Ten tips for getting your board ‘on board’

Your board members are responsible for making many of your organisation’s most important strategic and financial decisions, but is it really performing in the way that’s best for your enterprise?

1. You should be prepared to shake up your board. Depending on the legal structure you have adopted, you may be obliged to have at least one director, but all enterprises benefit from having several board members with a range of skills and personalities. It will defiantly benefit you to have a breadth of expertise and opinion when important decisions are made.
2. Why not think about what you want from your board members and consider whether your existing board members are doing a great job. If there is friction, a reluctance to make difficult decisions or a failure to act, you should ring the changes. Weigh up whether your enterprise or venture will benefit from fresh faces with new skills and knowledge.
3. Your board make-up will benefit from having a balance of executive and non-executive directors. Executive directors are employees who have day-to-day involvement in the business; non-executive directors are people from outside the business who attend meetings and functions and offer advice to the board and the Chief Executive or management team. They will be impartial and unaffected by office politics. You’ll need to ensure the person you appoint as Chair understands your enterprise or venture, commands respect from other board members and listens to them.
4. When selecting new board members, consider firstly the issues that are facing your enterprise or venture. If you are struggling to raise funds, for example, look for someone with a strong financial track record or network. You can find new people from a variety of places — business groups and sector networks, your existing senior staff and your wider networks can all produce people with relevant experience, knowledge and an interest in your venture. You could also advertise in sector specific journals and newsletters.
5. You’re going to need to ensure your board members are aware of your key business objectives. They should agree on your strategic and business plans, monitor financial performance against the budget, and ensure the organisation (if you are constituted) is compliant with legislation. If the board members fail to meet these objectives, consider offering them training, fresh appointments or a shuffling of responsibilities- sometimes people just need a new focus.
6. It makes good sense to make sure board members are briefed before board meetings and receive board papers in good time, so that they have a grasp of the issues before they are discussed. Board papers should include the agenda, minutes of the previous meeting including any actions and management accounts.
7. Consider making use of board members outside of the board meeting. They could be available to help with networking, crafting reports or evaluation, casting an eye over business and strategic plans and management accounts before they are presented to the full board.
8. You will probably only need to carry out quarterly board meetings, but be prepared to hold more regular meetings in times of difficulty, shifts in the landscape or when your spot growth opportunities.

Cardinal rules: Well I’m not really a rules kind of gal but these are the culture tips that work for me.

9. Do: Ensure your board has a mixture of personalities and skills. You don’t really want all yes men or clones of yourself so take care in selecting those that will offer expertise and measured challenge. Rely on your board to advise you and carry out actions Make your asks of them clear. Set the dates for meetings and brief board members well in advance Be gracious. Their time is usually given freely so be mindful of their availability.
10. Don’t: Select inappropriate board members. Family may not always be the best choice in the longer term Allow one board member to dominate meetings.Grandstanding should be positively discouraged Neglect key issues. They are sure to come back to bite you at a later date Forget to have some fun. Board members with a great sense of humor are hugely valuable and offer an alternative emotion in times of adversity

This article first appeared on the School for Social Entrepreneurs blog. It is republished here with permission.