Three steps to a New Board Culture
- sam88706
- Jul 14, 2025
- 3 min read
A well-run board of directors should be one of your organization’s greatest assets. At its best, a board is a high-functioning group of advisors, advocates, and donors — a council of subject matter experts who help steer the organization through opportunity and crisis alike.
Unfortunately, for many nonprofit leaders, that vision feels more like fantasy than reality. Unless you’re running a major hospital, university, or arts institution, chances are your board wields significant influence but contributes relatively little — consuming time, resisting change, and offering limited strategic value.
These board cultures often take root in a nonprofit’s founding years, when leaders recruit friends or early supporters to help launch the organization. While that support is critical at the outset, it rarely evolves into the kind of strategic, accountable leadership needed as the organization matures.
The good news? Changing board culture isn’t instantaneous, but it’s entirely possible — and it starts with a few intentional steps. Here are three practical ways to strengthen your board and align it with your mission:
1. Create Agreement About Board Accountabilities
Start by clarifying what you want from your board members. Jot down 5–8 specific actions you wish they would take more consistently — things like:
Attending meetings regularly
Making an annual financial contribution
Serving on a committee
Attending events and bringing guests
Engaging their networks in fundraising conversations
Once you have your list, collaborate with your board chair to create a short survey asking current board members which responsibilities should be required of all members — and to what extent.
When I led this process, I shared the results in a summary report and asked the board chair to facilitate a conversation about minimum expectations. We didn’t get everything on the list, but we set a baseline — and within a month, two disengaged members resigned. The conversation helped reset norms and became the foundation for onboarding new members with clear expectations.
2. Create an Annual Action Plan with Each Board Member
Once expectations are set, establish an annual check-in with each board member about their intended contributions of time, talent, and resources. Ideally, these conversations are led by the board chair, who tracks commitments and supports follow-through — just as the board tracks the executive director’s progress toward organizational goals.
These two steps — shared expectations and personalized plans — foster mutual accountability and partnership. They also pave the way for more focused, strategic board meetings.
3. Create an Organizational Dashboard
When your organization has clear program goals, individual board commitments, and a budget with defined expenses and fundraising targets, you can combine those elements into a single, powerful tool: an organizational dashboard.
A dashboard gives board members and staff a shared snapshot of where the organization is thriving — and where attention is needed. It clarifies what matters most and helps leadership stay focused. With this clarity, the board chair and executive director can structure meetings around key priorities, guide committee work, and track progress over time.
It also creates a structure for proposing and evaluating change. The executive director can suggest adjustments, and the board can make decisions based on shared context — not gut instinct or micromanagement. The dashboard supports healthy boundaries: the board governs, the executive director manages, and both stay aligned on big-picture progress.
You don’t have to navigate these changes alone.
If you're ready to change your board culture — without a coup — let’s work together. I offer coaching and facilitation tailored to your organization’s needs, pace, and stage of growth.
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