The Perfect Board Member (PBM)

Jim Brown’s quick-reading board novel, The Imperfect Board Member, poignantly captures the reality of governance. There is no perfect board member.

Over the last several months, I’ve been listening to the whining, complaining and sighing of nonprofit ministry CEOs (and a few senior pastors).  For the most part, the positive comments about their board members outweigh the negatives—but they would agree that we all have our share of imperfect board members.

Yet if we could create a perfect board member, what would he or she look like?
Here’s my draft list:

#1. The Perfect Board Member (PBM) has an impeccable sense of timing.  Whether in board meetings or via phone calls or emails, a PBM knows when to bring up issues and when not to. (“This is our CEO’s busiest month of the year—I think my ‘helpful’ comments could backfire. I’ll wait until she is fully rested up.”)

#2. The Perfect Board Member is a student of the CEO.  A PBM knows and leverages the 3 Powerful S’s (strengths, spiritual gifts and social style) of the CEO. A PBM focuses on the CEO’s strengths, not his or her weaknesses.

#3. The Perfect Board Member is a student of fellow board members.  A PBM ensures that committee and task force assignments are based on gifts and competencies—so members serve out of joy, not duty or obligation. A PBM also knows his own unique gifting and strengths—and graciously says no to assignments that do not align with how God wired him.

#4. The Perfect Board Member has memorized the ministry’s mission statement, core values and the Big Holy Audacious Goal—and is constantly asking the question, “Is everything we’re doing in alignment?”  A PBM calibrates all agenda items against the mission, the strategy, the strategic plan, three to five annual S.M.A.R.T. Goals, and the Board Policies Manual.

#5. The Perfect Board Member affirms Ram Charan’s counsel in his book, Owning Up: “There is nothing more important for a CEO than having the right strategy and right choice of goals, and for the board, the right strategy is second only to having the right CEO.”

#6. The Perfect Board Member, per Jim Brown, keeps his nose in the business and his fingers out. A PBM doesn’t have time to micro-manage because she is deeply engaged in more important work: governance.

#7. The Perfect Board Member of a Christ-centered ministry rejects the old formula of sandwiching board work between a beginning and ending prayer—and instead—engages year-round in a spiritual discernment process to ensure that the board is hearing from God and not just asking God to rubber-stamp human endeavors.

QUESTION: What would you add when creating the Perfect Board Member?

Policy: The Board’s Chief Occupation

Not everyone is a “policy governance” zealot—and I’ve been in board consultations where just the mention of those two words will cause board members to feign illness (or worse).

Policy Governance Guru John Carver writes in his book, Boards That Make a Difference, “Governing by policy means governing out of policy in the sense that no board activity takes place without reference to policies. Most resolutions in board meetings will be motions to amend the policy structure in some way. Consequently, policy development is not an occasional board chore but its chief occupation.”

Frankly, few boards would see their “chief occupation” as policy development—but three board conversations just this week have reminded me that we waste a lot of time when the policy is unclear. And unclear policy likely means that our ministry outcomes will be fuzzy—and our kingdom work will be shoddy. “Ineffective governance” in Christ-centered organizations ought to be an oxymoron.

One CEO asked me to facilitate a board retreat to address the board’s proper role in strategic planning. (They are not yet all on the same page.)

Another board member had received a “constructive criticism” letter from an unhappy customer who wanted him to forward the email to every board member. I referred him to an existing policy regarding who can speak for the organization. We also talked about the difference between staff work and board work, and various policies now buried and forgotten in ten-year-old minutes.

Another CEO wanted clarification on the board’s role versus the CEO’s role in creating and casting the vision. No conflict yet, just confusion.

Had you listened in on my calls, I would have sounded like a broken record. (Oops—that’s an outdated term, but “broken MP3” doesn’t work either.)

An effective “Board Policies Manual” (BPM) would address all three of these questions.  And a good BPM is always a work in progress, designed to be amended at almost every board meeting; always available to every board member at every meeting (and/or posted on their iPads); and—I agree with Carver on this one—is the chief work of the board.

Question: At the beginning and end of each board agenda item, are you asking the key question: Is our policy on this issue current and clear, or does it need to be amended?

