Nonprofit Boards and
Governance Review
Recruiting Strategic
Thinkers
(Part 3 of a 5 part series)
By Terrie Temkin,
Ph.D.
NonProfit Management Solutions, Inc.
Part 3 of
How To Build A Strategic Thinking Board
I have lost count of how many
times over the last few years I have heard
boards talk about their need to recruit board
members of affluence and influence. While individuals
who meet these qualifications can add much
to a board, they may or may not be what a particular
organization needs at its particular stage
of development. In all cases, however, organizations
need strategic thinkers -- people who can size
up the environment, predict the most likely
future, weigh the ramifications of various
options, and determine the best direction for
the organization.
Since merely putting out a call for strategic
thinkers is unlikely to produce the results
you desire, you must consider how you can recruit
people with the necessary skills. The first
step is to identify the common characteristics
for which you are searching. The second is
to plan to ensure sufficient diversity. The
third is to strategically narrow your list
of potential board members to the best of the
best.
Characteristics of Strategic Thinkers
For me, the list of common characteristics
is relatively short. I look for people who
are curious, who will ask questions, challenge,
probe and never take a statement at face value.
These are the ones who will refuse to move
forward without answers to such questions as:
Why does this matter? How does this relate
to our mission? Is this the best way to approach
this? Or, What are the costs as compared to
the benefits if we proceed in this manner?
I also look for people who can think ahead
-- people who are able to anticipate the most
likely results from specific actions. Hockey
legend Wayne Gretzky credits his success to
his ability to ignore where the puck is and
skate to where the puck will be. Organizations
will always be playing catch up as long as
their boards are skating to where the puck
is.
Individuals who are good at brainstorming
options -- who embrace the French philosopher
Emile Chartier's view, "Nothing is
more dangerous than an idea when it's the only
one you have" -- would be on my list
as well. When I facilitate brainstorming I
often ask groups to come up with at least 60
ideas in 10 minutes. When the group has petered
out, I ask for at least 20 more ideas. The
best ideas are usually in this last group.
The first ideas are typically the over-tried.
If you want a strategic thinking board, you
must find people who not only will dig deep
for the best solution, but who are excited
about the prospect of doing so.
Two other characteristics I would look for
are a comfort level with uncertainty and a
willingness to fail. We all know there are
no guarantees in life. However, strategic thinkers
seem more at ease with taking risks. Perhaps
this is because they are able to calculate
their chances for success fairly accurately.
It might also be because they appreciate that
the only way to move the organization to the
level of the extraordinary is to take risks.
How can you tell if potential board members
hold these characteristics? Putting them on
committees and watching their interactions
over time before inviting them onto the board
is one way. At the very least, pay attention
to the questions they ask -- or don't ask --
when you inquire about their level of interest
in serving on the board.
Ensuring Diversity Betters Chances for Strategic
Thinking
Equally important to identifying potential
board members on the basis that they share
characteristics commonly associated with strategically
thinking boards, is identifying potential board
members that can bring unique perspectives.
Historically, board members have felt most
comfortable recruiting people who look, speak
and act like they do. A recent study of corporate
boards found that, on average, the members
of any two of 550 of these boards are connected
by only 3.5 degrees of separation. My experience
in the nonprofit sector suggests if anything,
the degrees of separation here are fewer. However,
today, diversity must rule.
We now know that people have different learning
and working styles. None is right or wrong,
better or worse. We need big picture thinkers,
but vision will never be realized without detail
people. Maintaining a focus on one's job is
critical, but rarely do people step up to the
plate unless they are doing so for others --
ergo, a people orientation is as important
as a task orientation.
There is a saying, "If two people in business think the same way, then
one of them is unnecessary." We must solicit the different perspectives
our board members bring to the table as a result of the unique blend of their
education, careers, connections, experiences, and so on. It is critical to
the process of creating a strategically thinking board. Margaret Wheatley,
in her classic work Leadership and the New Science: Learning about Organization
from an Orderly Universe (San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler, 1992), concluded
that as long as there is an organizing principle within which people can work
-- in the case of nonprofits this would be mission, vision, values and goals
-- the best (most strategic) results will come from communication between diverse
individuals.
Strategically Building -- Then Narrowing
-- Your Pool of Potential Recruits
One way that you can build a pool of people
from which to choose the best of the best is
to ask your current board members to think
about everyone with whom they come in contact
as possible recruits. Have them share names
of the most viable potentials at every meeting.
Then, start the cultivation process, sending
these individuals newsletters and invitations
to events. Invite them to a special introduction
to the organization. Put them on committees.
When it's time to nominate future board members
you not only have a wide range of individuals
from which to choose, but based on their responses
to your cultivation efforts, you will have
a better idea of who, in fact, thinks strategically.
So, you've now recruited strategic thinkers.
How can you ensure that they will utilize their
skills to benefit your organization? I will
discuss orienting board members not only to
your organization but to their responsibilities
for strategic thinking in Part four of this
series.
Editor's Note: Our thanks to Terrie Temkin
her contribution to Nonprofit
Boards & Governance Review. More information about Terrie can be found at: http://charitychannel.com/resources/Detailed/600.html
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