Partnerships are built on trust. Trust comes from gaining synchronicity with your boards and committees. Here are some tips to solidify your relationships with key leaders:
Scheduling
- Take time to connect with your President or Committee Chair and develop a regular meeting schedule
- Stay as consistent as possible, and track RSVPs to know when a quorum may be an issue
- When possible, keep the call-in number or link consistent throughout the term to reduce login errors.
Who, What, When, Where
- Agendas are crucial to a well-informed and productive meeting.
- Agendas and supporting documentation should be sent one week prior.
- A well-prepared group is better able to stay strategic and focused, since they’ve had ample time to review the material.
- Tip: Include call-in numbers/meeting join links in the agenda document and send as a separate email; also include in the meeting request to ensure all meeting participants receive.
Actions, Motions & Decisions – oh my!
- Minutes should be taken during all calls, written, reviewed and submitted to all invited meeting participants within one week of the meeting.
- Action items should be easily identified in the minutes to allow for participants to complete assigned tasks.
- Motions and/or decisions should be clearly indicated to allow for clarity and transparency to those who missed the meeting.
- All minutes are drafts until the board/committee motions to accept them.
- DO NOT include he/she said or get too detailed in minutes – remember these are legal documents easily subpoenaed by courts.
It’s easiest to work with those you trust.
- Building trust with your board or committee is crucial and starts with your relationship to the President or Chair.
- Prepare your Presidents/Chairs through regular communications, prepping them on items on agendas and/or providing them with annotated agendas for meetings.
- Do what you say you’re going to do – when you say you’re going to do it.
- Set doable action items and timeframes – set yourself and/or your team up for success.
- If you don’t know something immediately, let them know you’ll confirm/check and then send an update.
- Respond promptly (Acumen standard is one business day to respond to emails and voicemails).
Learn your leaders
- Find what drives them and what’s important to them
- Play to their strengths as a person and a leader
- Create an annual calendar for your board/committee or organization
- Consider using a Board Portal for document and meeting material storage
- Identify personalities within the group
- Strategically play to not only your President/Chair’s strengths, but those on the committee/board
- Seat strategically to separate abrasive or distracting relationships between members
- Consider going technology-free for meetings to keep people focused on the business at hand
Handle conflicts professionally
- Conflicts with staff to be handled by staff
- Conflicts between/by leaders to be handled by leaders
- Remove the gossip
- Keep the conversation on track and focused on productive topics
- Refrain from taking sides or being perceived as taking sides
- Contribute facts and data as neutrally as possible
- Listen, do not weigh in on inter-personal disagreements between leaders