From Reactive to Intentional: The Mindset Every Nonprofit Board Needs

If you're proactive, you focus on preparing. If you're reactive, you end up focusing on repairing.

The board packet lands in your inbox. By the time the meeting begins, there’s another staffing update, a budget concern, an unexpected facilities issue, and two new items that “just can’t wait.”

Before anyone realizes it, the meeting is over.

The board accomplished a lot. But did it accomplish the right things?

Too often, nonprofit boards mistake being busy for being strategic. The result is a board that spends most of its time reacting to today’s problems instead of intentionally shaping tomorrow’s organization.

It isn’t because board members don’t care. In fact, the opposite is usually true. They care deeply. They simply become trapped in a cycle where everything feels urgent and that urgency crowds out effective leadership.

High-performing nonprofit boards break that cycle. They intentionally create space to make decisions that move the organization toward its mission and long-term vision.

 

How it Starts

Most nonprofit boards don’t wake up one morning and decide to become reactive. It happens gradually.

A budget issue demands immediate attention. A staff vacancy creates uncertainty. A donor has concerns. A grant deadline moves up. Before long, every board meeting revolves around whatever feels most urgent in the moment.

Months pass. Then years.

The organization stays busy, but the board rarely has time to ask the bigger questions:

  • Are we moving toward our vision?
  • What opportunities are we missing?
  • What decisions today will strengthen this organization five years from now?

The strongest nonprofit boards understand that good governance isn’t simply responding to today’s challenges. It’s intentionally making decisions that shape tomorrow’s success.

 

Urgency Isn’t the Enemy

Nonprofits exist to solve complex community challenges, so unexpected issues are inevitable. Every organization will face staffing changes, financial pressures, facility concerns, shifting community needs, and other unforeseen circumstances. Responding to those issues is part of responsible governance.

The problem begins when urgency becomes the lens through which every decision is made.

It is management’s role to solve today’s operational challenges.
It is the board’s role to ensure today’s decisions don’t compromise tomorrow’s mission.

When boards become consumed by operational issues, they unintentionally step away from the governance responsibilities that only they can fulfill—setting direction, ensuring sustainability, and stewarding the organization’s future.

When boards spend meeting after meeting focused only on the latest crisis, they unwittingly trade leadership for management. Instead of asking where the organization needs to be in three to five years, they spend their time solving the problem directly in front of them. Strategic priorities are postponed. Important conversations are deferred. Long-term opportunities are overlooked because there is never a “good time” to discuss them.

Ironically, a board that is constantly reacting often creates more urgency. Deferred maintenance becomes a costly repair. A lack of succession planning turns a staff departure into a leadership crisis. Failure to invest in fundraising or technology leads to future financial strain. By focusing exclusively on today’s problems, boards may unknowingly create tomorrow’s emergencies.

Intentional boards understand this dynamic. They recognize that while they cannot control every challenge their organization will face, they can control how they respond. They distinguish between what is truly urgent and what simply feels urgent. They resist the temptation to make significant decisions without adequate information or thoughtful discussion. Most importantly, they protect time to focus on the mission, strategic priorities, and the long-term health of the organization—even when immediate concerns are demanding their attention.

The most effective boards don’t ignore fires. They simply refuse to let every meeting become a fire drill. The goal isn’t to eliminate urgency. That’s impossible. The goal is to prevent urgency from becoming the board’s default mode of governance. 

 

Symptoms of a Reactive Board

A reactive board often:

  • Spends nearly every meeting reviewing reports rather than discussing strategy.
  • Focuses on solving today’s problems instead of preventing tomorrow’s.
  • Makes decisions with incomplete information because something feels urgent.
  • Constantly changes priorities.
  • Allows the loudest or most urgent issue to determine the agenda rather than strategic priorities.
  • Rarely evaluates whether previous decisions actually worked.
  • Ends meetings with more questions than decisions because conversations wander from issue to issue.
  • Leaves meetings exhausted instead of energized.

Many board members don’t even realize this pattern has developed because it feels productive.

 

What Intentional Boards Do Differently

Rather than asking: “What problem do we need to solve today?”

They ask: “What decision best advances our mission?”

Effective governance doesn’t happen by accident. It is the result of boards making conscious choices about how they spend their time, what questions they ask, and how they approach decisions. While every organization is different, high-performing boards tend to share several common practices.

 

They Return Repeatedly to the Mission and Strategic Priorities

The mission isn’t just a statement on the wall—it’s the filter through which every significant decision should pass.

