To Manage or Not to Manage – That is the Question for Board Members!

“I am so SICK of my Board Chair,” groans one exasperated Executive Director. “He stops by every other day, and calls me all the time. He made some decisions about one of my programs that were in a press release to the paper before I even knew about them. What a nightmare!”

“My Board is so disengaged they forget to show up at board and committee meetings,” says another E.D. with a forlorn expression on her face. “If the organization folded tomorrow, I wonder if any Board members would care?...Or even notice?”

These are extreme cases, I know, but variations of the “micro-manager” and the “hands-off” style exist to some degree with every Board of Directors. It is a slippery slope either way, but there is clear direction given about the Board role in managing an organization, especially in Oregon.

In the “Guide to Non-Profit Board Service In Oregon,” produced by the Office of the Attorney General, it clearly states that the Board is not expected to manage the day-to-day operations of the charity. It is the responsibility of the Board to hire the CEO or Executive Director to carry out the mission (through the day-to-day operations) of the organization.

Having said that--a good rule of thumb that I always use when training Boards is “nose in, fingers out”. Make sure your financial controls are in place so no one is “tempted” by cash or checks flowing into the office. The Board should require consistent updates on how the Executive Director is accomplishing annual programmatic goals that were formed during the annual strategic plan.

Human resource policies, work safety policies, and board policies should be used to protect and provide a framework within which the Board and key staff can freely function.

The Board should really be able to spend the bulk of its time at meetings focusing on the strategic direction of the organization: looking forward into the coming year to see if the economy is going to throw up any “sneaker waves”, deciding how to build their capacity to govern through new trainings or conferences, planning ways they can promote the mission of the organization in the community, etc.

Too many Boards hope their ED will be their main public speaker – but trust me – it is much more interesting to community members to hear a volunteer board member speak about their passion for the organization then a paid staff person who always look like they are trying to save their job.

Finally, the Board is required by Oregon law to be engaged and able to execute their fiduciary responsibilities. That means Board members come to meetings, ask questions, check the financials regularly, and understand the organizing documents that chartered the organization: the bylaws and the articles of incorporation.

A recent Board we worked with came to a Directors monthly meeting only to discover that they were overdrawn by $2,000 in their checking account. The ED shrugged and told them to "pay more attention". She no longer works there, but she is right - the Board President and Treasurer should have been on top of that. Right now the Board is trying to figure out where the money went and why - but in the meantime, it makes fundraising pretty hard.