7 Questions to Measure Your Board’s Engagement Level

Of the four phases of board member recruitment (cultivation, recruitment, orientation and engagement), the most critical is engagement.  You’re just going through the motions if you stop at phase three.

So how effective is your board at engaging both new and current board members in their governance roles of fostering kingdom advancement—to the glory of God?  Here are seven questions for measuring your board’s level of engagement. 

Give your board a rating from Strongly Agree (5) to Strongly Disagree (1):

1) We have a board culture of “dating” after the wedding! We have very clear expectations of both new and current board members so they engage deeply in their governance roles.
2) We are a “learning board.” We encourage members to be life-long learners and to be continually sharpening their governance competencies with a variety of governance resources and training.
3) We know and leverage “The 3 Powerful S’s” (Spiritual Gifts, Strengths and Styles) of our board members. We are also students of our CEO’s unique strengths and giftedness—and his/her preferred working style.
4) We align our governance work with our ministry’s mission, vision, core values and strategic planning process—seeing these foundational pillars as the key to engagement. We are accountable for results!
5) We seek to enhance our working relationships—building trust and giving grace. We care about each other.  Outside of board meetings, we pray for each other and bear each other’s burdens. (Gal. 6:2)
6) We challenge each other to be “steward leaders” not “owner leaders.” We hold our roles and board terms loosely—bringing honor to God, not ourselves. When it’s time to exit the board, we exit!
7) We can point, with delight, to numerous examples of how God-honoring board members—fully engaged—have leveraged their giftedness to help us make strategic, fork-in-the-road, spiritually discerning decisions to the glory of God!

Question: What is your most critical next step in the next 90 days to inspire board members to be more fully engaged in their governance roles?

Hooey Alerts!

In recent weeks, we’ve been discussing the best practices for the four phases of board member recruitment (cultivation, recruitment, orientation and engagement).

Michael E. Batts has recently written a helpful resource on this subject, Board Member Orientation: The Concise and Complete Guide to Nonprofit Board Service. (Order from ECFA.)

In the book, Batts mentions this humorous caveat for readers: “When nonprofit board members and leaders do seek information about the world of nonprofit board governance, one unfortunate result is that the information they receive is often wrong. Occasionally in this book, I have inserted ‘Hooey Alerts!’ to warn the reader of misinformation that is commonly related to the topic at hand.”

His book lists 10 subjects that should be covered in an orientation process: Legal Authority & Responsibility, Proper Role of the Board, Board Committees, Risk Management, Financial Matters, Governing & Policy Documents, Liability of Board Members, Understanding, Evaluating and Protecting Mission, Board Meeting Dynamics, and Organization-Specific Information.

In addition, I ask boards if they can answer “Strongly Agree” to these five statements:

#1. We have a written New Board Member Orientation process—and it’s clear who is responsible for bringing new members up-to-speed.
#2. We have an up-to-date New Board Member Orientation Notebook.
#3. After the orientation, our new board members have a good grasp of our Mission, Vision, Core Values, and strategic planning process—and can articulate our organization’s answers to The Five Most Important Questions You Will Ever Ask About Your Organization (the book and process by Peter Drucker).
#4. Our orientation process includes required reading of at least one governance book, such as The Imperfect Board Member, by Jim Brown, or Owning Up: The 14 Questions Every Board Member Needs to Ask, by Ram Charan.
#5. Our orientation process involves at least 5 to 10 hours of orientation, over a period of several months, and concludes with a written or online feedback survey. We also focus on how our board, as a team, spiritually discerns God's direction for our ministry.

Question: How does your orientation process measure up?  Would anyone issue a “Hooey Alert!” for your new board member orientation?

The Nothingness Syndrome

Recently, a CEO looked down the hallway both ways, and then whispered and whined to me, “So every month. Month after month after month.  I faithfully email my board report to board members—but I get nothing back. No response. Nada.”

He added—as his voice got louder—“I actually wouldn’t care if they told me they didn’t like my report, or they liked it. I’d just like to hear something! Anything!”

“Did they get my email? Do they care? Is anyone reading my reports? Is it worth the effort?”