Before approving a new program, making a major investment, or shifting priorities, intentional boards ask questions such as:

  • How does this advance our mission?
  • Does this align with our strategic plan?
  • If we say “yes” to this, what are we saying “no” to?

When boards consistently bring conversations back to the mission and strategic priorities, they reduce the likelihood of “mission drift” and ensure their decisions contribute to the organization’s long-term vision rather than simply responding to immediate pressures.

 

They Use Data Instead of Emotion

Passion for the mission is one of the greatest strengths of nonprofit board members. However, passion alone should not drive governance decisions.

Boards that govern well seek evidence before making significant choices. They review financial trends, program outcomes, community needs assessments, fundraising data, and stakeholder feedback. They ask for facts before forming conclusions and are willing to challenge assumptions—even their own.

Using data doesn’t eliminate compassion or intuition; it strengthens them by ensuring decisions are informed rather than impulsive.

 

They Pause Before Making Major Decisions

Not every decision requires immediate action.

Reactive boards often feel pressure to decide in the moment. Intentional boards understand that thoughtful governance sometimes requires slowing down. They ask for additional information, invite multiple perspectives, consider risks, and take the time necessary to evaluate options before committing to a course of action.

A brief pause can prevent months—or even years—of unintended consequences.

 

They Consider the Long-Term Impact

Every board decision creates ripple effects.

Rather than focusing only on today’s challenge, effective boards ask, “What will this decision mean for our organization one, three, or five years from now?”

They think about financial sustainability, organizational capacity, staff workload, community relationships, and future leadership. They recognize that decisions should not only solve today’s problems but also strengthen the organization’s ability to fulfill its mission well into the future.

 

They Build Agendas Around Strategic Conversations—Not Just Reports

Too many board meetings become a series of committee reports, financial updates, and informational presentations, leaving little time for meaningful discussion.

Intentional boards design agendas with purpose. Routine reports are often shared in advance through a consent agenda, allowing valuable meeting time to focus on strategic questions, emerging opportunities, organizational risks, and decisions that require the board’s collective wisdom. 

The goal is not simply to get through the agenda; it’s to have the conversations that matter most. (This article explores more about designing effective board meetings.)

 

They Reserve Time to Look Ahead

One of the simplest yet most powerful habits of effective boards is setting aside time to focus on the future.

Whether it’s fifteen minutes at every meeting, a quarterly strategy session, or an annual board retreat, they intentionally create opportunities to ask:

  • What trends are emerging in our community?
  • What opportunities should we be preparing for?
  • What risks do we see on the horizon?
  • How can we better position our organization for the future?

These conversations rarely feel urgent, but they are often the ones that have the greatest impact. They allow boards to anticipate change instead of merely reacting to it.

Ultimately, intentional boards understand that governance is about more than approving budgets and reviewing reports. Their greatest responsibility is to steward the organization’s future. By creating space for thoughtful discussion, asking better questions, and keeping the mission at the center of every decision, they help ensure the organization remains strong, relevant, and prepared for whatever lies ahead.

 

Creating Space for Strategic Thinking

In this previous article, I encouraged boards to get away from the boardroom and create dedicated time for strategic conversations. That’s because effective decision-making rarely happens in the final fifteen minutes of a meeting after financial reports and committee updates. It happens when boards intentionally create the space to think beyond today’s agenda.

 

Practical Questions Boards Should Ask

Instead of asking…     Can we afford this?

Ask…     Does this investment advance our mission?

Instead of…     What’s the quickest solution?

Ask…     What’s the wisest long-term decision?

Instead of…     How do we solve today’s issue?

Ask…     What system should we improve so this issue doesn’t keep returning?

Instead of…     What has everyone else done?

Ask…     What best serves our organization and community?

Instead of asking…     Who owns this problem? 

Ask…     What governance responsibility does the board have, and what should be delegated? 

 

My Challenge to You!

Every board will face unexpected challenges. That’s part of nonprofit leadership.

The question isn’t whether your board will have to react from time to time. The question is whether reaction has become your default way of governing.

Great boards are intentional. They protect time for strategic thinking. They evaluate decisions through the lens of mission. They resist allowing urgency to crowd out what matters most.

At your next board meeting, ask one simple question:

Are we spending more time reacting to today’s problems—or deliberately shaping tomorrow’s organization?

The answer may tell you more about your board’s effectiveness than any financial report ever could.

 

Intentional governance isn’t about eliminating uncertainty or preventing every crisis. Those moments are inevitable. It’s about building a board that is disciplined enough to pause, thoughtful enough to ask better questions, and courageous enough to make decisions that serve the mission—not just the moment.

