GET YOUR BOARD TO

ACHIEVEMOREACHIEVEMORE

May | June 2015Volume 1 Issue 5

Interviews with Simone Joyaux and Chris Grundner inside!

Your organization could not survive without an important group of people—your board of directors. They’re a group that you (or somebody at your organization) get to hand

select. How cool is that? You get to go and choose the super team that’s going to do the best work for your organization.

But if you don’t know what you’re looking for it’s a fight you’re already going to lose. As Chris Grundner points out, passion is a great place to start—but it’s not enough. Check out his interview on page 8 to see what other factors your organization should be considering. Plus, page 11 has all of the qualities you should be looking for in a board member from our own serial board member and executive director Randy Hawthorne.

Our cover story this month is a can’t-miss with an interview with one of my favorite board experts, Simone Joyaux. Flip to page 4 to find tips on what your current board members should be doing, and for expectations and policies that should be in place from the get-go.

As always, we want to continue to improve and hear from you. What would you like to see in the magazine? Drop us a line at info@nonprofithub.org.

Now get out there and be remarkable with your board of directors!

LYNDSEY HRABIK MANAGING EDITOR

May | June 2015Volume 1 Issue 5

PUBLISHER/ EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Randy Hawthorne

MANAGING EDITOR Lyndsey Hrabik

SENIOR EDITOR Lincoln Arneal

ART DIRECTOR Melissa Ward

INFOGRAPHIC DESIGN Devin Thomas

COPY EDITOR Shannon Wilkinson

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Matt Spitsen

CONTRIBUTOR Nick Small

CONTRIBUTOR Kathryn Pauley

CONTRIBUTOR Jeffrey Wood

SETTING THE TONE: ACHIEVE MORE WITH EXPECTATIONS AND POLICIES by Lincoln Arneal

WHY PASSION ISN’T ENOUGH FOR YOUR BOARD OF GOVERNANCE by Nick Small

THE ABCs OF BOARD DEVELOPMENT: RECRUITING THE RIGHT NONPROFIT BOARD MEMBERS by Randy Hawthorne

BOARD MEMBERS: MAKING A DIFFERENCE WITHOUT MAKING THE ASK by Devin Thomas

WHAT’SINSIDE: p.3 p.4 p.8 p.11

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SETTING THE TONE: ACHIEVE MORE WITH EXPECTATIONS AND POLICIES

BY LINCOLN ARNEAL

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When it comes to grading your board of directors, break out the bell curve. Simone Joyaux, who has worked as a consultant with boards of directors for the past 27 years, said most boards barely earn a passing grade.

“I think most boards are mediocre at best and some of them are completely and totally dysfunctional, and there are darn few that are really, really good,” said Joyaux, who has also served as an executive director, development director and served on multiple boards, including several as board chair.

However, the path from mediocre (or worse) to good can be made with a few easy fixes. Start with board member engagement. This begins with three tasks every board member should be doing, including responsibilities that go beyond the boardroom.

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THE TASKS

Even beyond those three basic principles, Joyaux said you can set up policies for the board to operate at a high level.

BE UP FRONT WITH EXPECTATIONS

One problem boards run into is when they are trying to recruit new members they undersell the responsibilities and duties. Joyaux said often they will tell prospects that joining the board is not much work. However, if a board member doesn’t want to fundraise or perform other basic tasks, then they can’t be on the board.

“This is actually serious business,” Joyaux said. “You can’t be on the board if you aren’t willing to inconvenience yourself on behalf of the organization.”

Inconveniencing yourself means board members might have to make some sacrifices. Joyaux used a hypothetical of having to skip a Fleetwood Mac concert because it was board meeting night.

LOOK IN THE MIRROR

Sometimes the problem isn’t with board members not performing, but rather the issue is the board meetings themselves.

“Maybe board members are bored and they don’t like going to board meetings because it’s boring,” Joyaux said.

She said the executive director should work with the board chair to make sure the meetings are engaging and interactive. If all the board members are doing is listening to reports, then they are not serving any real purpose. Try sending out reports ahead of time, so the board can focus on decision making and discussions about the content of those reports.

Also, allow the staff members to empower the board to focus on the governance and stay out of the management duties. If the staff is good at coaching, nurturing and enabling the board to do its job everyone will be more engaged.

1. ATTEND BOARD MEETINGS REGULARLY

Simple, right? If a board member isn’t at meetings, he/she can’t participate and be an active member. If a board member can’t set aside enough time to attend and participate in meetings, they aren’t a good fit for your board.

