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FROM: SEP-OCT 2007 ISSUE | BY MERGE GUPTA-SUNDERJI
Being on a board of directors is a great way to share your wisdom as well as to expand your skills. But before you venture into the world of directorship, there are some things you should know to ensure your success.
The most important thing to realize is that there’s a difference between the roles played by board directors and business managers. A significant shift from being a hands-on manager to adopting a strategic focus must occur when you go from business manager to board director. The focus of a board is strategic, and it’s not up to you to get things done. It’s up to you to set up a system with checks and balances that lets other people get things done - both in the short term and in the long term. While the skills that make a successful director are many and varied, here are four key ideas that will get you started on this road to success.
1. Set goals
Set goals and hold both your organization’s management and your fellow board members accountable to them. In order to accomplish these goals, you’re going to need the commitment of staff and board directors, so the process should be a joint one. Start with the organization’s strategic goals and translate them into expectations that can be measured and reported on monthly.
2. Delegate
Delegate both responsibility and authority to the people who will actually get things accomplished. Most directors delegate responsibility easily - they assign ownership for tasks to a committee member or the organization’s management. However, many directors fall down when it comes to delegating authority - the power, freedom, and right to act (within established guidelines and parameters) to fulfill those responsibilities. When you delegate responsibility but not authority, you set people up to fail. Consider this common example: the treasurer of a non-profit association has been given the responsibility to update the board on financial status, but in order to get updates from the bank, the president must make a phone call. Wouldn’t it make more sense to give the treasurer this authority?
3. Manage meetings
Have you ever attended the meeting from hell? If not, your tenure as a board director is guaranteed to give you that experience at least once. All boards (but non-profit ones in particular) are guilty of going off-track, dragging overtime, and accomplishing little. If meetings are not well managed, they can become an exercise in futility and frustration. Avoid this by focusing on these four meeting must-dos.
| a. |
Issue an agenda at least 48 hours before the meeting. |
| b. |
Establish three meeting roles: chairperson, time-keeper, and minute-taker. |
| c. |
Ensure the minute-taker keeps an action item list identifying the person responsible and the deadline for each item. |
| d. |
Start and finish your meetings promptly. |
4. Hold people accountable
The most successful directors are those who hold the organization’s management accountable to the commitments they have made. Live and die by your action item list. At the end of each meeting, read out the action items and get acceptance from everyone involved. At the next meeting, start by publicly asking for an update on what has been accomplished. If a deadline occurred between meetings, you may consider following up before the next meeting. At least monthly, obtain an update on progress on the goals that have been set and issue a report. Use the report to update others, as well as to celebrate what has been accomplished.
Being asked to serve on a board is a compliment. Accept the compliment but make sure you successfully deliver your knowledge and expertise by keeping these four key ideas in mind.
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