Let me begin by admitting I’m not an expert in Board development, and don’t pretend to be.

I do however work with behavioral health providers, usually nonprofits, on a regular basis, and have learned something about Boards that I would like to pass along.

That is: Boards, like the organizations they oversee,  can become stagnant and badly out of date. It’s not that the members are less competent than those on other Boards, or less committed to the organization’s mission. It’s that somehow, the energy and interest within the Board as a whole has declined over the years, usually for one or both of two reasons:

  • Lack of new members, and the new skills, knowledge, and expertise they might well have brought; and/or
  • An absence of regular, Board-specific training or education that has left the Board out of touch with contemporary best practice.

I’m oversimplifying, but I do believe the observation is valid. Just as a nonprofit provider needs to continually upgrade and adjust its services to reflect changes in the environment, so do their Boards. The alternative is often a kind of stagnation.

As the saying goes, we can’t do the same things over and over and expect a different result.

I have noticed that when this message is shared with board members, including by reputable professional Board consultants, it isn’t always well received. Some members react defensively, as though it’s a criticism of them and their past work.

It isn’t. It’s a statement of fact about the challenge of pursuing a mission in a fast-changing, often unpredictable climate.

What happens when the leadership body of an organization becomes complacent, inactive, even stagnant?

  • Essential functions are neglected. Like management and financial oversight. That can be problematic, even dangerous, to the mission itself.
  • Factions may develop that may interfere with decision-making. Longtime members may become proprietary towards the organization, and resist much-needed improvements on the grounds that “we’ve always done it this way.”

In an atmosphere of Board neglect, bad things can happen–  not due to malice, but simply because no one is paying close attention.

I’m told that that most reputable nonprofits in the US have Board terms of 2-5 years and also limit the number of terms that can be served consecutively.

It isn’t my place to recommend that or anything else. I’m simply passing along the information.