Whether or not your nonprofit is able to achieve its goals and create an impact usually comes down to how effectively its board functions. Determining whether or not your NFP board is, in fact, functioning at a high level, and in a healthy manner, is easier said than done. After all, it takes more than just having board members that want to help others in order to get the job done. There is a lot at stake with your nonprofit providing valuable services to its community and other stakeholders. NFP board members have a duty of care, and both a legal and moral responsibility to provide good governance and oversight of the nonprofit.

Structure and Simple Systems Can Salvage and Even Prevent, Dysfunctional Boards

Any time that a group of people gather together for meetings, there is always a genuine risk that taking important and necessary, steps such as: planning, setting goals, making a decision, or taking action that it will get trapped, bogged down and needlessly delayed in the committee or meeting process. These bottlenecks can occur for many reasons, including the complexity of specific issues before the board, personality conflicts, and even the lack of diversity, vision and direction on the board or with a CEO or Director. Creating a structure and putting some simple structures in place can help your board to stay on track, fulfill its duties in regards to oversight and governance, and accomplish more actual work.

Tips for a More Effective Board – Preparation and Laying a Good Foundation is Key

Ensure that your board is able to maintain its independence, and ability to make wise decisions, by taking steps to determine the ideal size of the board and the policies that it will follow for membership and service. Members that are accepted to the board should be honest, and display other positive traits, such as a reputation for integrity. Appointing members who are from a wide range of backgrounds, disciplines and experiences will help increase the diversity of your board and improve the quality of the decisions made by your board. Roles and responsibilities for individual board members, directors, and the CEO should be clearly described, in writing, prior to the appointment. Care should be taken by the board when hiring a CEO and/or Director for the nonprofit. In addition to having a good character, compassion and congeniality, both the CEO and Director should have backgrounds and experiences that would qualify them to lead an organisation of the size of the nonprofit. Board members should work with their nonprofit’s CEO and Director in such a way as to encourage a good working relationship where open, honest communication can take place.

Share the Load

Nearly all board service is voluntary in nature, and it is important to remember that board members and others within the nonprofit have additional commitments on their time, including their work and home life. Frustration and burn out are a real risk for board members so it’s important for board members to find ways to share the load so that the burden is bearable. Increase the effectiveness of the board by dividing work among smaller groups of board members, and make committee assignments to help the board be able to more easily gather the information that it needs to make good decisions, and reduce the chance of conflict by developing proposals in committed before action items are brought before the entire board.

The Importance of Open and Honest Communication, Reflection and Annual Reviews

Often times, something might seem amiss on a board or committee, but it is hard to identify just what is missing or out of step. One way to identify areas that may cause friction, possible conflict, or that just need to be worked on and improved in order to increase effectiveness is by conducting annual reviews.

Evaluating the Performance of a Healthy Board

At least annually have an independent third party conduct a confidential and anonymous survey as part of your evaluation of your board’s performance. As soon as possible once the results are available, meet to discuss the results and identify key areas to work on improving board performance and decide what will be the primary goals that your NFP will focus on for the coming year.

Evaluating Effectiveness of Committees

The effectiveness of individual committees should also be evaluated on a regular basis as well. Have members evaluate what is, and is not working well in their committees, and what steps can be taken to improve how the committee functions. Discover what the board at large can do to make it easier for committee members to get their actual work completed. Committee chairs can then report back to the full board with their findings and recommendations. Over time, as the needs of the board and the nonprofit itself change, it is not uncommon to find that both the agenda and purpose of various committees will change, as well as the specific board members that are assigned to each one.

Self-Reflection Key Component of Annual Reviews for Director and CEO

Finally, the board should conduct an annual review of the effectiveness of their Director and/or CEO. Ideally the Director and CEO will conduct a self-evaluation and identify what areas they excelled in, and what areas they need to focus on for improvement. It is also a good idea to use this time to reflect on their level of satisfaction in the position itself. The Board Chair should also meet privately with the Director and CEO to discuss their findings and make additional recommendations for improvement and look for ways to improve processes to make it easier to achieve the NFP’s goals and mission.