You Ought To

“You know what you ought to do? You ought to get a celebrity to endorse the Center – that’d get you a lot of publicity!”

“A lot of people who care about social justice would be interested in knowing about your counseling of ex-offenders.”

“If you have a reception, people would come to the gallery and see the work.”

What’s wrong with those sentences coming out of the mouth of a board member?

You got it – the word “you.”

When board members are really at the table, they’re on the same side of the table – rolling up their sleeves and bringing their personal networks and energy to bear on the organization’s behalf.

When board members are in an advisory stance, they’re on the opposite side of the table – giving you the benefit of their wisdom and perspective, yet leaving you to scramble to put the pieces together.

It’s a subtle but critical shift – from outside helper to inside collaborator …from someone with advice on the way things ought to be, to a fellow searcher for the right path…from an advisor to a member of the team.

You can tell which stance I prefer – it’s a question of “put up or shut up.” Really, truly, it takes so much effort to move a nonprofit forward, that you’re at a tremendous disadvantage if not everyone who’s on your team is really on your team.

No, let me rephrase that. We in the nonprofit sector need all the help we can get. We need everyone rowing the board forward, not just telling us how to grasp the oar.

So the $1,000,000 question is – how do you turn around this energy? How do you move board members from “pronouncements on high” to getting their hands dirty?

The general answer is: the same as when you want a major donation out of someone – you seduce them. You make them fall in love (with your program, not with you), and once they’ve drunk the Kool-Aid, they’ll be a full-fledged member of your team.

This is an ongoing process – wooing your board members so they feel a part and not apart – and the lack of that is a major cause of board member drift and eventual deadwood status.

They need to be burning with passion for your work, and it’s up to you – no, it’s up to us – to imbue them with it.