant Ken Schuetz offers

insight into a new approach for

nonprofit executives and boards to

work together on governance and

oversight.

In Aligned Influence: Beyond-

Governance (A Better Way Forward

for Boards, Executives, and Their

Organizations), Schuetz seeks to

equip board members and exec-

utives with a clear way forward

in their roles together by helping

them understand why and how to

improve.

Within every organization is an

“ecosystem” of influencers. In organ-

izations with boards of directors and

executives, that ecosystem is even

more complex, Schuetz says, and it is

even more important to understand

it for the benefit of everyone, includ-

ing donors.

According to Schuetz, governance

models to date have not provided

sufficient understanding of this

ecosystem of influence, leaving this

as an ongoing problem in organiza-

tions. In this book, Schuetz presents

the Aligned Influence model, which

offers a unique perspective to this

central problem and a solution that

addresses organizational alignment

as a necessary prerequisite to

effectiveness.

The book is scheduled for release

on Amazon on March 30. For more

information, visit https://amzn.

to/3mLOTdN.

Board members: reach out to

your CEO during dark times

One of the easiest and most

effective things board members can

do – especially those in leadership

positions – is pick up the phone and

touch bases with the organization’s

executive director, according to non-

profit consultant Joan Garry.

As Garry explains on her website,

nonprofit CEOs are facing unprec-

edented challenges due to the

pandemic, social unrest and general

instability and chaos currently rock-

ing the United States. And, they are

expected to navigate them without

any guidance from their forebears,

who admittedly faced many chal-

lenges, but not so many all at once,

that made even simple things like

holding board meetings a strenuous

logistical undertaking.

Board members can do a variety

of things to help out – Garry goes

into many of them on her website

– but one of the easiest things for

board members to do is get on their

phone and let the CEO know they

have their support at a time when

many nonprofit execs are questioning

their leadership abilities.

For more information, visit https://

www.joangarry.com.

N E W S