Board teams play a crucial role in guiding organizations, providing oversight, and making key strategic decisions. However, many boards struggle to operate as a cohesive, effective team. Here are some of the main reasons boards may become dysfunctional, along with tips on how to improve board team dynamics.
Lack of Trust and Respect
Trust is the foundation for any well-functioning team. Without mutual trust and respect between board members, conflicts arise and factions form within the group. Board chairs should promote norms of professionalism, integrity, and candor among members. Allowing open sharing of views and constructive debate builds trust. Respectful acknowledgment of differences prevents rifts. Fostering camaraderie through informal interactions also helps.
Unclear Goals and Priorities
Boards need a clear purpose and goals tied directly to the organization’s strategy. Ambiguity around the board’s focus allows distractions and diffusion of efforts. The chair must delineate the board’s role, objectives, and priorities and keep members aligned on these. This provides a shared roadmap for where the board is headed and what it aims to accomplish.
Information Gaps
Boards need quality information to make sound decisions. When management doesn’t provide the necessary insights and data, boards operate in the dark. Chairs must insist on transparency from management and an open information flow. Board members should be proactive in asking questions and requesting additional details. Management reports and board packets need robust, accurate information tailored to the board’s needs.
Lack of Commitment
Board seats sometimes go to members who lack passion for the organization’s mission and governance work. Low commitment leads to poor meeting attendance, inadequate preparation, and disengagement. The chair needs to assess all members’ commitment and counsel undedicated members to step down. Reinforce expectations of preparation, meeting attendance, and active participation. Draw in passive members by assigning them specific roles.
Skill and Experience Deficits
Boards need a mix of skills fitting the organization’s needs. Weaknesses in areas like finance, marketing, technology, or legal expertise handicap the board’s oversight abilities. The nominating committee must recruit to fill skill gaps and the board chair must onboard new members thoroughly. Consider rotating board members through committees to broaden experience and use corporate coaching services to identify areas board members can improve upon. Outside experts can advise on specific issues not covered by the board.
Decision-Making Breakdowns
Some boards struggle to reach a consensus and make timely decisions. A chair may face dominant members who dismiss others’ views or factions that clash. Establish norms that enforce fairness, respect, and group solidarity. Use a consensus tool like the fist-to-five method. Seek compromise and avoid winner-take-all stances. Committee work resolves detailed issues, while the full board focuses on major decisions.
Micromanagement Tendencies
Some boards get excessively tactical rather than strategic, micromanaging rather than governing. Chairs must keep meetings focused on big-picture strategy, policy, and oversight by curtailing directors’ urges to “manage”. Establish clear board job descriptions and processes that define the board’s scope. Build in reflection time on meeting effectiveness and appropriate board focus.
With vigilance by the chair to uphold effective governance practices, the right board composition and a nurturing of positive group dynamics, nonprofit boards can overcome dysfunction and work as high-performing teams. A cohesive, engaged board that leverages its members’ diverse talents is pivotal to nonprofit success.
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