I live in the non-profit space. As a pastor in the Baptist tribe, boards are an essential part of our means of organizational accountability. Over more than two decades, I have served on innumerable boards in different contexts. Each one of them important.
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In church life (since that is my primary space) boards can have a couple of different compositions. I knew a post-secondary educational institution once where the President told me that he liked to hand select his Board. Over decades of leading his institution, he had learned that if he could shape the Board, then he had “more fun” at meetings and met limited resistance. I have also served on Boards that had “that guy” (or perhaps two of them) who made the experience feel like the Salem witch trials or testifying before Congress! These zealous Board members would dig into the most minute details like forensic investigators…or just use their allotted time to “set up” their question, giving their leader only moments to reply with a Yes or No answer. Can I just say…the world needs less speeches.
I am also painfully aware and a bit embarrassed when news breaks about some failure in an institution and the public cries foul and demands that “someone” do something! The implication is almost always that the Board system has failed so there needs to be some higher accountability to appeal to. In some cases, the Board has failed; however, this does not mean the system is bad, only that the Board did not do its job. Boards work…when they do.
Being an effective Board is work. No one serves a greater purpose by rubber stamping their executive or principal leader. When Boards work, they are a source of confidence for the general people, a source of accountability for the organization, and a source of encouragement for the principal.
The Board as a Source of Confidence
One of the most profound leadership stories in the Scriptures is of Nehemiah. He had a moment of enlightenment and inspiration from the Lord. He had authority from the king to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem. Even with these things, he had a task to accomplish and would need to lead people to undertake it. The people did not know him and, I believe, would have been less than excited to hear that this stranger would not lead them astray in his call to rebuild a wall in an occupied nation (tantamount to a declaration of rebellion). However, when Nehemiah had developed the plan, he sought out leaders that the people did know, that the already trusted and led them, that they might lead their people.
Nehemiah 2:17–18 (NASB95)
17Then I said to them, “You see the bad situation we are in, that Jerusalem is desolate and its gates burned by fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem so that we will no longer be a reproach.”
18I told them how the hand of my God had been favorable to me and also about the king’s words which he had spoken to me. Then they said, “Let us arise and build.” So they put their hands to the good work.
In a contemporary application, the SBC (Southern Baptist Convention) is structured with its entities functioning as independent and autonomous organizations. They are only accountable to their Boards which are selected by the representatives (Messengers) of the Convention churches in a two-day meeting every year. Individual churches and church members have no direct controlling interest in these entities. They cannot demand policies or processes reflect some novel, even if amazing idea. However, Boards absolutely can and must. The “people” place their trust in these Boards to oversee the people’s interests. This provides confidence for the people, knowing that the Board is overseeing the work. Boards work…when they do. It should also probably be said that Boards can be a source of consternation for some people, those vested and otherwise in the organization. Our culture has become accustomed to populist thinking and protest influenced. If you have a big enough megaphone or can motivate a crowd you can accomplish a lot in our current cultural context. You SHOULD NOT be able to redirect a working Board. The Board is the source of confidence, and a good Board can only be that source when it has the resolve to lead. It should listen to voices, but they are not a constituency. Boards are often not representative democracies. They are leaders, with judgment, that will make decisions in the best interest of the organization and greater community and influence principal leaders to carry out that task. Boards work…when they do.
The Board as a Source of Accountability
Boards provide necessary accountability to an organization. Lord Acton reminds, “power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”[i] Every leader needs accountability to keep from going “off the rails.” A rubber-stamping board is more akin to a group of friends at a barbecue or a doctor that fills requested prescriptions without ever taking a patient’s vitals. If my doctor gave me what I often wanted, I would have a prescription in hand for steak three meals a day and a note exempting me from exercise. He or she would also not be a very good doctor. A working Board asks important questions in the right spirit. It does not get into the weedy details of purchase requests for office supplies. That’s the work of the principal leader. If the Board is required to micromanage each minute detail of the operation, the executive is unnecessary. However, the Board should not just see itself as the nodding and smiling affirmer of everything the executive introduces. The Board discerns if the initiatives lead toward accomplishing organizational objectives or represent sideways energy. The Board looks at potential hotspots of contention such as financial propriety. This gives accountability to the people and offers protection for the principal leader, guarding both. The Board is the failsafe of the organization.
The principal of accountability can be seen throughout Scripture, but none so clear as the interactions of the Apostle Paul with the church at Antioch and Jerusalem. In matters of doctrine, we see Paul pleading his case before the church elders (think Board) in Acts 15:1-29. We also see a demonstrated accountability to the church that sent Paul on his missionary endeavors as he returned to report all that had occurred during his mission.
Acts 14:26–28 (NASB95)
26From there they sailed to Antioch, from which they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had accomplished.
27When they had arrived and gathered the church together, they began to report all things that God had done with them and how He had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.
28And they spent a long time with the disciples.
Great leaders recognize the siren song of unchecked power. They seek to guard their own reputation and effectiveness in such a way that they invite appropriate accountability. Great leaders need working Boards because Boards work…when they do.
