Culture – It’s Not Just About Your Staff Team

In my years with the YMCA I thought a lot about how to lead my staff team, how to build a healthy culture, communication strategies, accountability, problem solving, and more. I also thought a lot about how to lead and engage my Board of Directors. But I didn’t think much about the crossover between these two functions of leading a nonprofit organization.

In fact, I thought these two areas of my job were very, very different. Now that I have some distance and my thoughts have evolved, I see that there are more similarities than there are differences. I’m going to spend the next few articles looking at the similarities and what we can learn from them. 

I’ve written more than a little about building healthy cultures, leading a team, communication, and more, more, more. Go check those out, if you’re so inclined. 

One of the most important roles of a leader is to create a healthy culture for their team. In the nonprofit sector, we usually think that this means our staff team. Right? A healthy staff culture is crucial to delivering quality services, caring for our constituents, and ensuring our staff are nurtured. Logic would tell us that the same is true for our volunteer teams, and even our governance volunteers. 

Think for a moment about your Board of Directors. How would you describe the culture of your Board team? Are they uber professional? Super laid back? Well connected to one another? Eager to help? Something else? Take a moment to jot down all the words that come to mind when you are thinking about the characteristics of your board. 

Once you can describe the current culture of your board, I’d like for you to think about how that compares to the culture of your staff team and/or the agency as a whole. Are they similar or different? Are the similarities intentional or by happenstance? There is nothing that says they have to be the same or different. 

After you do a little work to define the culture of your board and how it compares to the rest of your organization, a good next step is to decide if what you have is what you want. This project is an excellent way to engage volunteers in defining and creating the board culture that is best for your nonprofit! Your Board Governance or Board Development Committees can dig into everything from the board meeting agenda or room set-up to onboarding and engagement of the volunteers. 

The skills and strategies that create a healthy culture for your staff are pretty much the same for creating a healthy board culture. 

  • Aligning values:

    • If your organization has not gone through the process of clarifying and understanding your values, that’s a great first step! If you have gone through this process, the next step is to consider how they relate to your board. The values for the organization do not have to be exactly the same as the values for your board. They can be the same, similar, or even different. It’s based on the needs of the organization. 
    • For example, an organization that serves children may have a very lighthearted culture among its staff. Perhaps the kids need a positive atmosphere. At the same time the organization may be helping children escape really horrible situations. In that case the board likely has some very serious topics to discuss. The culture of the organization may be light and fun, while the culture of the board could be serious and more stoic.

  • Decide the culture is important

    • The main ingredient in any healthy culture is to be thoughtful about the experience of those involved. By simply being intentional about the type of culture you want – you’re taking a huge step towards creating a great experience for your Board team. 
    • A healthy culture requires that the organization and its leaders decide that the culture is a priority. You cannot create a positive culture without first deciding that it matters. When it comes to culture, the biggest problem I see is that leaders ignore the importance of being intentional about this piece of their organization.

  • It starts at the top

    • When it comes to the staff culture, the Executive Director or CEO sets the tone. They define the values and decide that the culture is important. However, with the Board of Directors, it’s not just about the Exec, it’s a combination of the Exec and the Board President. Between the two of them they drive the culture. The Exec connects it to the operations of the organization, and the Board President is the one who sets the tone for the governance volunteers. 

  • Listening and Caring

    • Creating a culture involves listening to what is going on with the members of the board. And not just listening, but also genuinely caring about how the volunteers are feeling and what their experience is like. This is how you keep your finger on the pulse of what is going on. 

  • Communications 

    • Circling back to #1, once you have established your values, you should talk about them. All. The. Time. Talk about what they mean to the board as a team. Use them when making decisions. Include them in opening thoughts, plan them into board meeting agendas, and use the language as you work to create the culture you want and need. 

As mentioned earlier, a Board Development or Board Governance Committee is an excellent group to tackle this project. Their role is to ensure healthy board dynamics. If you do not currently have a committee focused on the growth, direction and health of your Board of Directors, consider starting one and making this their first initiative. You could even start it out as a task force, with growth into a full committee coming next. 

