This just in.
Despite the best of intentions, most nonprofit boards fail to live up to their potential.
Alarmingly, a recent study conducted by McKinsey & Company uncovered that only 17% of nonprofit CEOs feel that their boards are as effective as they can be.
Seventeen percent. Ouch.
But there’s more.
Board chairs are feeling exactly the same way as their CEOs do.
Check this out.
Scholars from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business found that half of all nonprofit board chairs in the U.S. believe that their boards are not as genuinely engaged as they could (and should) be.
Sadly, we’re not done.
The very same Stanford researchers discovered that the majority of board members themselves also feel that they aren’t performing at peak.
Just to make sure you don’t miss the point, allow me to summarize:
The vast majority of nonprofit CEOs, board chairs, and board members all agree they are collectively missing the mark.
Two words: What gives?
In Search of Extraordinary I-M-P-A-C-T
Given the importance (and payoff) of serving on a nonprofit board, the overarching goal of any nonprofit CEO, board chair, or director should be to make a profound and lasting difference in the lives of the people the organization is serving.
Said another way: board service should be all about extraordinary impact.
But here’s the deal, extraordinary impact doesn’t happen by accident.
In fact, if you want to put a dent in the universe (to quote the late, great Steve Jobs), it will take a systematic, intentional effort that revolves around six major priorities.
Let’s take a quick look at each:
Priority #1: Imagine the GCO that is your CEO!
High Impact Boards recognize that the nonprofit’s CEO is a game-changing opportunity (GCO!).
With this in mind, extraordinary boards not only make sure that they have the right CEO in place—they also do everything in their power to bring out the very best in them.
Priority #2: Multiply your impact by aiming higher than you ever thought possible.
Extraordinary boards understand that bold dreams and a shared vision are the fuel of organizational progress.
Peter Senge said it best: “Vision paints the picture of what we want to create…and when that vision is shared, it becomes a force in people’s hearts, a force of impressive power…few, if any, forces in human affairs are as powerful a shared vision.”
High Impact Boards know this and go to great lengths to dream big!
Priority #3: Perfect the plan that propels progress.
High Impact Boards not only dream big, but they deliver brilliantly. They do this by making sure that the nonprofit’s plan is as good as it can possibly be.
This means making sure that every plan:
- Reinforces the nonprofits vision
- Articulates clear goals and measurable objectives
- Assigns every important task to a specific individual
- Properly funds each priority
- Regularly monitors and communicates progress
Priority #4: Amplify accountability with the metrics that matter.
High Impact Boards understand that planning is the art of bringing the future into the present so that something can be done about it now!
High Impact Boards keep score—and they do this through the use of a dashboard or scorecard.
Think about it.
To operate an enormously complex piece of machinery (e.g., your car), you really only need to know four or five pieces of information:
- Whether or not the car is turned on
- How much gas you have in the tank
- How fast you are traveling
- Whether or not there are any alarms or warnings present
Despite having more than 100,000 parts, as long as you know these four simple things you can pretty much drive a car without incident.
It works exactly the same with your nonprofit’s dashboard.
By monitoring the four or five most important metrics of your organization, your board can not only proceed confidently but they can have great fun in pooling their energies to move these needles.
Priority #5: Communicate effectively and courageously.
High Impact Boards communicate effectively and courageously.
For your board to be effective as possible, each and every person at the table needs to possess the ability (and willingness) to communicate courageously.
To do this, High Impact Boards go to great lengths to not only create psychological safety, but they also invest in training to make sure that every director has the understanding, skills, and tools to interact with precision and care.
Priority #6: Take care of the organization by delivering on the details.
Last but not least, High Impact Boards deliver on the details.
This means making sure that all the administrative details (e.g., the annual audit, filing of 990s and other IRS forms, examining monthly financials, reviewing insurance coverages, etc.) all get done the right way and on time.
But here’s what separates extraordinary boards from average ones.
Low to average-performing nonprofit boards spend about 80% of their time in this area. The extraordinary ones only spend about 20% of their time here (and the rest on the five aforementioned priorities).
The Road to I-M-P-A-C-T
In the weeks ahead, we are going to walk you through each one of these key steps (which can be remembered by the mnemonic I-M-P-A-C-T).
Not only will we drill down on each priority, but we will also give you the tools, resources, and assessments to get the job done.
Hang on—it’s going to be an exhilarating and meaningful ride! And the payoff? Extraordinary impact!
Until next time, remember that great people don’t just sit on boards—they serve on boards!
Thanks for all you do!
