Board Roles and Responsibilities
As we begin a new year, it’s essential that board members understand their roles and responsibilities once they become leaders. Not just for the individual’s sake, but also for the board as a whole and the entire association.
Association Acumen’s Role
Acumen works closely with board leaders to stay current on best practices in association leadership. Visit our Board Development page on our website to read more and don’t miss part two of this article coming next month. So, let’s start from the beginning:
What is Leadership?
- Creating and effectively communicating vision and strategy
- Inspiring and empowering others
- Building positive and growth-oriented organizational culture
- Developing trust and relationships
- Driving change and innovation
- Risk-taking and challenging norms
Who is a Servant Leader?
The seven pillars of servant leadership include:
- Persons of character
- Persons who put people and organizations first
- Skilled communicators
- Compassionate collaborators
- Acts with foresight in mind
- Systems thinkers
- Leads with moral authority
Ways to Ensure Board Leadership Embodies These Attributes
- Establish and communicate clear organizational missions and values.
- Foster collaboration and bring together varied perspectives.
- Define leadership and staff recruitment processes that promote desired attributes.
- Maintain robust, comprehensive board, committee, and staff onboarding and orientation processes.
- Govern and act by the organization’s mission, policies and procedures, and strategic goals.
- Ensure legal and ethical integrity, fiduciary responsibility, and maintain transparent accountability measures.
- Understand the needs, values, and desires of the constituencies served.
- Listen, seeking equitable solutions while respectfully treating everyone, especially those with differing perspectives.
- Create organizational cultures premised on shared purpose, respect for the individual, and straightforward tenets of conduct, creating a sense of community.
The Basics: Board Leadership 101
- Confidentiality
- Respect
- Unity
- Open Minutes
- Conflict of Interest Awareness/Avoidance
- Honesty
- Meeting Attendance
- Avoiding Group Think
Stressing these principles to new and continuing board members is critical.
To utilize more of Acumen’s board development resources, watch our video on How to Be a Great Board Leader.