Would you like help evaluating the culture of your Board of Directors? Or, do you want to start a Board Development Committee of your own? Let’s visit! Email me at Kim@Athena-CoCo.com, or schedule a Discovery Call today. Let’s connect!

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

Mission Monday ~ Pikes Peak Elder Justice Center

Last week I had the pleasure of meeting with Mayling Rodriguez, the inaugural Executive Director for the Pikes Peak Elder Justice Center. While this organization has been around a while, serving our community, it has just recently become a 501(c)3 and hired its first Exec. 

Their mission is to provide a community response working toward preventing and eliminating elder abuse in the Pikes Peak region and beyond, through identifying victims of mistreatment, creating safe shelter for them. Their new structure is giving PPEJC the opportunity to deepen their impact in the community. 

PPEJC envisions a community in which people in later life can live in safety, dignity and with respect. To do this they take a three pronged approach to supporting our most vulnerable seniors. Programming includes Elder Shelter, Fiduciary Education, and coordinated services through their Forensic Team. Learn more about their work on their website. 

I was surprised to learn of the proliferation of elder abuse in our society. Despite this sad trend, in Mayling’s new leadership role, she has chosen to focus the energy of the organization on hopefulness. Being a source for services and support makes PPEJC a beacon of hope in an otherwise devastating situation.

Mayling wishes more people knew about this problem and could help to expand the awareness of the resources and services available. You can help to spread the word by forwarding this article to others who may have interest or needs that PPEJC could help with. To learn more about their work, or to get involved, reach out to Mayling or follow them on Facebook.

Board of Directors Evaluation

More and more lately I’ve been asked to conduct board evaluations. This has been a good way to develop a relationship with an organization, and to help them when they know something “just isn’t right.” Oftentimes a nonprofit leader can tell that things are not going the way they want them to, but they just can’t put their finger on the actual problem (or problems). That’s where I come into the picture!

When I start visiting with an agency, I usually begin by asking them a few questions. Sometimes that’s all it takes to get them thinking and moving in the right direction. More often, those questions lead to even more questions, which leads to me coming in to provide a full evaluation. 

The components of a full evaluation can look different from agency to agency, depending on the size, longevity, whether or not they have paid staff, and more. There are several things I look at when evaluating the health and effectiveness of a board. Some include: 

  • The Executive/Board Chair relationship
  • Executive Director’s thoughts on board leadership
  • Board President’s understanding of board leadership
  • Management tools that have been established 
  • Communication systems
  • Official or implied board expectations
  • The board’s effectiveness in carrying out their responsibilities
  • Whether or not the board is fulfilling their duties

Let’s look at each of these aspects of nonprofit leadership.

Executive Director/Board Chair Relationship

Some organizations have the Executive Director report to an Executive Committee, the Human Resources Committee, or even the whole board. Any of those options are fine. The important thing is that there is a healthy, open and honest relationship between the Executive Director and the person or group they report to. 

This relationship is unique to the nonprofit sector and can be tricky. In many organizations the Executive Director drives the work and leadership of the Board of Directors. The tricky part comes up because the board is actually the supervisor of the exec. So the board supervises the individual who informs and guides their work. Even in agencies where the board is largely self-governing, the exec and the board rely on one another to drive their pieces of the organization.

This relationship is key to the success of the nonprofit. It requires mutual respect and an understanding of each other’s roles and responsibilities. Clear, open and consistent communication is the foundation to ensuring relationship success. 

Executive Director’s Thoughts on Board Leadership

Whether the exec likes it or not, some portion of their job involves board leadership. Every organization is different and therefore, what each nonprofit needs from their board is different. Since the Executive Director works in the agency every day, she or he is best informed about what the organization needs from its volunteers. The board looks to the exec to shape their work. 

Additionally, no one is born knowing how to be a good board member. Even when someone comes to a board with experience serving on other Boards of Directors, it doesn’t mean they know how best to serve this organization. 

When evaluating this aspect of an agency, I consider whether the exec wants to be completely hands off, or if they are trying to micromanage the volunteers. Either can lead to challenges. Going back to the previous point, we look at the communication that has happened between the board and the exec. Have they addressed what roles each will fill? If not, how does anyone know what they should be focusing their energy on? 

