Terrie on
Nonprofits ©
July 2005
TODAY I AM A BOARD PRESIDENT. Help, Please!
Q:
Do you happen to have any information specific to
the board president’s duties, rights, and
responsibilities? References would be equally appreciated.
A:
Ah… one of my favorite topics. Long gone are
the days of grooming people over a period of years
to take on the presidency of a board. I’ve
seen people come to one meeting, say something intelligent
and be asked to become president. It’s no
wonder that some presidents have questions about
their roles.
In
short, the president has three basic responsibilities:
- To
ensure that the board fulfills its responsibility
to the community by effectively guiding the organization
toward fulfillment of its mission and vision while
at the same time protecting it by making the best
decisions possible given the available data and
considering such things as the financial, risk,
image and manpower implications of the options
they consider.
- To
partner with the executive director to ensure
that the day-to-day operational decisions are
consistent with the policies set by the board.
- To
serve as the liaison between the board and executive
director, gathering and passing information between
the two and making sure that any misunderstandings
are cleared up immediately.
The
president’s specific duties are many. Among
them:
- Visioning
and developing action steps to reach his or her
vision.
- Staying
current on all issues relevant to the organization
and its place in the community.
- Developing
the meeting agendas – often in conjunction
with the executive director – with a focus
on substantive issues that impact mission and
vision.
-
Facilitating meetings according to the protocol
set out in the bylaws (e.g., Robert’s Rules
of Order or Roberta’s Rules of Order)
- Encouraging
everyone’s input – especially that
of those who would challenge the status quo.
- Keeping
the meetings on track while being sensitive to
interpersonal needs.
- Seeing
that the board is knowledgeable about the mission,
the community and its roles and responsibilities.
- Appointing
committees to do the business of the board and
the organization.
- Sitting
in on committee meetings as time permits.
-
Delegating responsibilities to other board members
or the executive director.
- Facilitating
the evaluation of the executive director and board
members according to clearly defined criteria.
-
Providing frequent, specific and current feedback
to both other board members and the executive
director beyond the formal evaluation system.
- Serving
as a role model in terms of attendance, meeting
financial obligations, coming prepared to meetings,
and so on.
- Having
high expectations – even of other volunteers!
- Holding
board members accountable to all stated expectations.
This may require talking with people that are
not following through on their commitments. It
may also mean asking these individuals for their
resignation if behaviors don’t change.
-
Ensuring that the board is self-sustaining –
i.e., identifying, cultivating and training future
leadership.
- Serving
as an organization spokesperson.
- Signing
contracts, checks and other documents.
- Guiding
the development of policies.
- Accepting
that the buck stops at his/her door.
For additional information you might want to check
out The Board Chair Handbook by William
and Linda Dietel, published by BoardSource in 2001,
or Dare to Chair: The Art of Chairing a Nonprofit
Board of Directors by Nancy Haycock published
in 1991 by the Community Resource Exchange.
Terrie
Temkin, Ph.D. is an internationally recognized governance
and planning expert. She is president of NonProfit
Management Solutions, Inc., a principal in CoreStrategies
for Nonprofits, Inc., and a longtime member of AFP.
Contact her at terriet@nonprofitmanagementsolutions.com,
954-985-9489, or 866-985-9489.
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