My Board is SO difficult.

I work with a lot of Executive Directors and a lot of board members. Especially gratifying is when I work with staff and their respective boards individually and then together – facilitating conversations and bringing clarity to roles. A lot of these engagements are proactive – seeking clarity because an organization is in a state of change or growth (new leader, new board members, organizational expansion, etc.). but to be candid, sometimes it’s because things have gone a little bit off the rails. 

Through this work I’ve come away with some key takeaways. If you’re struggling, consider:

• Do each of your board members fully understand their individual and collective responsibilities to the organization and the scope of the governance function?

• As a staff, do you perhaps have any gaps in understanding?

• Are board members given opportunity to meaningfully engage within the scope of their appropriate role? 

Sometimes what seems like a disregard for boundaries can be just a matter of never having understood the boundaries in the first place.