“The Nothingness Syndrome,” he added, “is the tendency of board members to not respond to communiques from the CEO.”

That launched us into what I hope was an empathetic dialogue on the best tools and templates for board reports.  But more importantly, I hinted, you may need to do some fact-finding to determine if some of your board members are “listeners” instead of “readers.”

“Listeners” prefer to get their board reports—if truth be told—via a recorded message (with an audio link sent via email perhaps).  Listeners comprehend and remember verbal messages more effectively than written messages. Others might prefer a 10-minute telephone conference call to get an update. (You can also record the call and email the link to those who missed the call.)

The big idea here, from our friend Einstein is this: “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

In my next blog, I’ll mention a terrific tool, “The 5/15 Monthly Report to the Board.” It takes just 5 minutes to read—and just 15 minutes to write.

Question: Are you guilty of receiving (and even reading) emailed board reports—but not hitting “REPLY” with a short encouraging note to the CEO?  "Tom...thanks! I'm praying for you." Try it and you’ll bless the socks off your leader!

Eight Best Practices for Recruiting New Board Members

Have you ever served on a board when a prospect was nominated for board service because he was a friend of a friend of someone’s Cousin Eddie? Not prudent. Not smart. Not God-honoring!

You can avoid board room mismatches by reflecting on these eight best practices in the Recruitment Phase, one of four phases in recruiting and engaging new board members. Can you give an unqualified “YES” to each statement below?

#1. We have board-approved written criteria and qualifications for board nominees.
#2. Compared to the due diligence our senior leaders exercise when hiring staff, our board also exercises a high level of due diligence when discerning a board prospect’s suitability for board service.
#3. We have an up-to-date “Board Nominee Orientation Notebook” that is used in preliminary briefing meetings with board prospects.
#4. We have a “Board Member Annual Affirmation Statement” (or similar document) that summarizes the roles and responsibilities of board members, including future board meeting dates—and the board member’s affirmation that he or she will be in attendance.
#5. With crystal clarity, we explain the three distinct hats of board service: 1) The Governance Hat, 2) The Volunteer Hat (optional and based on strengths and spiritual gifts; unrelated to the governance hat), and 3) The Participant Hat (board member attendance requirements at events, fundraising dinners, etc.).
#6. We are also crystal clear about a board member’s charitable giving expectations (if any).
#7. We go slow and rely on the 18- to 36-month cultivation process by encouraging potential prospects to serve in key volunteer roles to assess their diligence and faithfulness.
#8. We check references religiously, including a board prospect’s pastor, small group leader, employer and/or employees and friends.

Remember, in the Recruitment Phase we’re “dating” a board prospect—and we don’t propose marriage on the first date!

Question: What other statement would characterize a best practice in the Recruitment Phase of Christ-honoring board recruitment?

Seven Best Practices for Cultivating New Board Members

Recently, I’ve noticed that when I ask CEOs or board chairs about the soft spots in their governance practices, “Board Recruitment” keeps popping up. Recruiting the right people onto the board bus must be a high priority for boards. As the board goes, so goes the organization.

I suggest that boards think about the recruitment process in four phases: Cultivation, Recruitment, Orientation and Engagement.

Here are seven best practices in the Cultivation Phase. Can you give an unqualified “YES” to each statement?

#1. We are crystal clear about who owns the responsibility for new board member recruitment.
#2. We don’t short-change the process. We may need to invest 18 to 36 months in cultivating and recruiting new board members—and we are proactive on this year-round.
#3. Focused prayer and spiritual discernment are at the heart of our cultivation and recruitment process.
#4. We follow the best practice of “dating” a board prospect—over an appropriate period of time—before “proposing marriage.”
#5. We value passion over position.  A prospect’s resume (or title) is not as important as his or her documented passion for our ministry.
#6. We have a written “pathway to the board” checklist that we follow which includes significant reference checks and due diligence.
#7. We ensure that a board prospect’s spouse, family (and sometimes employer) is aware of the “time, talent and treasure” requirements of board service.

Short-change the Cultivation Phase and you’ll short-change your governance.

Question: What other statement would characterize a best practice in the Cultivation Phase of Christ-honoring board recruitment?