Because in the end, the organizations that create lasting impact aren’t led by boards that simply react well. They’re led by boards that govern with purpose.

If your board is ready to move beyond reacting to the next challenge and begin governing with greater purpose and confidence, I’d love to help. Whether through board training, strategic planning, or governance consulting, together we can build a board that leads intentionally and positions your organization for long-term success.

Email me at Kim@Athena-CoCo.com, or schedule a Discovery Call if you would like to discuss ways to advance your Board of Directors and the important work of your agency.

Kim is a mom, lover of being active and the outdoors, and helper of nonprofit leaders.
kim@athena-coco.com

Effective Board Meetings

I believe that this is my last article comparing leading a staff team to leading a team of governance volunteers. If you haven’t been following along, but are curious to learn more, check out my previous articles on this topic:

What I have observed in working with and speaking with hundreds of nonprofit leaders, is an interesting disconnect. Whether it’s Board Chairs, who supervise and lead staff for their paid job, or Executive Directors, who lead a team of employees to deliver the work of the organization. These folks are often highly skilled when it comes to supervising and managing paid staff. Then, when it comes to leading a group of governance volunteers, they struggle. That was the motivation behind my last several articles comparing these two types of teams. 

I often say that all business is people-business. And when it comes to the nonprofit sector, that statement can be multiplied by 100. Everything about leading a nonprofit comes down to the ability to work with people. Relationships drive programming, funding, governance, partnerships, vision, impact and more. It doesn’t matter if you are speaking with your paid staff, volunteers, friends or your spouse, healthy communication is the foundation of strong relationships. 

Board Meetings as Special Events

One of the main communication systems most nonprofits have in place for connecting with their volunteers the regular board meetings. Hopefully this is not the only communication system, but it’s a pretty important one. So much so, that I have always thought of a board meeting as a special event. 

Think for a moment of the  Board of Directors as an adult leadership program. This program supports the volunteers governing the organization, and also helps develop even stronger and more passionate volunteer leaders. Running this program involves engaging different volunteers in a variety of aspects of leading the organization. This could include leading a committee, doing research, advocating for the organization, friend-raising, and more. Then the board meeting is when it all comes together. 

Like with a special event, a lot of planning, communication and preparation go into ensuring that it’s a success. The March article on communication goes into a detailed process on how-to and what-to communicate with your volunteers leading up to and following a board meeting. Ensuring everyone knows when the meeting will be and its content is important, but it’s just a small part of planning this special event. 

Components of Effective Team Meetings

Whether your team is made up of paid staff, or governance volunteers; meetings are a critical tool for effective communication, collaboration, and problem-solving within any organization. An effective meeting requires careful planning and execution to ensure that everyone is engaged, productive, and focused on the team’s objectives. 

  • Clear Objectives: Every meeting should have a clear purpose and objectives. If you don’t know why you are bringing people together, it’s worth evaluating the value of the meeting. Generally with board meetings we are looking to do some or all of these things:
    • Connect volunteers to the mission
    • Ensure everyone is well-informed and on the same page
    • Educate volunteers on their role and/or skills development
    • Problem-solve
    • Team-building
    • Strengthen communication
    • Address official business
  • Agenda: A well-planned agenda is a critical component of an effective team meeting. The agenda should be distributed to all participants a minimum of one week before the meeting, along with any pre-read materials or preparation required. The agenda will help keep the meeting focused and ensure that all relevant topics are covered. My recommended board meeting agenda is as follows, and is similar to my staff meeting agenda:
    • Welcome/Opening – In addition to introductions, this is a great time for a mission moment spotlighting the work of the organization. (Connecting volunteers to the mission.)
    • Segue – Have everyone share some good news, both personal and professional. This provides a transition from what they were doing before, to this group. It also ensures that everyone speaks at least once in the meeting. (Team-building.)
    • Approval of Minutes (Address official business.)
    • Customer/Employee/Board Headlines – Note anything worth celebrating or acknowledging. (Connect to the mission. Team-building. Strengthen communication.)
    • Operational Announcements (Strengthens communication.) 
    • To-Do Items – Review any action items from the previous meeting. Are they completed, progressing, or off-track? Any off-track items drop down to the Discussion section. (Strengthen communication. Identify issues needing problem-solving)
    • Committee Reports – High level presentation of the work of the committees. Vote on initiatives when appropriate. Drop any issues down to the Discussion section. (Ensure everyone is well informed. Problem-solving. Strengthen communication.)
    • Discussion Items – All of the previous items should be addressed fairly quickly, leaving half or even two-thirds of the meeting time to focus on your Discussion Items. If there is a long list, as a group choose the 3 most important topics that need to be addressed. Give each topic 15-minutes. If you get through all items, pick the next most important one to discuss. (Skills development. Problem-solving. Strengthen Communication. Address official business.)
    • Conclusion – At the end of the meeting review any action items or assignments made. Discuss any outward communications that need to come out of this meeting, and who will handle it. (Ensure everyone is well-informed. Strengthen communication.)

