“But Cathy, we shared these ideas with our board and got nowhere. They are comfortable with how we do things now, and they don’t think we need to change.”
This time it came from a participant in our Level-Up Nonprofit Accelerator during our discussion on The Board’s Role in Fundraising. A woman who had heard me speak at a conference two years ago reported getting all fired up about the great things her group could do but then she simply could not generate any enthusiasm from her board colleagues.
She thought maybe she could move things along more easily if she became board president. Now, after only 4 months, she already sounds deflated.
My friend has a big vision for her organization – a picture in her mind of how much more they could achieve – if only her board colleagues would organize themselves more effectively. She has learned what a strong, well-functioning board of directors looks like and how to make it a foundation for growth and accomplishment. She explains the concepts but just can’t get the others to budge. They are comfortable with how things are now and will resist anything that might take them out of their comfort zones.
Entire books have been written on the topic of change management, persuading others, and building buy-in for new ideas. For now, here are five tips that might help a nonprofit board leader bring others along on a journey from how things have always been done to a new level of effectiveness.
- Create shared vision. Paint a picture of what you see for the future of the organization and the achievement of its mission. Could you serve more people? Protect more natural resources? Could it all be so much easier? Board effectiveness is not an end in itself, but a means to an end. Make sure the others all see the Big Picture. Bring in guest speakers who can help you cast that vision. Make your board colleagues want it as much as you do. Form follows function, so once they share your vision, they will be more open to the structural changes needed to achieve it.
- Focus the board on governance.? Boards get distracted from their main role for all sorts of reasons. Their concerns as program volunteers get pulled into the board room and take over the meetings. Administrators delegated the task of crafting the board meeting agenda focus it on administrative concerns. Whatever the case, boards often forget (or never knew) what they are there to do – govern. Foresight. Insight. Oversight. Unless the board is thoroughly engaged with its primary responsibilities it can’t make the decisions that lead to growth and long-term sustainability.
- Recruit board members who want to do governance.? In many of the organizations I work with, board members are most often recruited from the ranks of the program volunteers. Or perhaps they have some connection to the mission and are recruited because someone knows them. Either way, unless a board candidate has demonstrated experience and/or a willingness to learn the skills needed to govern a nonprofit corporation, they might be better suited to a different role within the organization. Identify your governance skills gaps and recruit newcomers to fill those gaps. It’s easier to get people to focus on board effectiveness when that topic of conversation fits more naturally into their wheelhouse.
- Work with board members as individuals. Nothing is easier to ignore than a “Dear All” email or a new idea dropped into a board meeting. People exempt themselves from the conversation if they don’t think it actually applies to them, especially if their comfort zone is involved. The only way to really find out what people think, what they dream about, what they are and are not willing to do, is to ask them one-on-one. Focus first on your natural allies and those who seem most willing to try new things or are most enthusiastic about the vision. Then move on to the ones who are more neutral. Find out what their concerns are and address them. Let them help you shape the vision. Once you have a working majority, you can approach the truly resistant. Roll with the energy of those who see what you see and build from there.
- Build a network of mutually supportive people. Early in my career I attended a conference where it was pointed out that no matter how excited we might be to bring some of our new knowledge back to our home organizations, it was likely that our colleagues would not share our enthusiasm. The trainer encouraged us to stay in touch with each other, to share our goals, our successes and failures, with others from the conference, to become a support network. That advice has served me well over the years. When no one in my immediate circle sees the beauty in what I am trying to do, I seek support from my wider circle of connections. A good mastermind session with fellow travelers can yield actionable advice and be therapeutic at the same time.
Resistance to change in my friend’s situation was most likely exacerbated by a fear of being asked to engage in fundraising. The suggestions given above are all meant to take place before she even gets there (which, of course, is its own kettle of misunderstood fish.) Good governance follows shared vision and includes revenue forecasting, planning, and training, all of which are needed for effective fundraising. There’s no substitute for getting the right group of people to the table, focused on the right things. It can be a slow process sometimes, but nothing feels better than to look back on an accomplishment that took real effort.
Let me know what ideas you have for moving board members out of entrenched habits. I’d love to know what has worked for you!
Want to know more about the Level-Up Nonprofit Accelerator? Check out our website at www.lunaexperience.org.
