A focus on shared objectives is key to the work of the board of directors.

Board work can sometimes seem like a big challenge. I often open a workshop with a newly forming group with an activity in which the goal is to set a tent pole on the ground together, while the participants have also been told to keep their fingers in contact with the pole. It sounds simple, but in practice it can be very difficult. What’s more important? The goal of the individual or the goal of the group? If the group doesn’t focus on its shared objective, it will not be able to set the tent pole on the ground.

This focus on shared objectives is key to the work of the board of directors. Board members need a shared understanding of the board’s responsibilities and roles and of the organization’s history, purpose, and current condition. That’s a lot more complicated than an instruction to put a tent pole on the ground!

I have been told, and my experience has shown me, that a board that is meeting regularly and otherwise fulfilling its basic responsibilities as a board of directors can be a fully adequate board. It may not be bringing much additional value to the organization, and its work may not be exciting or even all that fun. But as long as a board is not taking value away from its organization, it can be said to be successful.

A few simple concepts and a few simple systems are all a board needs. Consider these key concepts:

Board holism

The board acts only as a group, when making decisions in accordance with the procedures it has chosen. This concept is a legal and practical necessity. The board, and not individual board members, holds the fiduciary responsibility for the organization. Individuals contribute to the group’s wisdom by participating in the discussion and the decision. But the responsibility, and the power to act, lies with the whole.

Library resources:

https://columinate.coop/healthy-board-dissent/

https://columinate.coop/understanding-the-meaning-of-speaking-with-one-voice/

Ensuring wise decisions

Imagine a continuum, with wisdom at one end, and the opposite (however you want to name it) at the other end.  The board should try to make decisions that are more, rather than less, wise. What makes a decision wise? Wisdom is demonstrated by documenting the information the decision is based on, the process for discussion and deliberation (including consideration of who participates), and the mechanics of the decision itself. Note too that wisdom is achieved when the board is intentional about which decisions to make. Many, if not most organizational decisions require expertise and then expedition. The strongest boards habitually delegate most day-to-day decisions to a single point of contact to ensure that the decisions around the core business of the organization are made wisely.

In the Library:

https://columinate.coop/precautions-and-protections-summarizing-legal-responsibilities-of-cooperative-boards/

Being a great boss

The board should be a great boss, setting clear expectations and checking to see if they are met. Working for a group, instead of for one individual, can be stressful. It’s hard enough to know what one person is thinking and expecting. When that effort is multiplied by the number of board members, an executive director, general manager, or CEO can feel as though they are working for a boss with multiple personalities. It’s the board’s job to mitigate this, by being mindful of the impact of their words in board deliberations. I am not suggesting that board members limit their participation or contributions, but that they consider the fact that their most important (and often only) direct report is listening to every word. In addition, boards need to attend to the basic human resource functions for their key employee by ensuring regular, thoughtful, and fair performance evaluations; keeping current about board compensation matters; and taking concerns seriously. The best bosses stand up for their employees in public and provide constructive feedback later.

Library resources:

https://columinate.coop/evaluating-the-general-manager/

https://columinate.coop/responding-to-workplace-conflicts-and-employee-concerns/

https://columinate.coop/responding-to-employee-concerns/

Besides the above key concepts, the board needs to have in place some key systems:

Board self-regulation

The board should have policies to guide its own conduct and the conduct of individual board members. The board of directors is a locus of power and responsibility within the cooperative, and it should take care to govern itself accordingly. The tenor of an organization’s culture is established by the way its leaders comport themselves. There is tremendous opportunity for a board to add value to an organization by being attentive to every aspect of their work.

In the Library:

https://columinate.coop/analysis-of-board-members-conflicts-of-interest/

https://columinate.coop/board-discipline/

https://columinate.coop/governing-with-excellence-using-awareness-and-discipline/

Accountable empowerment

The board should have policies to empower an executive director, CEO, or general manager and to hold them accountable. This ensures that the daily operational decisions within the organization will be made by someone with the expertise and skills needed to do the job well, and it gives that person the guidance, structure, and support of the organization’s leadership. There is no substitute for putting the board’s expectations in writing. Having a strong system for organizing and keeping track of those policy decisions helps to ensure that the board’s contributions to organizational wisdom are consistently implemented.

In the Library:

https://columinate.coop/policy-governance-quick-guide/

Good housekeeping

The board should use a calendar to keep track of its responsibilities and use a meeting agenda that fosters good group process. The board must have the ability to sequence tasks, and it must remember what actions it took in the past. In other words, a board needs contextual memory: it knows what it did at the last meeting and connects what is happening at this meeting to what is upcoming at the next. When an organization has sufficient resources to provide administrative assistance to the board, it gives a great boost toward excellent governance.

Library resources:

https://columinate.coop/board-agenda-template/

https://columinate.coop/annual-planning-calendar/

Good group process

The board should learn basic facilitation practices, taking every opportunity to learn healthy communication skills and build cultural competence. Humans are wonderful, wise and messy. We come to board meetings tired, hungry, overprepared or under prepared. We variably understand the context of our work and our decisions. We delight and annoy one another. As a result, skillful and thoughtful human-centered communication and facilitation skills are an asset to every board member.

In the Library:

https://columinate.coop/how-to-facilitate-board-meetings/

https://columinate.coop/incorporating-anti-racism-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-dei-into-board-policies-cbld-field-guide/