In the Loop: Internal Communication Is Essential to Good Governance

Thank you, Henry, for bringing up this critical topic. I think it's important for organizations to find ways to more fully engage board members and other volunteers. As you mention, if people are more committed and involved, they are more willing to give time and money, and to stick around for the long-term. It can have a big impact! I also agree with encouraging discussions that matter at meetings, as opposed to just listening to committee updates.

In my experience, it seems like it's the easy thing to do to make key decisions "behind the scenes" or outside of meetings. But then board members begin to think they're just taking up space around a table. And when you feel extraneous to the process, the "heart" of the activity, it's easy to become demotivated--not what organizations want leadership to be!

If you have advice on how to encourage involvement and creative thinking at the board level...how to make people feel their opinions and expertise are valued (as opposed to feeling like they're stepping on staff's toes)...I'd love to hear it!

I believe that a very smart way to run board meetings is to devote the vast majority of each meeting to a single topic, which can be discussed and explored in detail. The biggest problems with board meetings is that they try to cover all subjects of "importance" - and as a result really cover none. Do the math: if you have 25 people in the room and give a top 20 minutes of discussion, everyone has less than one minute for input. That doesn't make you feel like you really contributed much to a discussion. But if you devote a full hour or even 75 minutes to one topic, with preparation for the discussion by staff and the relevant board committee, AND if you take the further step of breaking the board into four or five small workgroups to discuss the topic separately, now everyone really gets their teeth into it, and the board members leave a meeting feeling that they made a difference by being there.

Committee reports are given in writing, not verbally, unless they require a board action. Finances can be summarized unless there is a change or a crisis.

Then you take the 'main topic' and devote the rest of the meeting to it, ending with a prioritization of all the ideas that came up (you can't do them all even if all are good), and assignments of who is responsible -- it can't be only the executive director.

Possible topics are endless: How to raise more money in the annual fund from individuals; Improving community programs; improving educational programs; improving single ticket sales; improving corporate fundraising; what are our next steps artistically; how do we feel the board runs as an organization; That is a small list that could take up a year's agenda of board meetings. (I also believe that full board meetings can take place every other month and be two hours long, with this one real discussion lasting 90 minutes or more), and that is more effective than monthly meetings that last 60-90 minutes.
-Henry

Henry:

Thanks for this timely article. Just hung up with the board president after a long discussion on how to better engage the whole board in the organization. Fiscal year is ending and the new year looms ahead of us with great possibilities and challenges. This article underlines much of our discussion. All the books have been ordered - just had coffee with a colleague who was quoting 'Good to Great'. I am forwarding this article to the board president which will help underscore for him that he is on the right track in his thinking and leadership.

Hope all is well and that you can come back to Wisconsin's Door Peninsula sometime soon.

Sharon