Stop the Nonprofit Board Blame Game

How to Break the Cycle of Frustrating Relationships and Benefit from Fully Engaged Boards

Hardy Smith

• Publisher: River Grove Books
• Year: 2022
• ISBN:
  9781632994813
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Nonprofit Organizations & Charities
• Index: Business

"Why don't board members do what they're supposed to do?"

Board members not meeting performance expectations is one of the most challenging issues faced by nonprofit organizations and causes considerable frustration among nonprofit leaders—and they usually place the blame on board members.

However, much of what has been written on this topic is based on opinions and experiences of staff professionals, with solutions focused on more training of the board members. Yet the problem persists. So whatever advice that has been offered hasn't worked. This book is different.

Author and expert leadership consultant Hardy Smith shows that most difficulties contributing to boards not performing as desired are self-inflicted by leaders who repeat flawed practices that could be avoided. As a result, Smith provides what numerous other books on this topic have not: truly effective solutions.

Stop the Nonprofit Board Blame Game

• uses feedback from a wide variety of board members to reveal their unique perspectives;

• explains why performance problems exist;

• identifies realistic, results-oriented solutions;

• shares proven how-tos for taking action.

This book is the only guide you need to improve the engagement and effectiveness of your board and strengthen relationships. It will constructively transform your organization.

Break the Cycle of
Dysfunctional Board
Relationships

1

REVIEW SURPRISING SURVEY RESULTS

“What is your number-one problem?” I ask a roomful of nonprofit leaders.

They are, for the most part, shocked at their collective response to a workshop leader’s simple question focusing on their perspective. The replies are loud, forceful, and nearly in unison:

“It’s those board members! Why don’t they do what they’re supposed to do?”

An excited buzz fills the room following the group’s dramatic and spontaneous reaction. I follow up with three additional questions:

•Do the board members whose performance is being criticized know what your expectation is?

•If so, how is that being communicated?

•Are you asking them, or are you telling them?

The silence that follows is equally as dramatic as the group’s initial reaction. The second shocker to hit these nonprofit leaders is that their own actions could be contributing to the problem they identify as their major distress.

The exchange, triggered during this exercise in self-discovery for them, creates a significant aha! moment for me.

The level of energy in which the audience responses are delivered indicates the obvious existence of two major problems that nonprofits and other organizations relying on volunteer leadership are experiencing: The organizations aren’t getting what they expect from their boards, and they have failed to adequately communicate their expectations. The surprise is that everyone recognizes the first problem, but they have not addressed it.

The criticism of board member performance is certainly not new, but current approaches to correct performance failures don’t seem to be working; too many organizations continue to voice intense frustration with their board members. Further evidence of that frustration can be seen in the number of books and publications, workshops, and social media discussions that deal with the topic of board performance. My own social media posts on board performance always generate a lively response.

The criticism of board member performance is certainly not new, but current approaches to correct performance failures don’t seem to be working.

Identifying how important these issues are—and the critical links between them—prompted me to undertake my first objective: to discover the whys in the question Why don’t board members do what they’re supposed to do? The answers were in the survey responses.

After gaining an understanding of board member perspective relative to nonprofit participation, I formulated my second objective: to identify reasonable and doable actions to help nonprofits, associations, volunteer- and member-based organizations, and community groups ensure that their board members function for the good of their mission.

As a starting point, I solicited input from board members with a survey of these five questions:

•What is your biggest criticism related to organizations and their relationships with their boards?

•Why don’t board members do what they’re supposed to do?

•When asked to serve on a nonprofit board, what prompts you to say no?

•When asked to serve on a nonprofit board, what motivates you to say yes?

•How can an organization be more effective in using its board members?

The questions allowed for open-ended responses that would reflect the individual’s thoughts, feelings, and personal board member experiences.

When creating and analyzing the collection of replies, I realized that this project would be unique among efforts to address board member performance. The traditional approach seems to focus on telling board members and the organizations they serve that there is a certain behavior template that should be adhered to. Attempts to correct underperforming boards seem to include a lot of one-way communication.

My approach was to listen to experienced board members and share their collective advice for improving the performance of any board member. The participants in the survey, it turns out, were happy to be asked for—instead of told—their perspectives. They were eager to share their experiences and their suggestions for improvement.

The combination of asking and really listening led to the action steps that give organizations the advantage of knowing what’s been missing from their dialogue on board performance: the valuable voice of the board members themselves.

I found two common stances among the survey participants. First, they have a strong passion for their volunteer involvement. Doesn’t this strike you as interesting, since, as a group, their performance attracts such uniform criticism? Second, they have a great deal of frustration with that volunteer involvement. Doesn’t this, too, strike you as ironic, given that criticism? The communication necessary to fix both the staffs’ criticism and the boards’ frustration is missing.