You can grab a copy of my recommended board meeting agenda here.

  • Active Participation: Effective meetings require active participation from all team members. Otherwise, why are they there? The meeting leader, usually the Board Chair, can encourage this by asking specific people for their insights, going around the room and having everyone contribute, or breaking up into smaller groups for in-depth discussions. 
  • Time Management: We are all busy and time is a precious commodity. Effective meetings require good time management. Consider assigning a time-keeper to keep things moving along and minimize tangents. Effective meeting time management can bolster engagement when volunteers know their time is respected and used effectively.
  • Action Items: The point of a meeting is to make decisions and move the organization forward. As stated above, capture action items and next steps during the meeting and assign ownership and deadlines. Review at the end of the meeting and put these items on the agenda for next time, so they don’t get lost. This will help to ensure that decisions are acted upon and progress is made.

If you have not been thinking of your board meetings as a special event, give it a try. It establishes a greater sense of importance and production. Running quality board meetings can be one of the most effective strategies you implement in attracting and retaining quality board members. People want to know why they are coming together, they want to use their time effectively, and they want to see progress. Thoughtful and intentional board meetings can be the backbone needed to advance your work. 

Make Sure Everyone is Prepared

In addition to sending out agendas and assignments in advance of the meeting, everyone should know their role in the meeting. If you have a committee chair giving a report, review it with them in advance. Without guidance, they may end up just reading the minutes from their last meeting. Coach any who will be speaking or presenting on what and how they should approach the assignment. There is a bit of orchestrating that goes into delivering a quality board meeting special event. 

Timing is Everything

Finally, I highly recommend that your meetings have a set day and time. This way volunteers can have an entire year’s worth of meetings on their calendars. They can plan around them and communicate when there are conflicts. If yours is a brand new board, and you are still figuring out when that best time to meet is, use the input of the group, and then set the time that works best for everyone. As early as possible, establish that standing day and time. 

When it comes to frequency, I think monthly or every other month is best. Any less frequent, and you totally lose any momentum that you gain at the meeting. There are exceptions. For example, if you bring people in from all over the country/world. Or if your agency’s focus is on an event that happens once a year. For those who bring the board together less than every other month, it will be important to develop a robust committee structure or other work to keep your volunteers connected to your cause and to the important work of governing your agency. 

I love helping organizations evolve their board meetings from “sit & gets” to engaging and robust systems for advancing their work. Email me at Kim@Athena-CoCo.com, or schedule a Discovery Call to discuss creating board meeting special events that will drive your organization’s success! 

Kim is a mom, lover of being active and the outdoors,
and helper of nonprofit leaders.
kim@athena-coco.com

You’ve Got the Power!

Choices

If you’ve been reading my newsletters for any amount of time, you may notice a recurring theme. I have written about several different topics. Something that comes up in a lot of them is the importance of choosing your mindset. In order to make positive changes in just about any aspect of your life, your business, or your career; it starts with the right mindset. Here are some examples: 

  • Building a Positive Culture = first you must decide that this is important to your business, READ MORE
  • Staff Leadership = this requires a leader who thinks about and genuinely cares about their staff, READ THIS or THIS
  • Effective Communication = starts with making it a priority for everyone in your company, READ
  • Problem Solving, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Self-Care, the list goes on and on!! 

Today I want to talk about the power you have to create a mindset that will take you where you want to go. 

So often in life things get busy and we just move along from one day to the next, handling all the things. It’s so easy to do! An article from Forbes on Brand Success states that we are exposed to 4,000 to 10,000 ad messages every day. In addition, experts estimate that we have between 35 and 55 thoughts per minute. So every second or two we have a new thought rushing through our mind. Think about that for a second! 

With all these messages coming at us and all these thoughts we’re experiencing, it’s hard to be focused and intentional. It’s much easier to go with the flow and simply react to what is happening around us.

Intentionality

Intentionality is defined as the act of being deliberate or purposeful. A good way to understand intentionality is to consider what the opposite looks like. Perhaps you have experienced a leader, coach or teacher who goes about their role in a way that seems almost accidental or unconscious.

