Boards are fulfilling their service during a period of vulnerability and uncertainty. But in many ways, this is an exciting time for you to engage, inspire and benefit from the many talents of your board members. While some projects require the expertise of individual board members who may work alone or with a small work group, a partnership consideration demands the collective brain power and heart of all members. Partnership discussions offer an opportunity to channel strategic thinking and passion toward sustaining the mission while board members forge even stronger bonds. Because it can be easy to lose sight of how a board's work intersects with the larger community picture, this type of initiative allows a more expansive "what if?" conversation. For effective partnership board leadership, seven important steps are required:
1. Create decision-making criteria. Most nonprofits have been forced to make quick decisions without the information they needed during the pandemic, and these decisions may have long-term consequences. Before considering any type of partnership exploration or a specific request from another organization to pursue one, the board should create explicit decision-making criteria for these types of major issues. If this has not occurred, I recommend asking your board chair to put this on the agenda. The adopted board criteria should be in writing and reviewed regularly, then included as part of orientation.
Partnership explorations especially require advance planning and agreement on the best type of potential human services partner. In my experience, projects that did not end as expected often were launched without a good foundation of strategic decision-making guidelines. Taking the time to create criteria can help sustain or leverage your competitive advantage.
2. Cultivate relationships. Boards require competent critical thinkers who serve as champions and ambassadors in the community. Fortunately, the number of qualified people willing to serve on boards has increased in the last couple of years and these newer members expect to focus on community-wide efforts instead of only looking internally at their organizations.
Many of my projects started on a golf course or at a dinner party when two friends discovered their boards were struggling with similar challenges, then they decided to talk with their CEOs. With the decision-making criteria in mind, board members should always be looking for potential collaborators as they move through their days. Long-standing relationships can jump-start creative ways to expand an organization's choices about how to remain relevant and sustain itself.
3. Remain well informed. This can be a difficult goal to achieve each month, but board members must bring a thorough understanding of how their nonprofit functions and of its overall health. They should create a culture that expects financial literacy from each member as well as one that encourages individual board members to share what they learn in their respective industries. National and local nonprofit trends should be reviewed regularly and measured against strategic planning implementation.
When it comes to partnership work, everyone needs to participate and be ready to act. By continuing their education and sharing their expertise and resources, board representatives can ensure the strength of their nonprofit, especially during times of limited resources and uncertainty.
4. Support the leader. Our human services leaders are exhausted and often feel lonely. They need genuinely caring board members who are available to listen, deploy resources as needed, and help them think through difficult scenarios. The board serves as a sounding board and should not be afraid to ask the Devil's Advocate questions. Even when involved in evaluating the leader's performance, the board should approach its work in a supportive manner. As the group charged with governance, clearly communicating with the CEO or executive director is essential to the nonprofit's effectiveness.
5. Don't overlook the business community. Board members who are in business and know other for-profit professionals are in a unique position to think about partnerships. These businesses can invest in efforts that allow the nonprofit to attract additional donors and in-kind support. It helps to dedicate board time to determine which external relationships are most needed to secure community connections. A contact from outside human services may be just what is needed to energize the group's thinking.
6. Use a neutral facilitator. While this might sound like a shameless plug for consultants, I've had more than one group come to me late in the partnership discussion because a board member or executive director tried to navigate the process and the group got off track. If things do not go as planned, the results may be frustration, unintended power differentials and additional time and resource commitments. Using a neutral, third party facilitator with expertise in nonprofit partnerships is a good investment.
7. Find the fun. Much of this work is predicated on chemistry, and that can be hard to achieve in our new, virtual world. If you must use Zoom or other virtual platforms, make use of ice breakers, break out rooms, white boards and other tools to stimulate dialogue and plan for some lighter interaction. It is important to acknowledge how the pandemic impacts the work.