Would you be surprised to learn that a recent study revealed that 73% of board chairs would welcome feedback on their performance? How about that this majority crossed gender, organization type and even board chair experience categories. Such a finding certainly opens the door to dramatically improving how well boards’ function and seeing some changes quickly.
Ok, no such study exists. It is likely though that board chairs are as open as anyone to suggestions for improving their effectiveness. Such improvements could include a better understandingof their board’s overall leadership needs as well their practices around the board table and away from it.((A related USA study might be the one by Debra Beck, Gayle Gifford, Judy Freiwirth, Mary Highland and Michael Burns for the Alliance of Nonprofit Management. It is titled Voices of Board Chairs: A National Study on the Perspectives of Nonprofit Board Chairs. A good summary appears in The Nonprofit Quarterly, October 12, 2016. There is also a thoughtful piece by Sonia Stamm of Board Effect entitled Tips from the Hot Seat: How to be a Better Board Chair, October 27, 2016))
Board chairs do not get much feedback. Other board members and executive directors feel it is not their place. Many would even say “We are lucky just to have someone willing to serve in this role”.
Tiptoeing around the work of the board chair can sentence boards to years of poor or at least mediocre performance. An ineffective chair not only makes for unsatisfying meetings, it also can make it difficult to find new directors and to keep them. Poor board chairs often means executive directors spending more time than they should on managing the work of their board.
Perhaps its time to refurbish the chair or, in the 17th century old English meaning of the term “furbish”, to give it some polish. It may not be that difficult.
Is Chairing Experience Important?
It is widely assumed that previous chairing experience in the role is important. However, past practice can be overrated. Non-profit boards need different things from their chair depending on the board culture, the composition of the board, and the particular issues the organization and board are currently grappling with.
Chairing experience, if positive, surely makes it more likely that someone would volunteer for the job but the value of a conversation about the what one expects in one’s board chair cannot be over rated.
Role Description and Board Self-Evaluation
It is certainly helpful to the chair to have a written position description. Ideally this should speak to the chair’s role managing the board, facilitating meetings and to working with the executive director in strengthening governance. You will find some resources here on GoverningGood.((The following Governance Guides here may be of value: Chairing a Board Meeting, Ten Tips for Improving Board Meetings and How Boards Can Have Better Conversations. Under Sample Policies see my Board Chair Job Description)) However, these tools are often not enough.
Board self-evaluations can also provide an opportunity for the chair to get some feedback. So, if you have a good template and conduct these once and awhile, your chair ought to get some useful suggestions on their leadership. But waiting up to a year to address any chairing concerns, big or small, may be too long for most boards.((Board evaluation, or board self evaluation, is much touted good practice. There are a few self-assessment tools that I like. One is from Community Literacy of Ontario who maintains excellent resources on nonprofit governance. Compass Point’s Jan Masoka’s wrote a good piece in 2005 on Self Assessment of the Board in their Board Cafe blog. There is a terrific online board self assessment, secure and confidential, called Board Checkup . It is part of an ongoing research project by Canadians Vic Murray and Yvonne Harrison. Finally, there is my own customizable Board Self- Assessment Questionnaire on this website))
Effective Feedback
The intent here is not to suggest that a board chair be casually offered some unsolicited advice. This might not go well. While some courage may be called for, it helps to be prepared and to have some understanding of effective feedback.
The characteristics of effective feedback are well described in management literature even if such advice is not always applied.((Lots of descriptions of effective feedback can be found online. Some of it relates to workplace situations, some to educational ones. A useful piece is one written by Grant Wiggins, The Seven Keys to Effective Feedback in the Journal Educational Leadership, Vol 70, No..1, 2012)) Many people would say there three types of feedback: negative, positive and constructive. Offering feedback according to these “types” are not nearly as useful as feedback that is:
- Specific: The feedback should relate to a specific behaviour or set of circumstances that can be described
- Timely: The feedback should be given as soon after the behaviour is exhibited or the situation happened.
- Actionable: The feed back must contain ideas or suggestions that can be applied
- Candid and trustworthy: The feedback should be offered by someone trusted and respected.
- Goal-oriented: The feedback be couched in the idea of goals or better results
- Future-focused: the feedback should focus on future situations and improvements, not dwell on what has already happened.
- Confidential: In many situations, certainly one-on-one situations, feedback should be offered privately
In the board leadership context providing feedback does not demand a telling and listening approach. A few questions can open up the door for a collective conversation about improving the function of the chair where some of the responsibilities of the job are broadly owned.
Chair-initiated Feedback
The easiest way for a board chairs to get feedback is for them to invite it. All it really requires is asking a few open-ended questions. Lets start with the chair’s work in the boardroom.
If you are the chair try asking these questions to your directors. Give the group 2 or 3 minutes to consider them and then listen to their comments and suggestions.
- What do you like about my approach to chairing our meetings?
- What would you like to see more of, or less of, in terms of how I manage our meetings?
- Are there other things we might do collectively to improve our meetings?
Yes, the first question provides an opportunity for positive feedback, the others for more constructive comments. The real objective here is starting the conversation. A quiet reflective moment by each director here is crucial.
Upon hearing from your directors, make a commitment to the group to experiment with some adjustments, starting perhaps with the next meeting if you cannot make any immediate changes. To be sure, such questions will not get at more intractable issues around the board table but the asking may pave the way for more confidential discussions.
In terms of the chair’s relationship to the executive director, the two should sit down with one another. The questions posed by the chair might be:
- What things could the two of us pay more attention to in order to improve how the board itself functions?
- I am wondering about the balance of time we spend talking about current operations and future issues. Do we need to adjust this?
- What would you like to see more of from me in terms support and advice. Given we both have other commitments what could we spend less time on?
Executive Director Initiated Feedback
Executive directors can themselves help improve their board’s chair’s performance. This may, as already suggested, take some courage and it will certainly depend on there being some trust present.
Extend an invitation to the chair to talk about the board and how together the two of you might make some improvements in its leadership. Consider some of the following questions. Your discussion could open the door to a makeover of your governance relationship.
The Questions (some examples)
- What board issues do you see need some attention?
- I am hoping you have some ideas. I have some suggestions of my own that have to do with better planning of our board meetings
- What about our own interactions? How do you feel about them? Are we making the best use of our time?
- Might we set up a regular monthly meeting between us, by phone or in person?
- I was wondering if we might give greater attention to planning the board’s work and less on reflecting on, or managing the operations.
- Should we try to be more intentional in what matters should go to the board and what doesn’t need to?
- I am wondering about my monthly report to the board. Does it provide the right information? What do you think? Could we take this question to them?
- Do you think our board meeting agenda’s have too many items? I have some ideas we could try out.
- Do you have any advice for me on my interactions with the whole board or any individual members?
These questions will at least give the executive director some ideas on how the conversation might be framed.((On the matter of challenging conversations I have also written on this blog about a related topic: Difficult Board Conversations ))
A Leadership Conversation
The idea of initiating a conversation about your board’s chairing needs is really an easy step to take in polishing up your board’s leadership.
If you are the chair assume board members will provide you some sense of what is working well and some other things to try. In part, the conversation gives you a stronger mandate to lead. And, the fact that you have raised the matter means the topic is now an acceptable one to talk about.
If you are the executive director assume your chair is open to feedback and that a board leadership conversation would be a welcome one. Give it a try.
(A 4-page PDF of this article Refurbishing Your Chair is here)