When Boards are Toxic
All doctors take an oath (the Hippocratic Oath) to “do no harm”. This is obviously important for professionals who hold lives in their hands. However, it's a good rule of thumb for all professionals wouldn’t you agree?
Over the last six years, we have authored numerous blogs, hosted webinars, and presented at several conferences, focusing on the crucial role of nonprofit boards and helping them become more effective. Well, we’re about to take that a step further. In recent months, we've encountered several instances of board members neglecting their responsibilities and willfully abusing their authority. This has created toxic environments for fellow board members, staff, and volunteers - and has seriously undermined the organization’s service to the community. The actual damage caused by these misguided and malicious board members is catastrophic.
In one instance, three board members of a local nonprofit organization conspired with members of the staff leadership team to undermine the Executive Director. No circumstances justify such manipulation, but - just for the record - this conspiracy was not motivated by seeking the best outcomes for the organization. The Executive Director resigned.
This type of behavior is reprehensible and disrupts the organization’s operations, incurs financial costs, and erodes trust throughout the organization. It is heartbreaking to see this kind of behavior in the nonprofit space, and unfortunately, it is not unusual.
Nonprofit board members are responsible for managing the organization’s interests and protecting it from abuses of power. They might not take an oath but are bound by legal and ethical obligations (fiduciary duties). The behavior described above is counter to these requirements and expectations.
How do you fix a broken board? That is the million-dollar question. It’s much easier to work to prevent these kinds of activities before they occur, which is why board training is so important. This Stanford Social Innovation Review article lays out several “red flags” to look for among boards.
https://ssir.org/articles/entry/spotting_and_fixing_dysfunctional_nonprofit_boards#
It is also important to take decisive action when dysfunction occurs. We have frequently observed a reluctance among boards to remove divisive directors. This compounds the problem, leading to division and dysfunction, ultimately eroding the organization’s culture. Board members are not easy to find, and trying to recruit new members into an already toxic environment isn’t an optimal scenario on many levels. The only appropriate action is to remove members who violate ethical, legal, and moral standards and to be guided by the simple idea that
GOOD board members are the only ones worth having.
Hopefully, as a nonprofit leader, you never encounter board members who harm the organization. Being an Executive Director is challenging enough without the added burden of disruptive board members. If you are seeking ways to build a supportive and strength-based board, check out our recent blog on the subject:
https://www.thenonprofitstrategygroup.com/blog/building-a-strengths-based-board