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Boards as a Source of Encouragement
Leading is not for wimps. Leadership requires building relationships and making decisions that may place those relationships in jeopardy. Still, an executive has a fiduciary responsibility to fulfill the task of leading an organization to accomplish its stated mission. Any other accomplishment, no matter how lofty, is a poor substitute for fidelity to mission. This is HARD WORK. There are times as a principal leader (the Senior Pastor of a dynamic pastoral team) that I must throttle back on the creativity of my fellow pastors. These are my brothers. They are my equals in calling and value and often are more gifted in many of the functions of shepherding a church than I am. Still, I must disappoint them at times to faithfully discharge my duties. I also must “coach up” members of the team from time to time. They may have gotten trapped in the rough, giving undue attention to sideways energy. They may be fatigued or be sensing a calling to a new field of ministry. They may not be getting it done. Confronting and calling for change in their areas of ministry in one of my responsibilities. To faithfully fulfill my ministry, I must do this. And it is hard. This is only dealing with the relational dynamic which is one of many pressures on an executive. There is financial pressure, cultural perspective, spiritual health, internal desires- good and bad, and a plethora of other tensions to leading. But this is what leadership is…leading! If a leader grows weary or loses his passion to lead in these things, he should “hang up his spurs” and go sell ice cream. Everyone loves the ice cream guy!
One other pressure is that of a desire to avoid failure. In more than twenty years of pastoring people, and over thirty years of leading in varying contexts, it seems that the margin for error has grown increasingly thin. With public criticism of social media alone, it only takes one missed step on an initiative to feel like you were just lost the world series on a bad pitch. Competition has always been tough in every industry, but it seems that the increased rate of change and increased noise levels of keyboard critics can end a career or stifle effectiveness like never before. This can cause, among many leaders, a paralysis of analysis. The leader doesn’t want to make a bad decision, so he withholds making good ones also. This abdication of responsibility is unacceptable even if increasingly common.
Under these pressures a Board can be a great source of encouragement. First, they can be a source of affirmation. Sometimes you just need people to tell you that you did well even if it was a wild pitch that cost a single game. One game is often not the entire season. Additionally, a qualified and working Board can help check initiatives in their own hearts. The writer of Proverbs says this about wise counselors:
Proverbs 15:22 (NASB95)
22Without consultation, plans are frustrated, but with many counselors they succeed.
Principal leaders should rightly see a Board as an asset to help them execute at a higher level. God said it works that way. Put qualified and called people on a Board and let them be the source of help to execute better. Many of them have led at high levels, even if in other industries. Leadership has many common characteristics. If they fulfill their task, these Board members will be an invaluable source of encourage to the executive. Good leaders know that they are not the absolute best at all areas. In fact, a great Army General who prosecuted our nation’s agenda in war once said to a group of junior leaders that I was in, “You don’t have to be the smartest person in the room. Just surround yourself with them.” This level of self-awareness and fidelity to mission is what made this General legendary in his leadership. Boards are often that source of wisdom. Trust them as a help and do not view them as a hindrance. Boards work…when they do.
Concluding thoughts
If you are a member of a Board…do your job. People count on you. You are what gives confidence to the system. Sometimes I will return from a long Board meeting and my wife will ask if we did anything great. Often it is hard to say yes when it seems I only listened to an abundance of presentations and reviewed a plethora of spreadsheets. But, when properly understood, the answer is always yes! I often reply, “We made a difference in the sense that if we were not there, the system would fall apart because the people (or for you: shareholders, stakeholders, and participants) count on us to make sure the organization is progressing.
If you are responsible for selecting a Board, do not simply look for a pulse and consider filling a spot to be a victory. Boards are not primarily about identity representation. They are not about prestige. They are not quarterly junk-its and resume bullets. Boards are confidence builders, accountability providers, and sources of encouragement. Fill spots with these people. Then trust the people you placed in those spots.
If you are an executive, do not miss the opportunity to become better. Don’t try to stack the Board with your people. You are cutting off your own feet. Embrace the accountability. Everyone flosses their teeth better when you have an upcoming dental appointment. Everyone checks the scales when they know summer bathing suit weather is coming. Every leader leads better when he knows that the Board will ask.
Finally, trust the Board and ignore the clamor for popular accountability. The masses of people will always be curious. They will always have opinions. Boards are leaders. They are not the primary leader by design; however, they must lead. So, lead. And encourage. Have your executive’s back. Call him to account in private and leave it there or make a summary statement to the public that encourages confidence and encourages the executive that every missed pitch doesn’t make the five o’clock news. That kind of pressure can rattle even the best leaders.
Remember always, Boards work…when they do.
[i] https://oll.libertyfund.org/quote/lord-acton-writes-to-bishop-creighton-that-the-same-moral-standards-should-be-applied-to-all-men-political-and-religious-leaders-included-especially-since-power-tends-to-corrupt-and-absolute-power-corrupts-absolutely-1887
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