Board President’s Understanding of Board Leadership

What does the board president believe their role is? Are they there to just lead meetings? Should they be driving a set of strategies? Can they address volunteers who are not contributing? Not to sound like a broken record on these first three bullets, but it all comes down to the relationship and communication between the exec and the board. 

Management Tools

In case it hasn’t been clear so far – effective nonprofit leadership boils down to relationships. However, putting tools and processes in place can help ensure that the work that goes into building great relationships is well managed. Pieces that I recommend boards establish include: 

      • Clear board expectations
      • A process for deepening connections
      • System for tracking prospects
      • Clear and thoughtful communication systems
      • A thoughtful and thorough on-boarding process
      • Professional and effective board meetings 

Without some of these basic processes in place agencies often end up spinning their wheels. They have great conversations with no system for following up. They create great connections, but lose track of the individuals. Or they attract really great board or donor prospects, and end up scaring them away by appearing unorganized and unprofessional. 

Communication Systems

I cannot emphasize the importance of this enough. A communication system does not need to be elaborate. However, it does need to be thoughtful and intentional. Without a plan, emails can spiral out of control. Pretty soon, no one wants to be associated with the organization because they cannot handle the number of communications they receive. 

Well functioning organizations come to an agreement as a board/staff team about how often they communicate and in what manner. They establish an understanding about etiquette. When there is a real emergency, they can deviate from their plan, otherwise they trust their system and make adjustments as needed. 

Board Expectations

I touched on board expectations under the management tools section. Like communication, this component is so important that I wanted to call it out separately as well. 

No one likes to commit to something if they don’t know what they are getting themselves into, right? This is especially true with joining boards. When a new board member is recruited, there’s a good chance that this is their first experience serving on a Board. It’s an unknown for them. Using Board Expectations as a recruiting tool can answer a ton of questions for them and help them to make a good decision about getting involved. 

Your expectations can be used for evaluating the board’s performance as a whole and as individuals. You can also reference it when dealing with issues of engagement or to raise the bar for the board team. As an organization’s needs change, board expectations are easy to change and update. Expectations should tie directly to what an agency needs its volunteers to be doing in order to advance the cause.

Board Responsibilities

 Every board has three overarching responsibilities. The governance volunteers are responsible for the mission, vision, and strategies. They ensure the organization has the resources (usually people and money) to deliver the mission, vision, and strategies. And they are responsible for making certain that the organization is operating legally and in a fiscally appropriate manner. 

These three functions are consistent across all Boards of Directors. A board evaluation looks at the extent to which the board owns these responsibilities. Sometimes it is a matter of seeing if they even understand that they should be owning them. 

Board Duties

Lastly, I like to review the board’s relationship to the duties of a Board of Directors. Like board responsibilities, duties are the same from one organization to the next. Responsibilities differ from duties in that responsibilities are functions, things the board does. The duties of the board speak more to how the board conducts itself.

Board duties include: Duty of Care, Duty of Loyalty and Duty of Obedience. Again, when evaluating an organization, I gauge their understanding of these duties, and their commitment to them. 

Conducting a board evaluation involves interviews with organizational leaders, review of documents, and sometimes attending a board meeting. It concludes with a report to the organization outlining and prioritizing opportunities for improvement. When a nonprofit knows that their board needs work, but they don’t know where to begin, an evaluation is a great place to start! 

Do you know of a Board of Directors that could be stronger, more efficient, or more effective? I’d love to visit with them to see if I can get them moving in the right direction. Email me at Kim@Athena-CoCo.com, let’s chat!

Kim Stewart

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

Engaging Prospective Board Members

In this article I talked about where to find prospective board members. (Incidentally, the sources for finding board members are also a great place to look for good donors.) Then, in this one I talked about the importance of clarifying your board expectations. Afterall, you wouldn’t take a paid job without knowing what the company was expecting from you. Similarly, no one wants to get into a volunteer position and be caught off guard by what is expected of them.

