What are the most common board governance challenges and how do you overcome them?

From my experience as an association executive and consultant, role clarity is a very common “pain point” in many organizations. Unfortunately, being intentional about reinforcing the roles of staff and volunteer leaders is often part of onboarding but not consistently addressed throughout the year. This results in a lack of boundaries as “scope creep” in positions can lead to frustration to the point of apathy, anger or even resigning from a position. It’s important to check in with both volunteers and staff on a regular basis to assess whether there is clarity about their roles or a need to facilitate a discussion for each party to gain more clarity and come to consensus even if it requires some negotiation for role revisions.

Defining and communicating roles and responsibilities is indeed essential for successful board governance. In addition, providing orientation and training for both new and existing board members and staff is crucial. Strong governance sets the stage for organizational success. By ensuring clarity and alignment in roles and responsibilities, your board, staff, and committees can work together harmoniously, driving the association towards its vision and mission.

Role creep in a board can result from immaturity, weak leadership, and a failure to consider diverse management perspectives. The absence of a strategic outlook and strained board-management relationships, coupled with a lack of trust, further blur roles. To counter these challenges, fostering clear communication, regularly reviewing governing documents, and prioritizing comprehensive orientation and training are crucial. However, the effectiveness of training diminishes if members don't engage with sector-specific information, and undue influence from the Chair can lead to confusion. The Chair's role should focus on stabilizing the board, highlighting the need for strong leadership in governance.

- The greatest advice I ever got on how, as an executive manager, I can strategically align with the board comes down to one question: Is the board a resource or an extra workload? Yes, the board is a place for feedback and decision-making but it should also, for top management, be your greatest source for insights to trends, expertise, business development, networking and accelerating effects. The board is a group of experts willing to dedicate their own valuable time to push ‘your’ work to success, are you, truly and fully, using their minds, networks and passion to drive the values and results of your association to the front of market leadership? If no. Reinvent the way you involve and strategically align with your board.

When board members have different agendas or opinions that deviate from the association's direction, it can hinder decision-making and implementation processes. Conflicts, delays, and inefficiencies may arise, affecting the organization's ability to achieve its goals. By involving the board in the strategic planning process and keeping them informed about progress and outcomes, you promote a sense of ownership and shared responsibility. Fostering a culture of trust and collaboration among board members and staff encourages open communication and constructive feedback, leading to better decision-making and more effective implementation of the association's strategic initiatives.alignment strengthens organizations to drive positive change.

In my experience of not only being on boards, but also consulting with boards on their strategic plans, having the board on the same page is key. What is the true agenda of the organization and the board? How can we align everyone to work on that agenda to ensure that it is part of the startegic plan. Strategic planning crucial on developing ideas, trust and outcomes. What are the goals and plans for the current fiscal and moving forward be it the near future or beyond. Strategic plans allow you to gauge the benchmarks achieved and what needs to be readdressed again or in a different way. Being constructive does not mean the person is wrong, it neans maybe things can be done differently by looking the issue differently.

Common board governance challenges include communication issues, conflicts of interest, and lack of strategic focus. Overcoming them involves fostering open communication, establishing clear policies, addressing conflicts promptly, and ensuring alignment with the organization's mission and goals through regular assessments and training.

One methodology that can add value to the board performance evaluation process is the balanced scorecard approach. This methodology involves assessing the board's performance based on multiple dimensions, including financial stewardship, strategic alignment, operational effectiveness, and stakeholder satisfaction. By using a balanced scorecard, you can gain a holistic view of the board's effectiveness and impact. It allows you to measure both quantitative and qualitative aspects of board performance, providing a comprehensive understanding of how well the board is fulfilling its fiduciary and governance duties. This methodology enables you to identify areas of strength and areas for improvement.