  • The leader runs the department or business, but they don’t think much about how they do it or why. They just think about the bottom line or the outcomes. 
  • The coach leads the practices, but doesn’t make adjustments based on the strengths of the individuals or the characteristics of the team. 
  • A teacher might be teaching the same curriculum they have taught for 20-years, not considering the need to change as society evolves or as the needs of their students change. 

The unintentional leader (or coach or teacher) leads from a point of status. Things are done a certain way because they are the boss, and so apparently they know best. In my observations, this is an example of ego getting in the way. Decisions are being made based on the leader’s ego rather than what’s best for the organization, the business, or the people involved. 

The intentional leader has a markedly different mindset. They make decisions based on what is best for the company or organization, even if it’s not necessarily what is immediately best for them personally. When making decisions the intentional leader considers the impact that it will have on the clients and staff. Additionally, this leader is keenly aware of what is going on in the community, the country or the world, and how those factors impact their decisions and the perception of those decisions. 

Selflessness

As stated above, an intentional leader considers how their actions affect others. But really, it’s more than that. It’s making the decision to be considerate of others; that the leader isn’t better or superior just because of their position. This comes from a leader’s mindset. 

A selfless leader sees everyone on their team as having the ability to contribute to the success of the business. They seek input from those at all levels of the organization. They see the power in the team as whole, rather than the power created by their leadership. 

Selfless leaders realize that by helping staff succeed they are supporting the company, and in turn probably reaching their own goals. To help staff succeed the selfless leader:

  • Supports each individual in the way they need to be supported. 
  • Creates an environment where staff enjoy their jobs and respect the company.
  • Learns about the goals of their team members and helps support achieving them.

Mindfulness

Intentionality and Selflessness are two key components to being a great leader. The question is, if those are not things that come naturally, how do you get to that point? That’s where mindfulness comes in. 

Here is a definition of mindfulness that I like. It comes from Jon Kabat-Zinn: “The awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally to the unfolding experience moment-by-moment.” This is a great definition when it’s all together, but it’s also interesting to look at it in chunks. Breaking it down helps us understand the value of mindfulness for leaders.

  • awareness emerges – The leader doesn’t have all the answers. (No one does.) 
  • through paying attention on purpose – By taking the time to thoughtfully observe, we learn.
  • in the present moment – The leader is fully engaged in the current situation, not what’s coming next or whatever happened before. 
  • non-judgmentally – There are no preconceived notions clouding our thoughts, we take things at face value.

With all of the messages and thoughts we have going through our brains all day, it’s not easy to remain aware, present and non-judgmental. We have to work at it. Just like you practice cooking or yoga or Portuguese, mindfulness takes practice. 

The good news is that you can practice anytime and anywhere. Here are 5 super simple activities for practicing mindfulness. 

  • 4-7-8 breathing: Breathe in for a count of 4. Hold for a count of 7. Exhale for a count of 8. Repeat 5 times. 
  • Mantra Meditation: Find a quiet place. Choose a word or phrase you would like to focus on (such as “peace” or “I am present”). Close your eyes. Take deep breaths and repeat your word or phrase (out loud or in your mind) with each breath. If your mind wanders, notice it and draw your thoughts back to your word or phrase. Practice for a minute or two.
  • Mindful Eating: While eating, pay particular attention to all of your senses. How does the food look? How does it smell? How does your body/mouth react to the smell? How does it feel when you put it in your mouth? How does it change as you chew it? Chew twice as long as you normally would. How does that experience feel? Practice this for the first few bites of your meal or snack. 
  • Nature Walk: You don’t have to be in the woods to observe nature all around you. Even in a city there is weather and wind, clouds, birds, bugs, smells and more. Take a few minutes each day to observe nature. This can happen while you walk from your car into your office building or by taking a fresh air break. Simply take the time to notice the natural world. 
  • Body Scan: Start at your toes. Wiggle them. Spread them wide. Flex and release. Move to your whole foot. Do the same. Work your way up your body. Moving, rotating, flexing and releasing each body part or muscle group. Finish with a few deep breaths. This can be done at your desk or anywhere.

Practicing mindfulness helps train our brain to stay present when we might otherwise want to be reactionary. It allows us to be intentional in our thoughts. Through mindfulness we decide how we feel about things and how we react. 

The kind of leader you are should be a conscious decision, not something left to happenstance. What kind of leader do you want to be? 

Want to explore mindful leadership? Email me at kim@athena-coco.com to schedule a free 30-minute discovery call to find out how you can Calm the Chaos by choosing your mindset! 

Kim is a mom, wife, lover of being active and the outdoors,
and helper of nonprofits, small businesses and leaders.
kim@athena-coco.com