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Given the seismic shifts we have, and are, experiencing in the world of work, it is more important than ever to focus on organizational health. This is an indicator of your ability to unite around a shared vision, to anticipate and adapt to change, to build solid ground on terrain that is continuously shifting.
While this is an increasing priority for today’s leaders and teams, are boards on board? When we talk about “culture trickling down”, it would make sense that the board of directors should be leading the charge on organizational health for the sake of their organization, it turns out that organizational health isn’t a conversation that’s taking place at the board level nearly enough.
Let’s talk about how to change that.
Organizational Health at the Board Level
Take a second—now’s as good a time as any!—and think about how you show up to board meetings and what you aim to contribute the most.
If you’re familiar with the Governance Excellence Model, as introduced in The Imperfect Board Member by Jim Brown, when asked what the role of the board is you’ll quickly be able to reply “to Direct and Protect”! But what is included in this mandate to “Direct organizational performance”? Certainly, a lot that comes to mind immediately is important, but let’s draw on one of the other facets of the model to bring a particular need into focus: Connect. Organizational performance hangs on this thread in ways that are dangerously unacknowledged by most board members.
Traditionally, board members have been more akin to birds than boots-on-the ground. That is, “the expert flies in and flies out.” Let’s explore what it would mean if, instead, we touch down and put in a concerted effort to connect with each other—both around the table and outside the boardroom.
Let’s first get the classic objection dealt with. Connection isn’t just liking the people who populate the board with you. You don’t even necessarily have to like them! But you do have to pull together to protect the organization and direct it towards a successful, sustainable future. Who is on your board has a massive impact on the momentum of your organization. They are worth knowing and investing in. When you have a deeper level of knowing and understanding one another, it empowers you as a collective to get down to the real work of governance.
With a solid relational foundation, you can:
- Have difficult conversations fruitfully.
- Provide constructive feedback that gets acted upon.
- Share your voice and encourage others to raise theirs.
- Leverage the diverse strengths of the folks sitting with you.
- Communicate with courage and compassion.
- Achieve a level of health that you may not have thought possible, and that you may not have even known you needed.
Connecting is just one of the pieces most boards neglect that’s essential to building organizational health. But the benefits of shifting towards this at the board table go even beyond those listed above. Your organization’s health depends on you as board members embracing and modeling the culture that should be trickling down. If you fly in to offer your kernels of wisdom and fly out, you’re modeling something totally different. And while it might be easy to simply say, “Well, no one actually expects more than that”, we would say, “You should.” Are you there to take responsibility and lead the organization or not?
Maximizing Board Health
Connection is at the heart of board health, and it’s one of those “soft” skills that can be quite hard. It takes courage and time but that is the appropriate cost that allows for more informed and more innovative discussions and decisions as a board. It fosters better governance, overall.
So, let’s get practical. If your approach to your board hasn’t emphasized connection, or you notice a lack with your board peers, how can you bring about change?
Work on Your Own Communication Pitfalls
Here’s a “checklist” of sorts to assist you as you assess your communication at the board table. Be honest with yourself. Brutally (and kindly) so. Do you fall into any communication traps? Do you:
- Avoid difficult conversations?
- Avoid speaking up about your own ideas, needs, etc.?
- Speak more than you listen?
- Circle around the same point rather than ask others to reflect how your point has been understood?
- Fail to check you understand what another director is communicating?
- Shut down or retreat if things feel personal?
- Interrupt?
- Assume you know what others think/feel/believe?
- Take control of discussions and “guide” others with the force of your personality?
- Allow yourself to be steamrolled?
- Disengage at predictable points?
- Talk yourself out of voicing something that struck you as odd or that you don’t have clarity about?
Identifying your pitfalls can help you climb out of them in order to communicate more effectively and empathetically with your peers—and everyone else in your life!
Have the Hard Conversations
This one is a noteworthy challenge. Avoiding hard conversations can brew stagnation and blind adherence to the status quo. It can also develop dissension and other trouble on the board. Take a breath, dare to believe things can be made better, and do it, difficult as it can be.
For example, board chair Richard is a steamroller. Instead of facilitating dialogue, he delivers monologues and everyone cedes to his control of the room. You have bit your tongue, but today you speak: “As we talk about risk management, I wonder what Carrie can bring to the discussion? She has decades of experience in this area.” Or, “I know I’m new here, but this seems like a good topic for José to weigh in on. I’d like to hear his opinion.” Afterwards, you follow up with Richard, encouraging him to allow more voices to speak more freely.
Here’s a key for having this go well: rather than striking at the offender, start by putting forward an alternative or new solution for the group. Engaging like this requires you to know your board (which we will discuss in a moment). There will be a million reasons you can think of not to do it; but we urge you to focus on the reasons you do need to, gather your courage, and make it happen.
Connect through Non-Work Activities
Connection is the mortar that holds your board together. Make the effort to get to know each member; it could be a talk before or after a meeting to learn about their background and experience. It could be a coffee to chat about their interests and passions. Remember, you are humans first and board members second (or maybe even third, fourth, or fifth).
Think outside the boardroom as well. Non-work activities help you see people in a whole new context, while building solid, trusting relationships. Have a barbeque, cater a meal, play a round of golf, attend a show or concert, volunteer as a group with a cause that matters to you all, go paintballing… whatever it is, do it together and use the opportunity to forge deeper and more meaningful connections.
Put It Into Action
Think of a fellow board member with whom you are struggling right now. Maybe there is an active issue or maybe there’s a failure to “gel.”
What approach do you need to take to build connection? Ask yourself:
- Do you need to have a hard conversation?
- How should you consider adjusting your own communication style?
- Could it help to meet outside of work as human beings?
- Sometimes endings are necessary, but if it’s not time, what can you do to achieve a more productive relationship?
A shift in perspective and in approach can lead to significant strides both for you as an individual and for the board as a whole. If every board member put this kind of effort in, the CEO (as a member of the board), would be practicing this along with you and that relationship would improve immensely. If the CEO experienced this at the board level, his or her leadership team would have a very different experience and expectation set out as well.
The efforts you put in as a board accelerate the whole organization towards health, awareness, innovation, and effectiveness. In the end, this can’t just be a goal of the board, this is actually the role of the board.
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