2. BE A GOOD AMBASSADOR FOR THE ORGANIZATION

This is more than just representing and being a good member of society, Joyaux said. For example, if you are at a dinner party and a guest is talking about how much they love the outdoors and hiking, the board member would be remiss if they didn’t mention the environmental nonprofit they work with.

3. MAKE A PERSONAL SIGNIFICANT FINANCIAL DONATION EVERY YEAR

This doesn’t mean that a board member has to donate $10,000 each year, but rather what fits in their budget (and is not less than other donations they make to other organizations).

In addition, each board member should be helping out with some aspect of fundraising. Whether it is making thank-you calls, serving on an event committee or doing solicitation visits, Joyaux said everyone should be doing their part to help fundraise.

“You don’t have to do every single thing, but you have to do something,” she said.

“YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO EVERY SINGLE THING, BUT YOU HAVE TO DO SOMETHING.” SIMONE JOYAUX ON FUNDRAISING

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FIRE LOUSY BOARD MEMBERS

If a board member isn’t doing his/her job, nonprofits have to be willing to cut non-performing board members. Joyaux said you need to figure out if the person is a lousy board member because they don’t know any better or if they are a bully and detrimental to the success of the board. (Before you actually fire someone, talk to them, give them the lay of the land and offer them the chance to resign.)

To help with the members that don’t know any better, boards should set up a complete orientation and perhaps a mentoring program. Before you get to that point of firing someone, take this advice:

PROVIDE FEEDBACK EARLY AND OFTEN

Providing feedback is the easiest step to heightening engagement. Talk regularly with individual board members to evaluate how they rate their participation. Give them regular committee work. Give them a chance to lead.

Joyaux suggests doing at least an annual performance review with board members to make sure they are meeting the expectations and the relationship is still mutually beneficial. However, if the relationship is sour and not productive, the executive director and board chair should not wait to take action to deal with the issues.

“The whole point is to never have to fire a lousy board member,” Joyaux said “We just have to have done everything correctly in the first place.”

ONE WAY TO CREATE A FULLY ENGAGED BOARD is to start down that path before members are even selected.

Nonprofits can better ensure board engagement by cultivating and developing people who aren’t on their boards of directors, yet could be one day.

Learn lessons on how to incorporate engagement in your selection process from John Fulwider, author, teacher and coach for nonprofit executives and Jeff Yost, the president and CEO of the Nebraska Community Foundation.

For the rest of this story go to nonprofithub.org/boardrecruiting.

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Passion simply isn’t good enough for a fruitful board of directors. This may come as a surprise to some, but Chris Grundner has some compelling points that

suggest otherwise.

Someone on your board could be extremely passionate about your cause, but terrible with numbers. Logically, this person would not make a great treasurer for your organization. Yet sometimes, positions are simply delegated to whoever is passionate for the cause.

I first encountered Grundner via his TedTalk, which he gave in Sept. 2014. Grundner was the senior VP of JPMorgan Chase & Co. when he lost his wife to a brain tumor. He quickly changed gears and founded the Kelly Heinz-Grundner Brain Tumor Foundation and now serves as the president and CEO of the Delaware Alliance for Nonprofit Advancement (DANA).

When starting a nonprofit, the easy thing to do is to fill seats on your board with the “beggars can’t be choosers” mentality.

WHY PASSION ISN’T ENOUGH FOR YOUR BOARD OF GOVERNANCEBY NICK SMALL

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“THE REALITY IS THAT YOU SHOULD SET THE BAR HIGH ON YOUR BOARD AND NOT SETTLE FOR WHOEVER COMES ALONG.” CHRIS GRUNDNER

But Grundner decided that they shouldn’t compromise. Setting the bar high in your organization and bringing people in who are skills-driven is key.

Having passionate members isn’t a bad thing, it just isn’t the only ingredient in the recipe for an awesome board. For example, Grundner said one of his board members didn’t have a personal tie to brain cancer, but would run through a wall for Grundner as his executive director and was great with numbers. He became invaluable to the organization through financial operations because of his skill set, but didn’t necessarily have an inherent connection to the cause.

Through his experience, Grundner developed a pyramid of four nonprofit board of governance levels.

BOTTOM RUNG — PASSION

Grundner said this is “essential for board members to have, but it’s not everything.” Passion sets up the basis for solid governance. He specified that in some cases—like with his board member’s experience—the first rung of the pyramid can sometimes be skipped.

SECOND RUNG — STANDARDS

Setting up best practices, job descriptions and term limits are key components to stable leadership. The board chair sets the standards and conveys the expectations to everyone accordingly. The individual board members are responsible for holding each other accountable to those standards. It is also vital that the board chair and executive director follow the same standards.

