Best Practices in Managing a Board of Directors

I’ve been working for membership organizations for over 20 years (Over 15 years as executive). The key to organizational success as well as maintaining your own livelihood is properly managing a Board of Directors. There is a metaphor that says something to the effect about knowing the pieces on your Chess Board. You need to know how to maximize the Bishop and the Rook so that you don’t get checkmated. There is an art to this. One of which even the most successful executives still delicately navigate through. Here are my top tips:

1.      Help create diversification- By this, I mean do your best to position a board makeup to have members of different genders, lifestyles, ages, ethnicities, and skillset. 

2.      Maintain Accountability- Having Board Members all agree to follow certain ethics, by-laws, meeting requirements and tasks.  Actually, there should be a signed Code of Ethics form to sign. Also, each Board Member should chair select Committees.

3.      Keep an Open Line of Communication- I always give Board Members my cell number and tell them to call or text me any day and or any time. Most would say this is unhealthy and not necessary. For me it’s an exercise to demonstrate I am fully vested in what they want. Also, a way for me to gain trust by having conversations at times that may be more preferred by the people who hold my job in their hands. It’s a service-oriented business and like Wawa, we never close.

4.      Encourage Engagement- Some Board Members either feel entitled to be on the Board or use this position as a feather in their cap to elevate their own livelihoods. While its all-fair game, you can/ should politely challenge them to not only be part of the strategy plans but also be part of the benefits and programs of the organization. It’s like taking a city tour in their own hometown.

5.      Advise without overstepping- It’s a slippery slope, but I view myself as a strategic partner without the expectations of attribution and accolades. Here is what I mean. When you see the right opportunity, find a few soldiers on the board who would be open to these areas of enhancement and give them the tools and space for them to be champions of this cause. The certificate of achievement you will receive is not from the idea itself but of how you develop and implement them.