A show of hands: How many of you will have new board members this year? This may come about due to the election in November, or new board appointments. In any case, you will have people joining your board who will not have a clear grasp of the purpose and roles of your board. Many will have absolutely no idea of the expectations of their new position.
In some organizations, new board members get their orientation using the "fire hose" approach in which they are given every document within the organization and are expected to digest it and be up to speed by the next board meeting. (!) As a brand new board member, it can be difficult to know what questions to ask because of the amount of new information. Its overwhelming!
Your new board members will bring to their new role a list of preconceived ideas of what they think the job entails. They may view themselves as well-versed regarding the expectations of the position, but come to realize that their initial ideas were off-target. Hopefully, in time new board members will get up to speed, realize they cannot control some of the things they thought they could, and get an idea of what is expected behavior. But this can be a long and painful process for all concerned!
The board "Rookie Syndrome" can be addressed by being proactive and sensitive about helping both prospective and new board members understand the purpose of the board and subsequently, their roles. While not commonplace, some organizations offer a "So You Want To Be A Board Member" session. The catch to this is that sitting board members MUST themselves have a clear understanding and agreement of the board's purpose, roles, goals and expected behavior.
BOARDynamics offers you a solution. We help a board come to agreement on their Purpose. Once that is established, Roles are defined under the umbrella of their purpose. Then, establishing board Goals and subsequent Behaviors are discussed and agreed upon. We can also help you facilitate informational sessions for prospective candidates as well as orientation for new board members to help you have the most effective board for your organization.
We Make Boards Better!
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