Does your board suffer from dysfunctional politeness? Is your board able to quickly get to the heart of the matter when it discusses important items on its agenda, or does it sometimes seem as though things have come to a standstill?

When clear and open communication is lacking among board members, roadblocks can occur.

When this happens, it’s not unusual to find things getting bogged down in committee meetings. Motions may come before the board only to continually be tabled for further review because some members feel they need more information before they can make a decision or proceed.

How Boards Sabotage their Own Success

Creating an atmosphere where communication can flourish is often easier said than done at most nonprofits.  Since board service is usually voluntary, and everyone has other commitments on their time, most boards only meet a handful of times throughout the year.

So, most board members tend to be unfamiliar with one another, and this can make it feel awkward for members to feel free enough to ask questions when they don’t quite understand a point or proposal.  Others resist asking questions or interrupting the proceedings because they don’t want to be seen as being pushy or rude. Clarifying questions then go unasked, which often delays any action being taken.

Chair of the Association of Chairs, Ruth Lesirge, said “Sometimes trustees in my experience are reluctant to say that they have forgotten what was said or that they don’t understand. It’s a kind of unwillingness to stop the proceedings in case they are the only one who didn’t understand or may not have remembered.”

How to Improve Communication on Your Board

There are a few steps that your board can take to facilitate greater communication and more open discussions when it meets. First, the board chair should be aware that throughout the meeting there may be times when other members have questions but might be reluctant to interrupt.

As items from the agenda are discussed, the board chair should ask the other members if they have any questions or would like to make any comments before they proceed to the next item on the agenda.

They should also invite members to comment or provide additional information on areas of their expertise that apply to items on the agenda throughout the meeting.

Board members should also be provided with the names and contact information, as well as committee assignments of other board members, and encouraged to contact others in between meetings with questions about items to be discussed at the next meeting.

NFPs might also want to consider hosting an informal mixer or other get together a couple of times a year to allow board members to become acquainted with one another in a less formal setting than an official meeting.

By helping members connect and get to know one another, you help them establish bonds of trust and respect that will help to encourage greater cordiality, camaraderie and congeniality. This should make it easier for open and direct communication to flourish in the board room and increase board productivity and effectiveness.