In the chapters ahead, through the insights from this board member focus group, we will identify behaviors and their causes that create anxiety for organizations and board members alike. Only by understanding the causes can solutions be identified and executed. We will challenge longtime beliefs and practices on the part of both nonprofits and their boards that reinforce a continuing cycle of mistakes and the perpetuation of unrealistic expectations.

........................................

Develop your action steps

•Have you ever felt frustration with your board?

•Are you aware of issues that may contribute to board members not performing as expected?

•What actions can you take to discover how your board members feel about their board experience?

2

ACKNOWLEDGE WHY CHANGE IS NEEDED

A group of like-minded individuals recognizing a significant problem in their community agreed to organize a nonprofit to address it. With good intentions, they eagerly set about doing the good work of their stated mission. Unfortunately, they ignored the recommendation of working with a solid business plan because they saw taking time to plan as a distraction from the work they were busy doing. After several years of success, a few of the founding board members moved on to other interests. Recruiting new board members with the same passion as the founders had not been a priority. The board, whose members no longer had a shared vision of the mission, became embroiled in disagreements over what direction to take. This board dysfunction led to staff resignations. Then, during a downturn in the economy, the nonprofit’s main sponsor withdrew support.

Trying to navigate without the benefit of good planning, which would have allowed the nonprofit’s leadership team to anticipate, minimize, or even avoid potential problems, proved to be a big mistake. Without positive, cohesive leadership, the nonprofit began to flounder and eventually closed its doors. The shutdown meant those who came to depend on the services that had been provided were now without help.

How sad would this story be if it were about your nonprofit? Thousands of nonprofits go by the wayside every year. A desire to do good does not guarantee success forever. Organizations unprepared to deal with the ever-changing influences that can affect their ability to achieve their mission put themselves and the cause they serve at risk.

The increasingly complicated challenges facing nonprofits and associations are making it more difficult for them to achieve their missions. Indeed, for many, the challenges threaten their very existence. Let’s look at some of the perils now confronting the business of doing good. Just for starters: Declining membership, poor donor retention rates, escalating demands for services, a revolving door of volunteers, and a growing competition for a shrinking pool of available resources are all contributing to a buildup of tremendous pressure on the foundations supporting nonprofits and associations.

The challenges don’t end there. A major exodus from senior staff positions is occurring as a generation of dedicated professionals with longtime experience has reached retirement age. Compounding this loss of institutional knowledge are reports indicating that many in the pool of potential nonprofit sector next-gen leaders aren’t interested in advancing to top leadership roles. They see the stress and the pressure and are not motivated to subject themselves to that environment.

The nation’s population is undergoing rapid transformation. Our demographics today are dramatically different from our makeup just a few short decades ago. As the trend continues, cultural and generational differences will greatly influence how future volunteers, donors, board members, and professional staff—not to mention those who benefit from the services they provide—think and act. It is a generational shift.

Five distinctly different generations now make up our national demographic. They are seniors (born 1922–1945), baby boomers (born 1946–1964), Generation X (born 1965– 1980), Generation Y (born 1981–2001), and Generation Z (born 2001–2011).

Please note this caveat: The birth ranges are approximations, and individuals can have personality traits that overlap those of other generational groups. Don’t automatically assume what someone’s opinion may be or predict behavior based solely on their birth date.

Organizations are well advised to invest time in understanding the diverse characteristics represented by each group. Recognizing the personal preferences they identify with is key to establishing positive, long-lasting relationships.

There is another significant trend that organizations must take into account. The phenomenon of social disengagement is creating a dramatic effect and further adds to the conflict and challenges faced by organizations. Groups that seek social engagement to advance a cause, as well as those that are dependent on volunteers or members, are well aware of this ongoing decline.

According to Robert Putnam, in his book Bowling Alone, we are, indeed, becoming a disengaged society. My observations in the years since confirm that this disengagement continues. Putnam is a political scientist and a professor of public policy at Harvard. His book is considered the definitive work on volunteer and membership disengagement in this country. It’s an intriguing statistical analysis. If your organization depends on volunteers or members, this book is a must read. Putnam’s historical review of participation data reports that, after a buildup that began in the late 1890s, the trend toward a reversal in social and organizational participation started in the 1960s. Volunteerism, membership engagement, and social involvement in this country began a downward spiral that continues today and shows no sign of recovery.

Although there are a few exceptions, most types of similar groups—such as political parties, school support auxiliaries, trade unions, the Boy Scouts, the Girl Scouts, charitable groups like United Way, professional associations, churches, and chambers of commerce—are affected.

This means that, in general, we are becoming less interested in in-pe...