I’m hearing from many of my clients that they're currently struggling with ways to engage their boards.
In the early stages of the COVID-19 crisis, they had immediate needs and questions that required board action, input and decision-making. But that urgency has lessened for some organizations and now they’re left with figuring out how to conduct business as usual, when there is nothing usual about it.
Engaging your board now – while the crisis is still serious, but less intense – is going to take some creativity and willingness to think differently. For example, it may be months before you gather with your board in person, or host an event or major fundraiser. So, as an organizational leader, you’ll need to be more intentional about devising ways to engage board members.
Fortunately, there are some easy ways to create that connection while everyone is still physically separated, as well as ways to put forth a rallying cry that cuts through the uncertainty.
ACTION STEPS
Stay Connected to Your Chair: Set up a standing call, or other routine check-in with your board chair. More than anything, you need a thought partner right now. Someone you can have frank discussions with and who will help you think through all of the dynamics and challenges in your environment. Your chair can also serve as a bridge to the rest of your board, helping them stay up to date and informed.
Don’t Go it Alone: Before COVID-19, you probably knew how to handle most situations–or at the least, where to turn for the answer. This is a different time. You don’t have all the answers…no one does. You need to be able to navigate various scenarios and develop contingency plans. This could be a good role for your executive committee, and you might even form a task group for this purpose. Your board provides governance and also diverse expertise, competencies and perspectives which can be of great help in managing complexity.
Maintain Your Committees and Their Work: Identify which board committees are essential to the health of your organization and invest in them. Identify the projects they should focus on and create work plans for each committee. If needed, create new task groups to handle emerging needs. These committees will help you position the organization, provide critical perspective and expertise, as well as ensure committee members are invested in the work of the organization.
Create Time for Different Types of Thinking: With all of this confusion and uncertainty, you may find that your time with the board is spent thinking tactically and defensively. And there is certainly a need to do that as the current COVID-19 situation unfolds. But that type of thinking alone is not sufficient. A crisis creates new problems, shines a light on old issues and uncovers new opportunities. Therefore, you also need to dedicate time to think strategically with your board and in inventive ways to produce new ideas. This approach to engaging your board will help you solve today’s problems, create a strategy for the future and build habits of thinking that result in better decision making beyond the crisis we're facing now.