D'après mon expérience sur de nombreux CA d'organisme à but non-lucratif (OBNL), l'enjeu est de trouver des personnes qui veulent s'engager au conseil. Il est très difficile de trouver de nouveaux administrateurs/administratrices. Difficulté d'autant plus forte que dans un OBNL, on a souvent pas le choix de mettre la main à la pâte et de s'impliquer dans les opérations au delà de la participation au Conseil. Comment attirer de nouvelles personnes sur ces Conseils. Devrait-on proposer un avantage financier? Je n'y suis pas favorable car cela pourrait aboutir à une certaine dérive et probablement un refus des bailleurs de fonds.

I believe that Diversity and Inclusion actually needs to begin with a board and CEO discussion about WHY taking a position on this matter and making structural change happen is important. While it is an advantage to embrace diversity, equity and inclusion to create a space that actually welcomes these principles is best done when the leadership of the organization fully embraces why this is important as ane ethical issue and what the organization must do to remove barriers, address unconcious bias and create an environment that will support and help everyone thrive. Training, a position statement, a well thought out change process with engagement and consultation with those in the organization needs to happen first.

Embracing diversity and inclusion within your association's board can have several benefits. Firstly, it brings together individuals with diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences, which fosters creativity and innovation. Different viewpoints and ideas can lead to more robust decision-making processes and ultimately drive the association's success. Secondly, having a diverse board enhances representation, ensuring that the voices and needs of a broader range of stakeholders are heard and considered. This can increase the association's relevance and effectiveness in serving its members and the wider community. Lastly, promoting diversity and inclusion sends a positive message to both internal and external stakeholders.

Board technology adoption is also a leadership signal to the organisation to make the efforts to adopt new ways of working which bring large strategic efficiencies, such as resource efficiencies, savings on data sourcing or validation and real time auditing. A very useful tool set in this respect are the applications used for Agile program management, such as private messaging (e.g.Slack) and easily structured document and process systems (e.g. Trello). All these have integrations to useful and secure systems such as Google Drive, OneDrive, etc.) while bringing together communication, documentation, process steps and auditability.

Technology can greatly enhance your board's communication, collaboration, and productivity. By leveraging technology, you can streamline processes and overcome logistical barriers, allowing board members to connect and contribute regardless of their physical location. Online platforms and tools enable efficient sharing of documents, scheduling of meetings, and real-time collaboration on projects. Technology also facilitates effective communication through email, video conferencing, and instant messaging, ensuring that board members are well-informed and can make informed decisions. Additionally, technology enables secure storage and access to board-related documents and data, improving efficiency and organization.

A relatively simple and widely used technology tool that promotes collaboration and supports productivity is Google Drive. Also known for its high rating regarding data security, Google Drive’s functionality has also improved through the years to provide a robust platform capable of meeting a board’s and staff needs. Although most individuals have had some experience with it, providing training on a minimal level for beginner users will pay off in the long run. The free version of Google Drive provides 15 GB of storage, a safe cloud-based platform to ensure secure data storage, 24/7 access for all collaborators, and many more valuable technology solutions for improved association management.

Creio com uma dose ousada de certeza que a tecnologia em várias de suas nuances é material fundamental para o board das companhias. O que também me leva a afirmar que gerar um número enorme de informações sem que as mesmas sejam tratadas, higienizadas e ainda trazidas em ordem prioritária não ajudariam nas tomadas de decisão. No entanto, de forma disruptiva verdadeiramente existe ao menos uma empresa capaz de fazer esses "filtros corporativos, técnicos, geopolíticos" trazendo informações qualificadas para o board tomar as melhores decisões pautados nas realidades que se apresentam nas crises, sejam elas quais forem.

Desafios comuns na governança do conselho incluem comunicação deficiente, conflitos de interesse e falta de diversidade. Para superá-los, estabeleça canais claros de comunicação, promova políticas éticas, busque diversidade ativamente e alinhe estratégias. Implemente avaliações regulares, gestão de riscos e programas de integração para reduzir a rotatividade. Incentive a inovação, mantenha conformidade ética, promova agilidade nas decisões e planeje sucessões. Uma abordagem abrangente e comprometida é crucial para fortalecer a eficácia da governança do conselho.