"Instead of thinking of itself as the boss...a nonprofit board should consider itself a critical but co-equal element of the organization's work. Our default structures and philosophies and have conditioned board members to think they're basically the supervisors of the ED/CEO. It is ingrained in all of us, and many EDs/CEOs think along this line, too. Even I have introduced a board member at an event and joked, "This is one of my bosses!""
"This line of thinking has caused tremendous problems, such as inflating board members' ego and sense of importance, decreasing of staff's authority and autonomy to do work, and furthering the board's meddling and micromanaging in programs and operations. It is problematic when board members rarely have even close to the same level of knowledge about what is happening on the ground."
Nonprofit boards commonly view themselves as supervisors of executive directors, which creates power imbalances and undermines staff authority. Default governance structures and philosophies condition board members to feel like bosses, encouraging ego inflation and intrusive micromanagement in programs and operations. Many board members lack the on-the-ground knowledge necessary to make informed operational decisions. Boards should instead serve as co-equal partners that provide loving accountability by monitoring morale, financial stability, and community impact, maintaining trusting transparent relationships with staff, and stepping in to support during crises without usurping day-to-day authority.
Read at Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly
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