\u00a0<\/span>team recommends this list of six practical suggestions to build an effective executive director\/board chair relationship.<\/p>\nClarify and honor your respective roles.<\/h2>\n
The CEO is not just the board\u2019s \u201cgo-fer,\u201d nor is s\/he an independent operator.\u00a0 CEOs must embrace their role in managing the board, while controlling their ego enough to see the board not as a necessary evil, but as a partner in leading the organization.\u00a0 Similarly, the board chair must be clear on his or her role and responsibilities.\u00a0 With a shared understanding of the limits and expectations of their respective roles \u2013 as well as on the overall role of the board \u2013 this pair of critical leaders can focus on what they are trying to achieve together.<\/p>\n
Communicate early and often.<\/h2>\n
Executives should never surprise their board chair, but always prepare the way by openly sharing both successes and challenges, even distant, only-just-possible challenges.\u00a0 Likewise, board chairs have a responsibility to make themselves accessible to their executive.<\/p>\n
The pair should establish a regular meeting time (ideally once a month, preferable face-to-face) to discuss organizational and board management issues.\u00a0 But don\u2019t wait for that monthly meeting: communicate often, even if only by email, to share a specific tidbit, ask a question, or offer a quick read on what is going on.\u00a0 Try to get to know one\u2019s counterpart on a personal level, building a solid basis of trust \u2013 essential to a strong working relationship.<\/p>\n
Show a unified front.<\/h2>\n
Executive directors and board chairs who have a solid partnership feel comfortable disagreeing with each other respectfully in board meetings and in putting their unfinished thinking on the table for others to build on.\u00a0 This requires a high level of confidence in the functioning of the board, so executives and board chairs should work together to plan board agendas, manage the meetings, debrief afterward, and keep the governance process moving forward.<\/p>\n
They might also signal their partnership by sitting together during board meetings.\u00a0 Once decisions are made, they must act as a unified leadership team, communicating the same message about the organization and holding one another accountable.<\/p>\n
Develop the board.<\/h2>\n
The executive director and board chair should take responsibility for building the board\u2019s capacity to govern with excellence.\u00a0 This means working together to identify needed skill sets.\u00a0 The executive must be willing to listen to the board chair\u2019s ideas about what s\/he thinks the board needs to be successful, and the board chair should welcome the executive\u2019s perspective.<\/p>\n
High impact boards don\u2019t spend their time micromanaging, listening to reports, rubber-stamping predetermined outcomes, or second-guessing staff decisions.\u00a0 Instead, they leverage each member\u2019s skills, talents, knowledge and expertise to make key strategic decisions and build the organization\u2019s capacity for producing results.<\/p>\n
Most board members have little, if any, training in how to effectively govern a nonprofit organization, so executives and board chairs need to continuously educate their boards about effective governing practices and provide them with the skills, information, and support to successfully carry out their roles.<\/p>\n
Plan for transition in leadership.<\/h2>\n
Most organizations wait until the board chair’s term is about up or s\/he announces plans to retire before beginning succession planning. This is an effective and short-sighted practice.<\/p>\n
Without planning they may end up prevailing upon a board member who may not be the most qualified candidate, but who is willing to serve in the position.<\/p>\n
Similarly, lack of planning ahead for executive transitions can threaten an organization.\u00a0 Executive Directors and board chairs play critical roles in thinking about the skills and qualities needed in their future board leaders and their next executive.\u00a0 Given the pivotal nature of the executive director\/board chair relationship, filling these roles effectively over time is of utmost importance for organizational stability and effectiveness.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Since the executive director\/board chair relationship is so critical to the well-functioning of a nonprofit, it’s imperative that boards and executives inform themselves about this important relationship and actively engage in best practices.<\/h4>\n
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The significance of a great executive director\/board chair relationship cannot be over-stated. A strong, well-functioning board is one of a nonprofit\u2019s most important assets, and one that is often underutilized.\u00a0 It\u2019s only when the executive and board chair work in concert to support and develop their board that they get the most out of this […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":106,"featured_media":304,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nonprofitkinect.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/303"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nonprofitkinect.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nonprofitkinect.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nonprofitkinect.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/106"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nonprofitkinect.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=303"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/nonprofitkinect.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/303\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":307,"href":"https:\/\/nonprofitkinect.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/303\/revisions\/307"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nonprofitkinect.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/304"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nonprofitkinect.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=303"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nonprofitkinect.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=303"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nonprofitkinect.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}