How Big Should the Board Be?

This is a very common question that comes with a variety of answers. The truth is, the correct answer is "It depends."

The number of board members you decide to have on your board totally depends on a wide range of factors. The main role of a board is to be accountable for all the business functions and more so the organisation’s financial sustainability. You want a board large enough to fulfill this mandate but small enough to be able to manage it. So what exactly does the right board size depend on?

Bigger and wiser may not necessarily be better

A study recently published in the Academy of Management Journal revealed that there are three major problems with a board full of experts. According to the study, as we continue to gain more expertise in an area, though we acquire more accurate knowledge, we also become less flexible in the way we think. We also tend to stick to our perspectives. This could be very damaging when you have a large board full of experts who won’t let go of their way of thinking.

The second issue with a board full of experts is over-confidence. Experts feel like they’re the best in their areas and will often not welcome views from other people. The third common problem with experts is task conflict. While some amount of task conflict is important to allow the board to explore other alternatives, the research found that a high number of experts can cause task conflict because non-expert directors expect the experts to run the show.

A large board also places a big burden on the executive director, who will have a hard time relating with everyone on the board. It also gets hard for the executive director to lead all board members to fulfilling the board’s directive.

Too small can be unhealthy

Just as very large boards can be problematic, a very small board can also be an issue. A board of about four or five board members only might be too thin to be able to keep up with its function. This may be too small a number to be able to raise a critical mass for healthy debate and decision making. When you have a small board, the members will often view themselves as business advisers and will not own their business function. You want a board large enough to ensure all core business areas and interests are represented and those with the seat at the table can be held accountable board.

Do you have enough seats for everyone? 

When constituting your board keep in mind the meetings they will be holding. You want a board not so large to ensure that the board meetings are always a meaningful experience for the members giving their time, knowledge and expertise to further the objectives of your organisation. You don’t want a meeting where there are so many people that only a few of them get a chance to contribute to the meeting. If this is the case, you will have a good number of frustrated members who might choose to leave the board.

Complexity and depth of board functions

The size of your board will be determined by the complexity of the functions you want the board members to hold. You don’t want a small board that forces members to handle areas of business that they have zero knowledge in. You want a board that’s big enough to allow every member to contribute their expertise with ease without a lot of pressure.

When deciding how big you want your board to be, remember that it should be large enough to have a critical mass during regular board meetings and small enough to enable a meaningful discussion among all board members. 

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