I know how hard nonprofit leaders struggle to get their board of directors active, engaged, involved, motivated, moving forward with their nonprofit organization. So today I want to give you three questions that can get your board engaged and invested in the work of your organization.
Before I start, though, I want to say that you get a board motivated and engaged by splitting it into its parts. You cannot get a board engaged and invested by talking to the board as a whole. So I encourage every nonprofit leader to set aside a time every year to meet one-on-one with each individual board member. And in those one-on-one conversations I encourage you to ask 3 questions of those board members that can really get them engaged and motivated.
The first question to ask them is, “What about our nonprofit’s mission and work really motivates you?” This helps you tap into each individual board member’s passion, what brought them to the board in the first place, why they are volunteering their time, and really helps them think again, remember, and be thoughtful about why they are engaged with the nonprofit and what they want to see the nonprofit to accomplish.
The second question to ask each individual board member, one-on-one, is, “What specific assets do you bring to the table as a board member?” This gets the board member and you to start a conversation about what unique skills, experience, or networks that individual board member brings to the table. So then you can start to think about, well how can we tap into this person’s unique assets?
The third question you want to ask each individual board member is, “What do you want to accomplish as a board member this year?” This puts the burden on that individual board member to be thoughtful about what they want their contribution to be as a board member. So they might start thinking about wanting to be involved in an upcoming strategic planning process, they may have some ideas about how to better market the organization, they might be thoughtful about some key decision makers that they could open doors to. There’s a whole host of things that it might start to get them thinking about how they can be specifically involved in the organization.
So, again, I think the key to engaging a board of directors is to start working with them one-on-one and asking them some really thoughtful questions that result in a really meaningful conversation that can really engage your board. Good luck!
If you want to learn more about getting your board engaged, download the 10 Traits of a Groundbreaking Board book.
Photo Credit: Jon Tyson
Think that an ED should meet with each board member privately at least three or four times a year.
Thanks Eugene. Yes, agreed, meeting much more often than once per year would be ideal, but I wonder if for most EDs (and board members) that’s an unrealistic goal. If EDs can meet at least once per year with each individual board member that would be great. And if they can do even more, even better.