Most Boards Don’t Fail Because of Bad Intentions.
Boards aren’t just placeholders, they are integral to any organization's success, especially in the nonprofit sector, where they hold a huge responsibility for protecting and directing the organization’s future. In Mary Kay’s work with boards, she has noticed some gaps in the typical approach to board development. A lot of time is spent telling board members what governance is, but not a lot of demonstrating how it looks. In this conversation, she shares her insights into what makes boards function well, the challenges they face, and how her approach to board development has helped transform organizations to look towards the future.
Let’s talk about “How to Govern.”
Watch the full video here on YouTube.
How to Govern! Because knowing has never been enough!
Mary Kay: Currently, board development is typically Board 101: What are your roles and responsibilities? What are your statutory duties? What’s the strategic plan? What’s the partnership between management and the board? The board-building cycle and those types of things.
Every time there’s a change, you have a new system. It’s new people. In my years of working with boards, I’ve been on boards and the chair multiple times, and I know what it’s like to be on a board.
Between that experience and my work with organizations, I see some significant gap areas in board development. My training helps build transformation in your organization. It uses your money more effectively. It teaches people how to ask strategic questions, how to have strategic dialogue, and how to engage every board member so you get the best of everyone at the table. They're not just putting in their time. You’re going to get the best of them.
Q: What is an organizational board and why do they need board development?
Mary Kay: There are three statutory components: boards are responsible for protecting and directing the organization. They bring multiple perspectives, clients, donors, customers—to the table. No one grows up saying, “I want to be a board member.” There’s no high school class, no degree. You just get asked and suddenly you're on one, but you don’t have a clue.
In the nonprofit world, training is often the first thing to go when budgets are tight. But it’s critical. I didn’t work with this organization, but a 119-year-old nonprofit went bankrupt because of board decisions made a decade earlier. The board didn’t look out ahead. They didn’t think long-term. The consequences were massive. That’s why board responsibility matters.
Q: What kind of boards need your help?
Mary Kay: A really important time in an organization's life is when they're going through a transition.
I'm working with an organization right now, there is a leadership transition on the management side for a new executive director, and some board turnover at the same time. That's a really significant time. One of the key responsibilities of a board is to hire and fire and support and develop their executive director.
Every organization needs board help. I say it should be mandatory at minimum, annual board development. Boards should also do self-evaluations yearly. I offer that as part of strategic planning, and it can lead to a two or three-year governance plan. It gives the board its own strategy, not just the organization’s.
Q: What makes INspiring SIGHT board development different?
Mary Kay: I’ll tell you what I’ve heard: It’s fun, it’s interactive. We’re not just sitting and listening. People know their fellow board members better than they ever have because of the learning activities.
I just did a board retreat with someone very experienced. He said, “I was going to leave early to take my granddaughter to an appointment, but I couldn’t bring myself to go.” His wife even texted him asking why he wasn’t responding, and she knew he must be staying because it was good. He told me, “We were conversing, and you had us talking. I couldn’t break away.” That’s what I aim for. Sessions people don’t want to leave because they’re too valuable.
Q: What are some pain points a struggling board might be feeling?
Mary Kay: “Oh my God, I hate my board because it’s boring.” “I don't know that I want to be on this board because I'm not getting anything out of it.” “They don't ask for our opinion.” “All we do is listen to reports, but we don't have any input.” That’s what I hear.
If you're not going to use their time well, they will ship off, as they should. Volunteers are not free and volunteers are resources. When an organization doesn't value and use the time in a strategic way, they're misusing their resources.
The last board I was at, we did an exercise. ‘What would you be paid for this if this was your billable time,’ and we added it up and this one day would cost $57,000 and people who do billable hours, if they're not doing something that's billable, then it is basically free.
Your board is an enormous resource for you, and you need them. As a nonprofit, it's not a choice, and yet we wonder why people don't want to do board service.
I'm hoping to be able to help solve that problem.
Q: Why do board members lack direction, and how can you help?
Mary Kay: We have to get the meetings to be more interesting and more valuable.
The traditional agenda was developed a hundred-plus years ago, and most organizations are still using it. We do the secretary’s report, the financial report, the committee reports, the executive director report. We might have 15 minutes for new business, and then we adjourn.
