Starboard

The board chair and the chief executive need to work as partners. The success that you each have separately and together can hinge upon the success of the relationship and the quality of support you provide each other. The best board chair and chief executive relationships are those where the two work together as a …
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While a good board chair will ensure that there is an annual evaluation of the chief executive, it is exceedingly rare to hear of a nonprofit that has in place an evaluation of the board chair—yet imagine how helpful that feedback might be! One of the great services of BoardSource, a tremendous resource for governance …
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If you’ve not yet seen a written job description for the board chair, you are not alone. I think this is due, in part, to how board chairs are usually recruited—you accept the role of being the vice chair (which sounds easy) without fully considering the reality that some day you may be the board …
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 You’ve probably heard a new board chair use the line: “I missed a meeting, and they made me board chair.” The implication here is that no one wanted the job, so she got stuck with it. The reality is that if you’ve been selected by the organization’s leadership, you’ve already demonstrated a commitment to the …
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Agreeing to take on the role of board chair is not something to be taken lightly, and there are many factors to be considered before you say “yes.” Without a doubt, however, one of the most important considerations is the relationship between the board chair and the chief executive. A well functioning board of directors …
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For most organizations, the “career path” to chairing the board becomes apparent when someone asks you to consider serving as the vice chair. At that point, it would be naïve of you to think that the path ends there. As safe as it sounds when you agree—the suggestion being that your only duty will be …
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