We have identified 4 P’s for Building Your Board Team:  Purpose, People, Plan and Process.  In our last Tip for Effective Boards we focused on the first P:  Be Driven by Purpose.  In this Tip for Effective Boards we turn to the second P: Focus on People (Your Board Team Members).

Focusing on People involves the following:

Recruit a diverse team of excellent board members.  Be clear about what characteristics you are looking for in prospective board members.  (See Tips for Effective Boards, “Tip #38:  What Characteristics to Look for When Recruiting Board Members.” Define clear expectations for board member responsibilities and board member behavior (for example, board member job description, code of conduct policy, ground rules for board meetings, etc.)  Engage all board members in the recruitment effort.  Have a well-defined, well-organized new board member orientation program involving at least one or more experienced board members.  Consider a new board member mentoring program in which experienced board members are paired with newly appointed board members.

Invest in board member and board leadership development.  Develop a board culture that supports the continued development of each and every board member and the board as a whole.  In addition to a strong new board member orientation program, make continuing education opportunities available for each board member and for the board as a whole and expect participation in these opportunities.  Make your commitment real by budgeting funds for this priority each year.  With respect to board leadership development, be proactive in preparing board members to assume and be successful in board leadership positions.  For specific suggestions, please go to Tips for Effective Boards, “Tip #36:  Develop Future Board Leaders.”  In short, don’t expect board members to succeed as board members and in board leadership positions without adequate preparation.  It’s not fair to them or to the board.

Deal with problematic board member behavior proactively and effectively.  Obviously, the best way to address these behaviors is to prevent them from occurring in the first place.  The basic suggested approach is to set clear expectations about desirable and undesirable board member behaviors and to regularly communicate and reinforce these expectations.   

Suggestions for setting clear expectations include defining the job of the board, describing its governing style including expectations for board meeting behavior, and enacting absenteeism and conflict of interest policies. 

Suggestions for communicating and reinforcing these expectations include communicating board member expectations to prospective board members during recruitment and during new board member orientation.  Prior to appointment to the board, board member candidates can sign a conflict of interest statement and a statement of commitment to board member responsibilities including expected board member behavior.  These can also be signed annually, as well.  Seasoned board members can be assigned to mentor new board members and can include a regular review of these expectations during mentoring.  Board members can give and receive feedback regarding these expectations through board member feedback surveys at designated intervals and for reappointment consideration.  Confidential surveys conducted at the end of board meetings can provide valuable feedback about board meeting process including desirable and undesirable behaviors.

For suggestions on how to deal with troublesome board member behavior that is already occurring, please see Tips for Effective Boards, “Tip #41:  Deal Effectively with Troublesome Board Member Behavior.”  

Develop an accountable board culture.  Suggestions for elements that can contribute to such a culture include the following:  end of board meeting evaluation (discussion at end of board meeting or board members complete confidential assessment forms collated by a designated board member for discussion at the next meeting), periodic comprehensive board self-assessment and/or evaluation by an external consultant, challenging oneself and one’s peers when board member behavior is not consistent with the board’s expectations of itself, periodic board member self-assessment processed with the board chair, confidential individual board member assessment of board members seeking reappointment, etc.  For a sample board meeting evaluation form and sample comprehensive board self-assessment forms, please click on https://www.BoardsOnCourse.com/resources. 

In our next Tip for Effective Boards, we’ll focus on the third P for building your board team:  Plan for Board Team Effectiveness.

I will be happy to customize a workshop for your board on any or all of the 4 P’s.  If you would like more information, please contact me via this website's contact page or by email:  jpbohley@gmail.com.

While the 4 P’s incorporate insights from the Policy Governance® system, the 4 P’s also draw from other governance writers and from the group dynamics and team-building literature.  For more information about the Policy Governance® system, please click on https://www.BoardsOnCourse.com/policy-governance.