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Weekly UpdatesThe CEO of a mid-sized organization is on the phone telling me about an e-mail from one of her board members. The board member wanted to know why the CEO was trying to censor him for speaking out on a community issue. The e-mail went on to say he's the only member of the board who's not there for the honorarium, that board meetings are poorly run, and that other members are voting as a block against him. He wants to know what the CEO is going to do about it.
The CEO's initial response was, "As if I needed this in my life! What's with this guy anyway?" Her question to me is whether the board member is just blowing off steam or if his e-mail needs a response? If so, what should she tell him?
Being caught in a tangle with board members or dealing with dysfunctional board performance is the last thing any CEO wants to deal with, but at some point most have to.
How do things get off track anyway, and how does a CEO whose expertise is running the business deal with unwanted and seemingly unresolvable board issues?
Take action! When you're in over your head with board issues call someone who can help, sooner rather than later. Relationship and performance problems don't solve themselves and typically get worse if left unattended. Of course, some CEOs know how to avoid or deal with board problems while they are small. Here are some strategies you can use from their bag of tricks.
1. Attend to Detail
They say the devil is in the details. Actually, when it comes to working with a governing board, the devil resides in lack of detail.
* Educate your board about their duties and responsibilities and about yours. Don't assume they know or interpret the bylaws or policies the same way.
* Respect the board's turf and insist they respect yours. Blurring the line between the powers and duties of the board and CEO results in a myriad of avoidable problems.
* Link all board actions to the specific policy that creates their authority to act. Trouble soon follows when a board exceeds or fails to utilize its authority.
REALITY CHECK
I spend a considerable amount of time with boards and CEOs unraveling difficulties that are rooted in their failure to understand and apply their own bylaws and policies. Recently, I spent a day with a board that was at odds with each other over issues that if they had looked, would have discovered were clearly addressed in their bylaws and policies. Their failure to understand and employ their own strategies resulted in several months of unnecessary wrangling over issues that could have been quickly and easily resolved.
2. Work Your Board
I've heard CEOs say they could run things just fine if they didn't have a bunch of amateur board members trying to tell them what to do. Don't even go there! Like it or not, a big part of your job is to work with the board, so do what successful CEOs do, give them important issues to wrestle with, then stand back and let them work. You will likely be impressed with what they come up with.
* Boards want to be at the epicenter of developing strategies and weighing options to address vital issues; don't disappoint them.
* Adequate Resources. Accomplishing important tasks requires adequate time, the best available information, necessary expertise, and the right tools to work with. Be sure your board has all of that.
* Recognition. Few things sting us more than seeing others take credit for our work. Recognize board members appropriately for their accomplishments.
REALITY CHECK
Board members say privately they resent CEOs who "steer" them by controlling information and/or denying meaningful involvement. It might be easier in the short-run to work around the board, but it's costly in the long-run. Meaningful board engagement pays dividends.
3. Communication
Unfortunately, CEO/board communication often plays second fiddle to the press of day-to-day leadership challenges, family responsibilities and other commitments. Faced with too much work and not enough time, it's easy to put CEO/board communications on the back-burner and let things slide.
The avoidance or deal-with-them-when-you-must approach to staying in synch with your board doesn't work. Doing just the opposite does. Tackle board communication issues fast and get them resolved. When it comes to communication, board members want pretty much the same things as everybody else-to be heard, listened to, understood, respected, appreciated, kept informed, and agreed to at times.
Teaching or upgrading the following communication skills translates to successful relationships.
* Meeting people where they are. Understanding others' positions and interests supports dialogue and starts conversations on a positive note.
* Avoiding assumptions. Develop and refine the board's active listening skills.
* Avoiding quick judgment. Appreciate that people interpret things differently and learn to keep an open mind.
* Communicating assertively. It's the appropriate style for conducting the organization's business.
REALITY CHECK
A constant issue for board members is handling constituent inputs. Large and small concerns, tales of woe, ills of the past and stories of impending disaster all land in board members laps on a regular basis. Give them good tools to handle hot-potato issues. They will be thankful and appreciative.
4. Successful Board Meetings
CEOs quickly learn that during board meetings the stakes are high and there is little tolerance for error. When things don't go well it usually comes back to bite the CEO. Don't expect others to carry the ball on creating successful board meetings. Do whatever it takes to make things run smoothly. Your board will appreciate it, and it's a great reflection of your leadership skills.
Of course, board members themselves run the meeting, but as CEO you can do much to set things up for success.
* Provide your board accurate, timely, and user-friendly information to make decisions. This often overlooked opportunity goes a long way toward reducing board member frustration and supporting informed board decisions.
* Ensure that all presentations to the board are well prepared and delivered in a brief, concise format.
* Provide recurrent training on successful meeting strategies, revisit board officers' roles, and parliamentary procedure and/or other meeting requirements.
* Support board efforts to evaluate their performance annually and recommend development opportunities in areas they want to improve on.
REALITY CHECK
The quality of the board and CEO's leadership is tested every time the board meets. Good meetings attract and reward successful practices; poorly conducted meetings attract and reward the opposite.
RECAP
* Know your polices and employ them. Lawyers, CPAs, and consultants would enjoy far less work if boards and CEOs played by their own rules.
* Work your board. They signed on to do important and sometimes difficult things; don't disappoint them.
* Improve your board's communication skills. They, and most others, will thank you for it.
* Successful board meetings positively impact CEO longevity. When they succeed, you do too.
* Be in front of the power curve. Minor adjustments early on will eliminate the need for major adjustments later.
Jerry Covey is an Anchorage-based consultant who works with CEOs and boards on leadership, communication, and performance improvement. He has worked with school districts, hospitals, municipalities, boards of education, and elected government bodies. He can be reached at 522-4558 or jscc@gci.net.
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