Dr. Earl R. Smith II

Dr. Earl R. Smith II
DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com
www.Dr-Smith.com

Non-profit organizations face tough challenges to stay relevant, effective and viable. Non-profit leaders want boards that believe in the mission of the organization, but have other priorities requiring their attention. Chief executives must maintain board member attention and dedication to the mission of any non-profit organization. There are several key common components of highly effective boards:

• Diversity
• Good strategic planning
• Important skill sets and connections
• Board member commitment
• Board member engagement

Successful and effective boards share many of these traits. All effective organizations have a focus point and require commitment and engagement. Non-profits boards have the added responsibility of fund raising and working primarily through volunteers.

A key to fund raising is acceptance by the community. A non-profit board that does not respect the strength diversity can bring to an organization is falling short of its true potential in both mission and in fund raising. Non-profit boards should make every effort to reflect the make-up of the community in which they operate. Board members should be drawn from every stratum of society. The more a non-profit board reflects the community it serves the more trusting a community will be toward the motive and mission of the organization it governs.

Every highly effective non-profit organization can benefit from having a strong, systemic strategic plan. The plan should include thoughtful insights from outside the organization. It should also include inputs from the people and organizations benefiting from the services the organization supplies. Non-profit boards developing a strategic plan should include more strategy and less operational guidelines. A key component of any strategic plan should be ways to assign accountability and performance metrics. Any organization that does not follow these guidelines risks falling short of their goals.

The chief executive of a non-profit must constantly search out new talent. Board composition is one of the most important components of a successful non-profit organization. Good board members render professional services, open doors to new sources of funds; lend credibility to an organizations mission and many other tasks that require specific talents and expertise. A chief executive of a non-profit must develop a deep bench of talent that can be called upon as needed. Highly talented individuals are in constant demand and successful non-profit organization will have several capable board members to call upon for various tasks.

As with anything, new, non-profit board members often join a board with a zest for the mission and energy for the fight. A good chief executive will make sure a new board member supports the mission and strategy of the organization, but more importantly a wise chief executive will make sure the new board member does not burn out too soon. Keeping the commitment and engagement of new board members high – without burnout – is a fine art. Non-profit businesses offer opportunities for service, but the service is work. At every opportunity, effective board member should be applauded, celebrated and encouraged enjoy their work. Board meetings should be short, and to the point. Breaks for networking opportunities with other board members are a good idea whenever possible.

Leaders of non-profits should engage board members as often as possible with newsletters and preferably ‘earned’ news that recognizes the accomplishments of the organization and recognizes the contribution of the board members and the businesses they represent. By keeping apprised of the latest developments, directors reduce the risk of saying the wrong thing or looking as if they do not know what is developing at the organization they help to govern. The board of directors of non-profit organizations is the key component to the success and longevity of the business. A good chief executive is aware of the importance of the directors and works to keep their performance high by recognizing accomplishments and rotating responsibilities.

© Dr. Earl R. Smith II

Related Articles:

• Non-Profits – Director and Officer Insurance

• Non-profit Board Compensation Practices

• Errors and Omissions Insurance – Necessary Protection of Officers and Directors

• New Board Member Selection

• Directors and Officers Insurance

• Non-Profit Board Member Selection – Excellence Breeds Excellence

Dr. Smith is a proven senior executive, successful entrepreneur, published author and public speaker. He serves on boards of directors and advisory boards or as a strategic adviser to CEOs. Dr. Smith specializes in turnaround management, strategic planning, leadership development and executive coaching. He also works as an executive and/or life coach in the areas of personal growth and spirituality. He is the author of Amazing Pace: Turbo-charged Business Development – a book that shows how Advisory Boards can dramatically increase revenue. Dr. Smith is also the author of Dream Walk: Parables for the Living – a book of Raven Tales and exploration.

This entry was posted on Saturday, September 27th, 2008 at 2:45 PM and is filed under Governance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.