Today’s article is going to look at those crucial next steps. Once you know what you expect from your board members, and you have some ideas about where to look for and recruit them – you need to be ready with a plan for what to do with them once you start attracting them. 

I have observed leaders who meet someone – who has a little bit of interest in their organization – and they ask them to join their board right away. Finding, recruiting, and keeping good board members is hard work. It’s understandable that leaders may want to try and capture those interested as quickly as possible. However, slowing this process down is a much better approach. Let’s explore why. 

Recruiting Your Boss

Often, especially in younger nonprofits, the Executive Director does a lot of the work of recruiting the board. It often becomes just one more of the millions of things that she or he needs to work on. The very top reason to slow down the board recruitment process is because, as the ED, you are essentially recruiting one of your bosses. It’s safe to say that you probably want to make sure that you bring on someone who you trust, who you know will make decisions with the best interest of the organization in mind, and who is volunteering for your organization for the right reasons. 

Relationships Drive the Work

The work of a nonprofit organization is highly relational. Successful organizations engage more and more people in the important work of making the world a better place. Strong and healthy boards help to share the story of the organization, connect to partners, recruit more people to engage, and ensure impact and sustainability. Discovering how a prospective board member might contribute in an effective way takes time. It requires multiple interactions to develop a relationship and understand how their involvement can be mutually beneficial. 

Good Decisions Take Time

Just like you want to make a good decision for your agency, you also want to be sure that the prospect makes a good decision for themselves. They need to make a connection to your cause; determine if they have the time, energy and capacity to serve; and decide if your board is a good fit for them. It can be very disruptive to bring on a new board member, have them stay only a few months, and then lose them. 

For these reasons and many more, I recommend that organizations put a recruitment process in place. Having a process doesn’t mean that you cannot deviate from it, it just means that you have a plan for how to develop a relationship with a potential board member. 

Every organization needs to determine how their process looks. Many factors will determine what is right for each agency. An organization’s size, maturity, current programming, current board health, needs, and challenges are just a few of the things to consider. 

When working with agencies I recommend a minimum of 3 to 4 interactions prior to inviting someone to serve on the board. In the generic example below I’ve outlined some basic elements to include.

Board Recruitment Process

  • You get a Lead. This can come from networking, through your programming, a name presented by a volunteer, etc. 
  • Qualify that the Lead seems like a good prospect. Start (or continue) the relationship-building process. Take them out for coffee or lunch. Begin to share the idea of them serving on your board. 
  • If appropriate, invite them to observe a program or operations. Help them get a feel for the work that you do. During the observations make sure that someone hosts them. You want to clearly explain the methodology of your work, what sets your agency apart, and the intentional things you are doing to make a difference. 
    • Agencies that serve highly vulnerable populations may have to find different ways of educating a prospect about their work. 
  • Again – when appropriate, have them visit and observe a board or committee meeting. This is a good way for them to get a feel for the culture and how they might fit into it. 
  • Follow-up with the prospect to answer any questions, review expectations in detail, and explore how they are feeling about the possibility of getting involved. 
  • If they are interested, present to the board for a vote.
  • Officially invite them to join – OR – thank them for going through the process. 
    • A future article will talk about what to do with them once you invite them to join and they say: “Yes!” 
    • If you need to turn them away, share honest feedback. If the door is open to future involvement, let them know. If they are not a match, be clear about that too. 

As you consider who to bring into your organization, there is a lot to think about. Are they a good fit? Do they have skills that your agency needs? Can they help with connections, open doors, or raise money? These are all important questions you need to ask. I believe the most important thing to look for is passion. Do they care about the issue your agency is addressing and your strategies for solving it? If not, they may not bring their best self to the table and they may not contribute consistently. 

When you have a great first “date,” do the next logical step and ask them to get together again. Bringing someone on your board is not as significant as getting married. So after a few good “dates” it may make sense to start talking about taking the relationship to the next level; ie: getting them involved as a volunteer. Just as you should hire slowly and choose a life partner slowly – take your time bringing on new board members. 

If your organization needs help creating a recruitment process that is right for you, I would love to help! Email me at Kim@Athena-CoCo.com to learn more. Let’s connect!

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