THIRD RUNG — DIVERSITY IN SKILL SETS AND

PERSPECTIVE

Board meetings may go quickly with like-minded people, but the successful boards are the ones that “create a culture of constructive conflict.” Grundner said the most successful boards “infuse purposeful disruption, but are mission-based and constituency-driven.”

TOP RUNG — TRANSCENDENT LEADERSHIP

Change happens whether you’re expecting it or not. To ensure success during transitional periods, the best thing you can do is be prepared. Grundner said you can have people in the

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wings as potential board members. You can also get current board members prepared for more responsibility to avoid derailment on your board.

Sometimes though, people’s situations change. Grundner suggested setting up a conversation at least once a year with each member of the board to see how things are going for them and have them sign an annual commitment form that lays out your expectations of them.

On a for-profit board, if a member was hindering their profits,

they would ultimately be asked to leave. Grundner said it shouldn’t be any different on a nonprofit board when someone hinders the advancement of the mission.

The best way for nonprofits to raise the bar is by taking their board of governance seriously. Recruit and cultivate skills-driven members who put the mission first. Having members keep

each other accountable by challenging and engaging one another will keep the standards in line in board operations.

Grundner concluded his advice by reminding us of the importance of being “all in.” If you’re considering joining a board, include your family in your membership of a board, understand what’s expected of you and make a financial contribution to your organization to get some skin in the game.

“IT’S LIKE GROWING A GARDEN: CONSTANT FEEDING AND

WATERING—MAINTAINING—OR ELSE BAD BEHAVIORS

(WEEDS) CREEP IN WHEN YOU’RE NOT PAYING ATTENTION.”

CHRIS GRUNDNER ON FINDING A STELLAR BOARD OF DIRECTORS

TRANSCENDENT LEADERSHIP

DIVERSITYSkill Set; Perspective

STANDARDS & BEST PRACTICESContinuous Learning Process

PASSIONShowing Up; Financial Contribution

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HIERARCHY OF NONPROFIT BOARD GOVERNANCE

Source: Chris Grundner; Design: Melissa Ward

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Everything I learned about sales I learned from Glengarry Glen Ross. Okay, not really everything. But one of my favorite plays (and later a movie starring

many of my Hollywood faves) did immortalize the number one rule of sales: ABC. Always. Be. Closing.

Well, in recruiting your nonprofit board members I want to modify this adage for your board recruiting practices. Always Be Cultivating. That’s right. If you wait until that one time of year when your bylaws require that you fill your nonprofit board slate, then you’re probably missing an opportunity.

A good nonprofit board is a well-rounded board. Of course, you want diversity in the standard demographics that reflect your community but you also want to make sure you’re getting the skill sets you need to help further your mission.

You’ve probably heard you’re looking for people to fill roles in three key areas: Time, Treasure or Talent. I would argue you’re looking for those qualities in all board members, just with varying degrees of each. So I propose another ABC gauge to help you in recruiting nonprofit board members.

APPROACH

You’re probably hoping to recruit someone to your board who will stick around for the industry standard six years. If they’re the right person, they’ll more than likely take a turn in an office of your executive team. I contend that it’s imperative you vet your prospective board candidates in the area of

business management. My point is that you want to know what type of leader you’re inviting into your environment. You certainly don’t want all the same type of leader. In the end, remember this person could technically become your boss.

BRILLIANCE

You’re going to find bright people to sit on your nonprofit board. But you want to find how they’re going to illuminate the mission of the organization. How does this potential board member think? Do you need a strategy person or more of an analytical person? Or how about someone who relates or empathizes? I just want to know that I’ve recruited a broad range of thinkers.

CAPITAL

While financial capital is always nice to bring to the board, I’m referring to personal capital. When recruiting a board member you want to consider their sphere of influence in the area you need influence. And that may just be money, but it could also be their social network, how active they are in the community or the professional skills they possess that could be beneficial to advancing your mission.

Next time you’re recruiting board members, remember that something as simple as the ABCs can help your organization make the right choice. Always Be Cultivating, and you’ll find the right candidates.

THE ABCs OF BOARD DEVELOPMENT: RECRUITING THE RIGHT NONPROFIT BOARD MEMBERSBY RANDY HAWTHORNE

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WE’LL TACKLE THE

OVERHEAD MYTH—

Once and For All.

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WHEN YOUR NONPROFIT

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(And When It Shouldn’t)

BUILDING YOUR

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