Board Members’ Transparency and Tenacity
Recently I have seen several organizations that are struggling with quality board member communication. Even when all the board members are passionate about the organization and have the common good at heart they are not experiencing the joys of being part of a high performing board team that leads the organization to great results.
One of the challenges is the lack of transparency between board members. In the interests of time efficiency board members aren’t spending the time needed to get to know each other well. On the surface the board members may trust each other, they believe that their colleagues are honest and well intentioned. However, their trust doesn’t go deep enough for them to risk sharing their thoughts, feelings, and gut reactions openly with each other. This too often leads to decisions that are only accepted at the head level. Board members leave the meeting not bought-in with their heart and therefore do not promote or enthusiastically support the board’s newly stated philosophy. The rest of the organization, in turn, does not get the message, and thus does not have the benefit of effective leadership. Even if the board’s decision was a quality one, there are no followers because the rest of the organization does not get the message. This lack of effective leadership significantly impedes results. Increased board member transparency leads to decisions that are accepted, more clearly communicated, and impact positive organizational results.
Another challenge is when one or a few board members share a perspective which other board members do not support. Because board decisions require at least majority support that issue gets dropped, perhaps forever. Yet, that minority view is often one that could guide the board to healthy, appropriate decisions. Too often organizations suffer because once board members back down they do not raise the issue again. It is appropriate for the minority view holders to not bulldoze their perspective, but they are abdicating their responsibility to lead the organization by abandoning an issue that they really believe is critical for the organization’s success. Organizations benefit when board members have the tenacity to stay true to their quality perspectives. Tenacious board members will ask questions to better understand the majority perspective. They will consider the personalities and learning styles of their fellow board members and explore alternative ways to communicate their point. They will have patience to wait a few months, or sometimes even a year or two, until the rest of the board is more open to their perspective and share it again. If an issue really is the best thing for the organization an appropriately tenacious board member can effectively influence the organization’s future.
Effective board members draw from a toolbox of diverse skills. Transparency and tenacity in the boardroom are two such tools that can contribute to governance excellence.
