Seth Barnes Mar 17, 2009 8:00 PM

Finding great board members

My first experience with a nonprofit board was in the Dominican Republic. I was 23 and still wet behind the ears. I worked as a consultant for Opportu...

Subscribe


My first experience with a nonprofit board was in the Dominican Republic. I was 23 and still wet behind the ears. I worked as a consultant for Opportunity International and they sent Karen and I there to establish a microenterprise loan organization. By the time we arrived, they had already established a board. It didn't take long to see how dysfunctional it was. The board members were vested with authority without establishing themselves as good fiduciaries.  I had to spend about a year figuring out how I could fire them and then recruit a board that had the qualifications we needed.*  It would have been easier if we'd taken our time and established trust relationships.

So how do you go about actually inviting new board members onto the board? This is a third in my series of blogs on establishing a good board.

Finding great board members

1. Network and brainstorm candidates.
2. Research candidate's track record.

3. Assess:  What specifically can the candidate contribute in influence, investment & insight?

4. Give candidates an opportunity to become a stakeholder through investing time and money (see below).

5. Empower candidates through limited responsibility to develop trust relationships.

6. Make the offer, communicating expectations. Give them a "board notebook" bringing them up to speed on organizational history, policies, bylaws and past meeting minutes.

7. In cases of uncertainty, allow a trial period, but never compromise on criteria.

8. Over time, continue  to train them in the role of a board member.

Stakeholder Analysis

As one invests time and money in an enterprise, one's stake in that enterprise increases.  Just as responsibility without authority results in imbalance, so does authority without a stake.  Board members should be empowered to the degree that they have invested their lives in the enterprise.  Staff have more at stake than anyone.  They have invested their time and their dreams.  Board members need to  take into account the investment which stakeholders have made.  This is their stewardship. If you've ever suffered "board abuse," you know how important good board members are.

*The organization we started, ASPIRE, beginning with a new board of directors, became a tremendous success. It is still going strong 26 years later, having created tens of thousands of jobs for the poor.

Comments


Comment created and will be displayed once approved.

Related Blogs

Leading change is hard

Leading change is hard

It's been a tough week. We've had a series of changes at the office and this ...

By Seth Barnes
Getting honest about life behind the podium

Getting honest about life behind the podium

I'm off today to speak at another Youth Specialties conference - Pittsburgh this...

By Seth Barnes
How to build trust - Covey's 10 tips

How to build trust - Covey's 10 tips

An uncommitted generation is coming of age and there are things they don't like ...

By Seth Barnes

Related Races (3)

Gap Year | 9 Months | August 2026

Gap Year | 9 Months | August 2026

Alumni 10/40 Spring 2026 - Central Asia

Alumni 10/40 Spring 2026 - Central Asia

Southeast Asia | Semesters | August 2026

Southeast Asia | Semesters | August 2026

Next article

How to start a board of directors

Our AI generated post content for you!

Here's a suggested caption you can copy and tweak.