Help NGOs Be Great (Part Two)

How Board Members Drive Success

We were pleased to hear from many of you over the past week about our last issue on the topic of NGOs. Clearly, many of you care deeply. One of the important questions we heard: How can board members help their NGOs achieve more?

As you know, boards have official duties in the areas of governance, financial oversight, and compliance. We're not going to address these matters because we think most boards handle them well.

But we do want to comment on important opportunities beyond the basics that we think board members sometimes miss.

I think the best way for me to show this is to draw on my 11-year experience as CEO of The Nature Conservancy. The lessons I learned then (and share below) shape how I behave now as a board member at other NGOs.

Here are three things I recommend that board members do:

1. Keep the Focus on Priorities

You know which board members from my days at TNC I look back on and value most? The ones that gave me the most trouble. I was a bit foolish—especially when I was new in the job— and found these board members to be annoying. Why didn’t they appreciate the hard work I was doing? Couldn’t they see the great results we were achieving? Why were they always hassling me about staying focused and measuring results? But I came around and saw how wrong I was. These were the board members who helped me be a better CEO. They had a hugely positive impact on the organization. When I look back now, I realize they had higher expectations for me than even I did.

Takeaway: Be vocal and very engaged. Don’t be a cheerleader. Yes, the CEO’s job can be hard and yes, we should recognize and appreciate the teams’ efforts. But if too much time in board meetings is spent praising the team (and trust me, this happens) then you’re not doing your job. Push your CEO to be laser-focused on the organization’s priorities. Insist that the steps we outlined last week get full attention.

These are not easy things for the CEO and team to do. It’s difficult when constituents ask the organization to do additional things that are off plan. Make sure your CEO can say no— especially to well-intended money-providing people who might inadvertently lead the organization off course. Reviewing goals, pushing for financial and fundraising discipline, and requiring transparent reporting against milestones doesn't make you a difficult board member or a bad friend to the CEO. Quite the opposite. You're doing the important work. And if board members don’t do this, who will?

2. Expand the Network

One of the important things I had to do as CEO—like my peers—was to grow the network of donors and partners. There were people that we knew could make a major impact if we could only get them on our team. I was okay at doing this outreach on my own, but I’ll never forget how board members made this much easier.

I remember one occasion in particular when a board member took me to meet with a very prominent Fortune 100 CEO whom we badly wanted on our team. My board member was a friend of this CEO. The three of us got together in person. My board member started with some friendly conversation when we first sat down but quickly shifted to why we were there. He introduced me. He stated very clearly that he thought I was doing great things at TNC and that the CEO should know about them. My board member didn’t say much more than that, and he didn’t have to. He positioned me as the reason for the meeting.

The result was remarkable. The CEO gave me his undivided attention—something that might not have happened had I gone on my own. He listened carefully to my ideas. And at least in part because I had validation from my board member—whom he trusted—the CEO decided to work with us. Over time this collaboration developed into one of our most impactful ones.

Takeaway: Use your network. Make the warm introductions. Validate your CEO. Now that I’m not at TNC and I serve on other boards, I try to do exactly this for my CEOs. It’s fun. I get to brag about the good organizations I’m involved with, and my friends like being introduced to interesting CEOs. They want to learn about orgs that are doing important work. So talk about your NGO with your friends and professional networks. Encourage them to get involved.

3. Maintain Good Relations on the Board

The different lanes between board members and executive leadership are pretty clearly drawn. Nevertheless, it’s not uncommon to get an overzealous board member. I had one—a good person who became a good friend too—who served as Chair for a time and who acted like (it seemed to me) he wanted to be the CEO. I’m sure he meant well. But it bothered me and the team when he acted like he wanted to be the one to set strategy, give the speeches, make the big decisions, and lead the org. That was my job. It caused some conflict (which we ultimately worked out). What the organization needed was strong support and oversight of our strategies and implementation, not competition over who would lead the charge.

Another thing I sometimes see at other orgs is a few individual board members dominate board discussions. Not good. NGOs need to hear from all board members—not just the extroverts.

Takeaway: You don’t have to be overly ambitious to be a good board member. It’s not always the case that more is more. The most important thing you can do is fulfill the role you’ve actually been given (see my notes above) and to work well with your fellow board members and your CEO. This is the time to be a good team player, not a superstar.

*****

Thanks to all readers who serve as board members for all you do. And thank you for being open to some ideas from me on how you can do even more. It’s worth it (even if your CEOs don’t appreciate it yet). You will make your organizations better.

And special (long overdue) shoutout from me to the many great people who served on the board of TNC while I was CEO. Thank you. You always pushed me to do my best, and you did everything you could to help the organization make the biggest and most positive impact possible.

Onward,