Leaders show the way

It takes effective leadership at the board table to produce results that positively impact a non-profit’s cause community. As John Maxwell says, "A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way." This is as true for senior management as it is for the board.

In order to provide strong and sustainable leadership, non-profits need to show the way forward. They must plan and implement effective board succession strategies. This means having a new director orientation, and a strategic and ongoing board leadership development program. 

You've likely considered the importance of board members planning their succession and development, but have you also considered the importance of senior management being involved? Many times, I've been approached by senior managers in non-profits and asked for clarification. They want to know what role they should play.  

One of the key things I've learned through my thirty-plus years as a leader in non-profits is the importance of senior management involvement. If the organization is to succeed, senior management must play a strong role in encouraging, leading and supporting the capacity of their board. 

The power of senior management commitment

In my experience, behind every strong governing board, there are strong senior managers. This means people who understand all elements of board governance, and are committed to promoting and supporting strong board leadership. Effective senior managers actively promote and support board leadership capacity building.

What is more, they are informed governance coaches. That's right, I've used the word "coach", not "trainer". A coach is a guide with vision, a person others like to follow. Strong senior management leads to a strong board, not just now, but going into the future.

A special kind of finesse

Successful senior managers in non-profit organizations ensure board capacity building and leadership development are ongoing at all times. Out of respect for the governance process, senior management leads in this area, but from behind the scenes. This requires a special kind of finesse.

Quietly, from behind the scenes,  effective senior management supports the board in its process of evaluation, through both individual and collective assessment. They support the board in creating and implementing board development strategies. They also keep the board informed of board development training programs and opportunities.

Two key functions of effective senior management

Through my years of experience serving non-profit organizations in a senior manager role or on boards, I've learned that an effective senior management leader has two key functions. 

The first is being responsible and accountable to the board for the collective achievement of their strategic outcomes. Experienced managers, and the non-profit boards they serve, recognize the importance of this function.

But there's an equally important second function that is sometimes overlooked. Effective senior managers in non-profits must manage the leadership development program of their board. Only by doing this, can senior management help ensure that the organization’s leadership continues to be enhanced, strengthened and sustained. 

Senior management is perfectly suited to this function. They have proven their management skills on other programs designed and run by the non-profit. Why not turn these skills towards board succession and ongoing development?

The board is the organization's most important program

The sound program management principles and processes senior management uses on operational programs work equally well with board succession and ongoing development. The key is to help senior management recognize that the board is their most important program. Senior management may need to rethink their approach, so that they will bring their full passion to helping the board achieve the best results they can by ensuring their ongoing development. 

In my experience, when senior management plans and successfully operates board leadership development as a program, their board remains highly effective in the governance process. With the support of senior management, directors tend to show increased interest in their role and in the positive impact they can have on helping the cause community achieve their goals.

Let's encourage non-profit senior managers to think of board leadership development as a highly important program for the organization they manage. If you're a board leader, you could encourage the organization you serve to expand the formal job description of senior managers to include supporting board succession and leadership development.

Call to Action

Boards of Directors

1. Does your board give their leadership development the importance it deserves as a formal program of the non-profit organization you serve?
2. What board leadership development have you received recently? On a scale of 1 to 5 (with 1 being low and 5 being high), how effective has your organization been in providing board leadership development programming?
3. What steps could you take as a board to ensure that board leadership development programming is strengthened or sustained?

Senior Non-Profit Managers 

1. Do you see your organization’s board development as a program? Or, is board development offered on an ad-hoc basis? What might you do better?

The UpCloseTeam welcomes your comments. If you have any questions about effective governance, please send them to [email protected]. We'd love to hear from you.

Your friend,
Jon