The Leadership Balancing Act: Establishing an Effective Partnership Between the Executive Director & Board

Break for LunchDecember 17, 2009

© Copyright 2009, NorthSky Nonprofit Network. All rights reserved.

Workshop Objectives

• What forms board behavior• Refresher: Nonprofit Life Cycle Stage• Discuss when & who takes the lead• Discuss how to improve a dysfunctional working

relationship• Outline how to establish a strong working

relationship

What Drives Board Behavior?

• History• Habits• Stage of organizational development• Founders/ leaders• Strengths of Individual Board Members

Organizational Life Cycle Stage CharacteristicsConception/ Infancy Voluntarily coming together to solve a

problem; high energy & enthusiasm

Infancy Founder in charge; work expands beyond what the founder can do

Puberty Org. expands but is awkward in dealing with coordination & external affairs; professional management emerges

Young Adulthood More formal management, policies, and procedures; emerging politics

Adulthood Mastering environment; serving clients; established management;New ideas contemplated; high energy; risk- trying to be everything

Organizational Life Cycle Stage CharacteristicsLate Adulthood Excitement beginning to wane;

Past valued over innovation;Complacency; no sense of urgency or need

Old Age Diminishing ability to serve others;Lack of cohesion among leaders;Little energy available for renewal and reversal of situation

Revitalization Revitalization of mission; re-defining service niche

Whose Job Is This?• Develop the strategic plan• Implement the strategic plan• Create the annual operating budget• Create financial reports• Developing financial policies & procedures• Recruit new board members• Develop the board agenda• Fundraising• Meeting with and cultivating donors

Board Duties & Responsibilities

Duties explain how the board BEHAVES when fulfilling the Roles and Responsibilities.

Roles and Responsibilities are what the board DOES.

Standards of Conduct: Legal Duties

There are three broad “legal duties” that form the standards of conduct that all nonprofit boards are expected to adhere to:

– Duty of Care– Duty of Loyalty– Duty of Obedience

Assigned Duties Ten Basic Responsibilities

1. Determine the organization’s mission and purpose.

2. Select the chief executive. 3. Provide proper financial oversight.4. Ensure adequate resources. 5. Ensure legal and ethical integrity and maintain

accountability.6. Ensure effective organizational planning. 7. Recruit and orient new Board. 8. Enhance the organization’s public standing.9. Determine, monitor, and strengthen the organization’s

programs and services.10. Support the chief executive and assess his

or her performance.

Primary Roles of the BoardDirection- Guards mission and through guidelines

steers the organization

Oversight Monitors activities, health, and ethical behavior

Resources Ensures that the organization is equipped to fulfill its mission

Primary Roles of the Executive Director

Daily management

Regular communication to Board about issues, progress, activities

Implement Board directives

OversightBoard/ Executive Director

BOARD

Drafts board policies to protect organization, board & staff

Monitor legal requirements

Hires E.D.

Expects regular and objective reports

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Oversees daily operations

Hires staff & delegates to them

Monitors staff

Shares good & bad news with board

Planning & EvaluationBoard/ Executive Director

BOARD Adopts a strategic mindset by focusing on what matters most

Actively participates in strategic sessions & retreats

Evaluates the E.D.

Evaluates its own performance

Using staff reports assess NPO progress against goals

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOREnsures strategic planning happens with board’s involvement

Leads operational planning and approves plans for staff

Ensures a process for staff performance evaluations

OversightBoard/ Staff Roles

BOARD

Makes sure adequate financial expertise on board

Sets fiscal policies & ensures internal controls

Approves annual budget and monitors financial reports

Hires an auditor; reviews audit reports

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

With help of financial staff, prepares annual budget

Provides board with regular financial statements

With staff support, handles daily financial operations and monitors cash flow

Defines financial policies & procedures for daily transactions

FundraisingBoard/ Staff Roles

BOARD Drafts gift acceptance policies and personal giving guidelines for board

Actively participates in fundraising as directed by development staff

During capital campaigns takes a lead in securing campaign success

EXECUTIVE DIRECTORWith development staff, drafts fundraising plan

Acts as main representative of the organization and when there is no development director communicates with funders

Board developmentBoard/ Executive Director

BOARD Ensures board composition reflects NPO’s needs

Actively cultivates recruits

Develops board policies

Review bylaws

Incorporates board training into board calendar

Conducts board orientations

EXECUTIVE DIRECTORAssigns staff to work with board committees

Assigns staff to work with board on meetings, orientation, & retreats

Identifies potential new board members

Nonprofit BoardsBlurry Lines

• Board and staff roles- the line is drawn differently in each life stage

• Representing the interests of members versus the organization

• Serving multiple roles: committee member, volunteer and board member

Nonprofit BoardsDoes this sound familiar?

• Board members are unaware of issues/ problemsthat challenge the nonprofit.

• Individual board members meddle in work of staff.

• Individual board members ask for detailed back-up reports or custom reports –and then don’t do anything with the information.

Nonprofit BoardsDoes this sound familiar?

• The Executive Director becomes defensive when asked to provide reports.

• The Executive Director “handles” action items (develops the strategic plan, recruits new board members, etc.) without board involvement or input.

• The Executive sets the board agenda and creates board packet without input from the board chair.

Constructive PartnershipMutual respect for distinct roles

Trust

Candor

Frequent communication

Support

Encourage E.D. to pose questions, offer answers, & share bad as well as good

Evaluate E.D. performance annually

Encourage E.D. to sharpen skills

Set fair and competitive compensation package

How to avoid problems• Clear, written role descriptions including committee

descriptions

• Orientation for every new board & staff member

• Board training: roles and responsibilities

• Relationship building activities: social, one-on-one with E.D., one-on-one with board chair

• Discuss areas that aren’t clear

Learn how to lead a good meeting

Build a strong relationship with E.D.

Nurture agreement & understanding of where the organization is going

Make sure the right board structure is in place

Know the organization- particularly understand its finances

Help secure resources for the organization

Recruit talent to the board

How to avoid problems:The Board Chair

Build a good and working relationship with the board chair

Build a relationship with the entire board

Learn how to plan a good board meeting

Encourage strong board/staff relationships

Work with the board chair to nurture agreement and understanding of vision and goals

Communicate regularly with the board

Keep an eye on the finances

Become a good fundraiser

How to Avoid Problems:The Executive Director

Resources that will assist you

• www.northskynonprofitnetwork.org• www.boardsource.org • www.independentsector.org• www.boardcafe.org

Thank You

Contact NorthSky at:231.929.3934

Pam Evans231.929.3934, x 208pevans@northskynonprofitnetwork.org

Special Thank you to: