Talk about a person to serve on a nonprofit board

Years ago, I approached a young businessman about the possibility of him joining the board of trustees of the university where I was serving as president at the time. He was open to the idea, but didn’t immediately commit. So, then, and subsequently I did the “presidential good” thing and proposed, lobbied, persuaded, cajoled, and sold him the idea of ​​serving as a trustee.

In the end, my friend said, “Yes,” he was appointed to the board, and of course I felt good. I thought I had fulfilled my duty as the CEO of a nonprofit organization, helping to build our board with young talent.

But a couple of years later, things were not going as expected. My young trustee friend did not attend meetings regularly, was not very involved when he did, and otherwise appeared to be only peripherally engaged. Then, with some frustration, I remember speaking privately with an older relative of our young board member, a leader of our board, and a man with whom I enjoyed a close relationship. I said, “You know, we have Ben, but we don’t have his heart. I think I convinced him to serve on the board before he was ready.” To which my wise mentor said, “I think so do you. What did you learn from that?” Well, I learned a lot.

First, I learned that you don’t want everyone on your board that you think you want on your board. We identify people with attractive networks or gifting skills and think, “We need that person in our directory.” And they may be willing to serve, but willing people can’t always. Or we identify people with leadership skills and think, “That person would take our meeting to the next level.” This may be true, but the people who can are not always willing. In any case, the last thing you want to do as the CEO of a nonprofit organization is pressure these people to serve.

Second, I learned that my gift of the word, this innate and developed facility with the spoken word, can sometimes get me into trouble. I learned that I can actually motivate (manipulate?) Someone to serve on a board of directors. Not all CEOs of nonprofits are “talkers.” Fortunately, we are not all the same. But again, to survive and thrive in leadership, you must be able to speak the King’s English and most CEOs are pretty good at expressing their thoughts. We don’t realize or forget that our words are powerful, that they can compel people rather than simply engage them.

I don’t think what I said to my young businessman friend was “wrong.” But in hindsight, I think it was “wearing down” it. I think he agreed to serve on our board more to get rid of me, or to please me, or with feelings of guilt, than out of a feeling of passion for the mission. To the extent that this assessment is accurate, the college board appointed a new administrator who, deep down, really didn’t want to be there. As president, I made a notch in the handle of my gun, so to speak, but no one ultimately benefited from this appointment, not the university, not the administrator, not even me.

The end of this young trustee’s story was inevitable. About four years into his service, he quietly resigned and, worse, walked away from further commitment or financial support for the university.

So I learned that I didn’t want everyone on our board. First I thought he wanted on our meeting. I learned that I needed to present my organization and the meeting opportunity with enthusiasm, while always modulating it with respect for the person I was speaking to. I needed to consider his best interests, the timing, the decision-making process, maybe the prayers and the “adjustment”, not just my goal of getting the “Yes” and achieving another victory.

By the way, the same can be said for fundraising. Too many CEOs of nonprofits “go for the gold,” frankly thinking about the amount of the request, the goal of the campaign, and how good they’ll feel to receive the gift. What we need to think about, what is in the best interests of the organization, the cause, and the long-term donor, is what are the donor’s priorities, what are their interests and feelings, and what is best for the donor. If we truly match the vision of the organization with the priorities of the donors, in the long run we will attract bigger gifts and, better yet, loyalty with longevity.

In the last year, I was reminded of the story of our young trustee and my learning curve. I am now serving another nonprofit organization as CEO, and with that role comes the usual need and opportunity to form the board. I put this semi-retired businessman in, liked and respected him, admired his accomplishments and talents, and appreciated the fact that he gave a substantial gift to the organization. Everything about him told me: “It’s table material.” So I approached him with the idea.

My friend expressed his frankness and said he would think about it, pray about it, and discuss it with his wife. He also attended two board meetings four months apart, meeting the board members and learning more about our organization. But still, he held back.

At this point my outgoing personality and goals were saying, “Push.” Fortunately, it was then that I remembered young Ben and his wise relative, my mentor, from years ago. What did I learn back then? Was it applied now? Did.

I presented my friend the case of being a member of the board, then I backed down. Over the next several months, I interacted with him, including a visit to his home, but only once did I mention the opportunity to be on the board.

This gentleman is still my friend, he is still very interested in our organization, he is still open to considering more financial support, and he is not yet a member of the board. In fact, I recently received an email from him saying that he had taken a good look at it and finally concluded that his other commitments did not allow him to give us what we need at this time.

So should I be upset? A little maybe, because I still believe that my friend’s service would strengthen our board, but not if he is not ready. So should I be upset? Not really, because we have gained a new supporter, probably in the long run, who will one day still be able to sit on the board. As it is, he is as committed as one can be without agreeing to a formal date. Consequently, the organization, our friend, and even I are not the best, but “the best.”

CEOs of nonprofits are generally entrepreneurs, and they should be. We just have to remember to reduce it sometimes in the best interest of our vision, goals, and constituents. Followers who are willing and ready to serve are the best. So be careful not to convince people of things that you are not really prepared for.