Soapbox Engage Blog

Think of the worst leader you’ve ever worked with. Maybe they acted unilaterally and made decisions without consulting the group first. Or, perhaps they refused to accept feedback or take team members’ concerns into account. Whatever the case was, you probably found working with that person to be nearly impossible.

As a board leader, you know the importance of fostering strong leadership skills among your board members. These individuals set your organization's strategic direction. They play a significant role in your fundraising and marketing efforts, striving to develop strong community partnerships that give your organization a leg up. Needless to say, you want to avoid having poor leaders like the ones described above in your midst.

To enhance your board’s leadership qualities and empower them to guide your organization down the right path, try out these leadership development strategies:

1. Set clear expectations and goals.
2. Empower board leaders with proper training.
3. Provide the resources board members need to succeed.
4. Ensure board meetings are concise and productive.
5. Have open, honest discussions with board members.

These strategies help every board leader, from your executive committee members to your newest board members, grow as leaders and learn how to better support your organization’s cause. Empowered leaders help revitalize your organization from the top-down, giving you a strong foundation to launch new initiatives.

1. Set clear expectations and goals.

Without the history and context of the role, board members will struggle to understand what’s expected of them as a leader. That’s why it’s important to set clear expectations and goals for board members, so they know what to do and what they’re striving to achieve.

When board members first start in their roles, be sure to review the history of your organization’s board and the evolution it's gone through to be where it is today.

Then, clearly define board members’ duties so they understand their ongoing tasks and responsibilities. Set guidelines for aspects of board membership like:

1. The frequency and structure of board meetings: Board members should know how often they’re expected to attend board meetings and how these gatherings work.
2. The cadence of board meeting discussions: Describe how board discussions work within your meetings, including when attendees are allowed to speak and who they should address when speaking.
3. The board voting process: Establish expectations for what types of decisions the board will vote on and what the voting process will look like.
4. Fundraising participation: Explain your board fundraising expectations, including fundraising opportunities for board members to get involved with.
5. Event planning: If board members will be tasked with planning your organization’s major annual events, such as your annual gala or auction, describe what the planning process will involve.

Finally, track goals using key performance indicators. These might include metrics such as new donor leads generated, gifts secured, donor retention rate, or overall fundraising return on investment. This gives board members a clear picture of whether their efforts are on the right track or if their leadership strategy needs to be adjusted.

2. Empower board leaders with proper training.

Leadership is a skill, and every skill, from baking to glass blowing to coding, requires training and practice for someone to become an expert. That’s why every board leader can benefit from an engaging, comprehensive training program that covers different aspects of board leadership.

Your board training should start with an effective onboarding process that educates board members on your organization’s history and mission. You should also provide new board members with all of the documentation they’ll need, including relevant reports, a chart detailing your organization’s structure, and your organization’s bylaws.

Your training shouldn’t end once members have completed onboarding. Facilitate continued learning for board members by offering ongoing training opportunities. Nonprofit.Courses’ nonprofit board training guide recommends finding training courses that cover topics such as:

• How to be a good board member
• How to lay the foundation for better board governance
• How to deal with board discord
• How to improve your board’s structure
• How to support your organization through marketing
• How to keep up with fundraising trends

3. Provide the resources board members need to succeed.

The days of using spreadsheets or printed documents to manage board activities are long gone. Modern board leaders require streamlined, user-friendly management tools to keep all of their projects and responsibilities organized.

Namely, board leaders require effective board management software. Board software is an online management tool that board leaders use to facilitate online communication and collaboration.

The tools your solution provides will vary depending on which platform you choose, but you should ensure your board portal offers the following features:

• A secure document center. Keep important documents safe in a user-friendly storage system and share files with just a few clicks.
• A meeting center. Streamline the meeting scheduling process by allowing board members to choose the times that work best for them. Plus, board members can stay organized using a single dashboard that includes all meeting information they need.
• A dynamic agenda builder. An agenda builder helps board leaders quickly craft agendas, assign action items to different members, and share the agenda with the full board.
• A task manager. This feature allows board members to view all of their assigned tasks and permits account administrators to review all assignments to ensure everyone stays on track.
• Virtual meeting software. Maintain momentum remotely whenever your board isn’t meeting in person by using virtual meeting tools. You can use these platforms to meet with board members, quickly share documents, and record minutes in real-time.

Board leaders will be able to work much more efficiently when they don’t have to worry about juggling a printed task list with a spreadsheet report and a long email communication chain. When all important documents and processes are stored in a centralized board management system, leaders can keep their focus on their most important responsibility—helping your organization achieve its mission!

4. Ensure board meetings are concise and productive.

Board meetings allow everyone to discuss important topics and establish who’s taking charge of what. If your board meetings are ineffective or disorganized, your board members won’t have a good idea of how they can best support your organization.

Therefore, keeping each meeting on track and effective should be a top priority. Boardable’s guide to board meeting agendas highlights a few key actions to host more productive board meetings:

• Share the agenda ahead of time to allow board members to think about how they’ll contribute to the conversation.
• Emphasize topics that affect multiple people to make the most of your time.
• Place ad-hoc topics in a parking lot to keep the meeting concise and efficient.
• Ensure each board member leaves with clear next steps so everyone is on the same page about what to work on before the next meeting.

When board members feel engaged and energized during meetings, it will translate into more productive leadership outside of the boardroom as well. They’ll have a clear picture of the tasks and responsibilities they should be focusing on to lead your organization most effectively.

5. Have open, honest discussions with board members.

If your board leaders are facing any challenges, the worst thing that can happen is that everyone stays quiet about it. The issues will fester, grow larger, and turn into major problems before you know it.

Throughout the leadership development process, encourage board leaders to have open and honest conversations about what they think is going well and what needs improvement. Ask board members for feedback on everything from the effectiveness of your training process to the timing of your board meetings.

When facilitating these conversations, be sure to establish a few guidelines to ensure productive discussion. Encourage board members to air their grievances respectfully.

Also, ask board members about the best ways you can support them as leaders. For instance, certain board members might find video training sessions more helpful than clicking through a slideshow. Or, some might feel like they can contribute most to the marketing side of your outreach efforts rather than the direct fundraising side.

By understanding the interests and skills of each board leader, you can pair them with projects and initiatives that suit their preferences. There’s always a noticeable difference in project management efficiency when leaders are fully engaged and enthusiastic about accomplishing goals.

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When it comes to board leadership, there’s no way to prepare for every fundraising unknown or anticipate every roadblock your organization will face. However, you can equip your board leaders with the skills, resources, and confidence they’ll need to meet unexpected challenges and develop creative solutions. The path to better board leadership starts with proper training and open, honest communication between board members. Good luck!