Everything’s emailed ahead, but then half don’t read it, and the other half just hear it read aloud. That’s not effective and a waste of time.
I’ve come up with a new approach, a strategic board agenda, where most of the meeting is actually discussing strategic issues that tie back to your strategic plan.
This puts strategic discussion at the center, and voting toward the end. It encourages people to read their packets. We save time to ask questions, but we’re not going to read it to you.
The whole room leans in and everyone’s engaged. People stay after and talk more. You can feel the energy change and we used their time and valued them for why they’re there.
Q: How important are expectations and responsibilities to keep the mission on track?
Mary Kay: Your board is only as successful as the level of expectation articulated to them regularly. If your board responsibilities say you must attend 95% of meetings, but someone shows up once a year and nothing happens, no one says anything, and they still stay on the board, others will think it's okay to miss.
Most of what I do is like parenting. If you don’t set expectations or boundaries, there’s always room for someone to wiggle. You must be consistent. If the rule says you must attend a certain number of meetings, when someone misses, they need to notify you why. After the third miss, it’s time to have a conversation.
Boards need to follow through, which brings you to the board building cycle and being purposeful and intentional.
Q: Tell us about a board that went through an amazing transformation.
Mary Kay: This board was hand-selected by the founder. Fast forward 25 years—same thing. The executive director made all the decisions and picked board members who wouldn’t challenge them.
They hired me for strategic planning. In discovery, I found serious and potentially legal issues with the executive director and staff. I told them we couldn’t move forward until that was addressed.
I lost the strategic planning job, but they kept me on for board training. We named the challenges, and they worked with the executive director to retire. They started bringing in new voices.
A year later, they were still using my board playbook. Fast forward to four years later, they had a new executive director, a new strategic plan, happy staff, and were a major community resource.
Before, one person called all the shots. No strategy, no checks and balances. People joined the board as a favor, not to lead.
That puts volunteers in a tough spot. It’s why people walk away. I didn’t finish the original job, but we uncovered the real issue and helped shift the culture.
Q: What is the right way to bring on new board members?
Mary Kay: You’re always looking for new board members—always. It’s a day-to-day job, not something you do every three years when you have two board seats up. It’s something you cultivate, and it doesn’t have to take much extra time if you have a plan in place.
It becomes part of how your board members, as ambassadors, speak about your organization at dinner parties and work events.
You bring it into your natural environment and just talk about what you're doing in the organization. People who are interested will ask you questions, and then you can have a conversation.
Q: How can organizations better support new board members?
Mary Kay: As a new person, get to know the chair. Whenever I do strategic planning phone interviews, new members will always say, "I don't know anything. I've only been to two meetings."
That is often where the best information comes from because they bring fresh perspectives. "It doesn't make sense to me that we're doing this. I don't really get it, but I don't feel like I can ask a question." That’s not a healthy board culture if new members don’t feel comfortable asking questions.
I’m launching my new cohort program to build that culture with training, skill-building, and succession. That way, when a board member or executive committee member leaves, you’re not starting from scratch.
You’re leaving the training in the organization, rather than shipping it out with the individual person.
Q: Who typically reaches out to you when a board needs support?
Mary Kay: My request typically comes through the executive director, versus the board chair.
It’s the board’s job to run themselves. It is not the executive director’s job to run the board. They are partners. They work alongside each other, but it’s the executive’s job to run the organization and the staff.
A lot of times, they don’t realize they need it until I’m already there. When it comes from boards directly, it usually comes because they had a big turnover and need to train the new people.
Those are the two typical scenarios. The third is that it’s uncovered through the strategic planning process. Sometimes, I’m even able to recommend that, before we do strategic planning, we need to get the board set. Because if you aren’t set, there’s no way you’re going to follow through with this.
Those are the three core ways, but I’m always open to a conversation.
Want to see Mary Kay in action? Want to dive deeper into effective board strategies? Watch the full video to learn how to strengthen your board’s culture, bring on new members, and set expectations that keep the mission on track.
To contact INspiring SIGHT, reach out to:
Mary Kay Delvo, Owner and Founder
marykay@inspiringsight.com
612-750-0814