Tips From The Trenches

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/ban.30690
• Date: 01 May 2018
• Published date: 01 May 2018

May 2018 • Volume 34, Number 9 7

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

Tips From The Trenches

Give board meetings

a strategic focus

Want your board to concentrate on key issues

related to your mission? Keep your meetings fo-

cused on strategic issues.

How? Three ideas:

1. Give the board a written update on the strate-

gies you and the staff are using to meet goals set

forth in your strategic plan.

2. Structure your meeting agenda around the

strategic plan’s goals and strategies for accom-

plishing them.

3. Have staff give a presentation during each

meeting to update the board on progress toward

meeting the strategic plan’s goals. ■

Frank talk about participation

spurs improvement

Here’s a simple exercise the board can under-

take to improve board members’ contributions and

sharpen the board’s focus:

Begin by answering questions about board

service. Appoint a note-taker, and then ask each

member:

• “How much time does board service de-

mand?”

• “Is your time at meetings well-spent?”

• “What activities do we do that you would

rather not do?”

These types of questions let board members

air their feelings and show the CEO why they

are involved. Use the results to find ways for

board members to be involved in areas that

interest them. ■

Governance committee controls

unruly members

A strong chair and governance committee are

crucial to maintaining healthy respect and profes-

sionalism on the board.

Work through your chair to add this statement

to the board’s role statement your organization

uses to encourage consensus:

“Board members are encouraged to actively

participate in discussions both at committee and

regular board meetings. However, once consen-

sus has been reached, all board members are

expected to publicly support the decision that

has been reached.”

If board members get unruly or disrespectful

during meetings, the board chair must maintain

decorum. After the meeting, the chair should

speak with the member privately.

Give board members two warnings if their be-

havior is out of line. After that, bring the issue to

the board’s governance committee.

One of the governance committee’s responsibili-

ties should be to review individual board members’

performance on an annual basis. If a board mem-

ber’s conduct is disruptive and not appropriate,

the committee can issue a final warning or decide

to remove the member—depending on the serious-

ness of the infraction. ■

Suggest an evaluation process

that has goals

Build a successful administrator evaluation by

setting goals for the process in a pre-evaluation

meeting. Suggest these goals to your board:

• It must be consistent. The process doesn’t

change when the board’s membership changes.

• It is professional. The process and evaluation

document have been designed to encourage high

standards.

• It’s objective. Both the process and the evalu-

ation tool should invite objectivity.

• It’s immune from board member agendas.

Whether or not a board member has a personal

ax to grind is never an issue during the admin-

istrator’s evaluation. The board agrees to this up

front.

• It’s based on respect for the administrator’s

profession.

• It’s designed to be a tool for improving orga-

nizational outcomes.

Key to meeting these goals is to obtain board

agreement prior to any evaluation activities taking

place. ■