Board Recruitment - Starboard Leadership Consulting, LLC

The first meeting of the nominating committee

Does it alarm you that I suggest that one of your measures of success for the first meeting of the nominating committee should be that NO potential nominees' names are put forward or discussed? It sounds completely counter to the committee's purpose and reason for being, but hear me out.

In other blog entries on the Starboard site and in the workshops I teach, I say over and over again that the board nomination process should be linked to your strategic plan. If you are clear about the strategic priorities of the organization, then your recruitment should follow. Your focus needs to be on getting clear about the skill-set you need around the board table in order to achieve your priorities, identifying where the gaps are (or will be), and then engaging in a recruitment process that doesn't stray from the priorities you set.

Hopefully that sounds logical. It is. It may even sound easy. It isn't.

Don’t wait to engage new board members

People don't join boards to sit back and watch. They want to make a difference, and they want to do meaningful work. Engage them in meaningful work from the beginning and don't make the mistake of thinking, "Let's give him/her time to get up-to-speed." Consider the following:

We feel strongly that you should be ready to answer the "why me?" question that your best board prospects will ask. If you have done so, then you should have a role in mind for your new board member and be ready to engage him/her in the work immediately.Committees are often where real work is done, where people get to know each other, and where some of the deepest engagement takes place. Ideally the board chair should have a discussion about committee assignments with the new board members. Most new board members will appreciate hearing, "Here's where we were hoping you would serve." Be open, however, to considering other options if your new board member has some other interest. Consider building into your process a follow-up after 6 months or a year to see if your new board member is feeling like you are making good use of his or her talents. Be prepared to change committee assignments if necessary.

A board member who is not engaged in a role that he or she finds personally meaningful will either search for ways to become engaged (and perhaps in ways that you won't like) or will simply disengage, which is often evidenced by lack of participation in meetings, a failure to volunteer for tasks, or not showing-up for meetings. Take board engagement seriously.

Additional tips on board governance can be found on Starboard's Blog or by calling us at (207) 992-4400.

Tips for new board member orientation

We advise our clients to give some careful thought to how they will orient their new board members before they recruit them. Think about the message it sends to the board prospect when you are able to during the recruitment ask, "If you join the board, we will be hosting an orientation in August where you will have an opportunity to learn about..." You are immediately sending the message that his organization has its act together (whether you do or don't!).

7 Tips For a Successful Board Member Recruitment Meeting

Assuming that you have gotten the appointment to meet with the prospective board member, done your homework, and really prepared in advance, the following tips should help to successfully guide you through that meeting:

Board member recruitment must be done face-to-face

Asking someone to join a board is an important request and should be done in person. This is not a time to make your ask in an e-mail message, a Facebook posting, or a phone call. Even if the person you meet with eventually says "no" to your request, you want the opportunity to talk about the organization and where it is heading, impress him or her with your packet of recruitment materials and information, and, perhaps, introduce your executive director.