It
is common practice for people to be named to Board of organisations, especially
nonprofits without being able to discharge the duties of such appointment. Such
inability is usually as a result of a number of factors, the chief of which is
low awareness of the functions and obligations of board membership. There is
also the fact that some board members see their appointment as some form of
favour extended their way by the founder who usually makes the initial
nominations for the purposes of meeting regulatory obligation for
incorporation.
It
is important that Board members started to understand the remit of that
hallowed service rather than continue to treat it with levity. Organisations
that are run with active board engagement are better positioned to succeed as
against organisations that have dormant boards or what I would refer to as
board by name and nothing more. Unfortunately many organisations have the
latter type of board and are struggling to stay on course the vision and
mission lane. As it is with, for profits so also is it with not-for-profits. However,
not for profits are in more precarious situations because unlike the, for
profits, they are hardly regulated in certain jurisdictions because of their
historical antecedents and rights based approach to development as the third
sector. It is common to see people
populate their CVs with information of board membership even when they cannot
in truth remember when last they attended a meeting of any of the boards not to
talk of carrying out the oversight which is their obligation in law and
practice. It has become urgent for organisations to develop sustainable
programmes for building the capacity of boards if they plan to be and remain
competitive.
To ensure
that they are taken and remain on board, boards need to take the following steps:
ü Seek
primary guidance from the vision, mission and objectives of the organisation
ü Be
professional in carrying out its duties and seek technical expertise where
necessary
ü Lead
the organisation’s strategic plan and implementation process through effective
oversight of the executive
ü Accept
its short comings while acknowledging its strengths
ü Be
part of the team without compromising their
independence
If
your board is not doing all of the above, it is not yet on board and need to be
brought on board for the organisation’s benefit. Most organisations need board
audit as starting point for determining the missing gaps in their board
capacity.
I
invite reactions on how what else makes a board stand out.
This article was written by John
Onyeukwu, CEO of Capacity Building Global Associates, He can be reached on
jonyeukwu@outlook.com –www.about.me/onyeukwu
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