STEP 1

Your role and that of your board is not to do the work. Your role and that of your board is to create the roadmap and build the team that does the job. Rooney

One of the biggest tragedies in the nonprofit world is founders not understanding their role and that of their board. And when founders do not understand their roles, the board won't understand theirs either.

And when the board does not understand its role, the organization won't understand its role within the community.

This is one very popular reason why nonprofits fail or continue to remain small, even after years of putting in the work.

Let's explore some of the ways founders misunderstand their roles.

- Founders think they own the organization, thereby building the organization around themselves and their personalities. They refuse to let go of control, running the organization like their personal property and taking action without their board.

- Founders think board members are volunteers they have to manage or assign tasks to. This often leads to a disengaged board due to the burden and stress of taking up roles that do not align with actual leadership.

- Founders think they have to be chief everything officer to help the organization succeed, thereby doing everything all by themselves and funding the organization with their own resources.

- Founders think they know the challenges affecting the community they serve, thereby creating plans in isolation and forcing those plans on their board and the community.

- Founders think a nonprofit isn't a business, leading to them not putting in the actual amount of effort and creativity needed to help the organization scale.

- Founders think board members are doing them a favor by joining their board. This is one reason they find it difficult to confront board members and get them to step up.

- Founders think board members are naturally going to understand what to do and do it, thereby leaving the board to run without actual structure and systems.

- Founders think the board is only a resource for money, failing to see them as a strategic thought partner and a valuable network for the organization.

- Founders think board members are there to rubber-stamp their decisions, rather than serve as strategic partners to plan and make decisions with. Founders also think board meetings are a formality or a place to report, rather than a place for discussion and decision-making.

On the other hand, here are some ways board members misunderstand their roles:

- Board members think they are doing the founder a favor by joining the board.

- They think founders are people to micromanage and check and balance.

- They think being on the board is a role and not a responsibility.

- They think their primary duty is only to approve documents and budgets, not to actively participate in fundraising, strategic planning, and community advocacy.

- They think their name on the letterhead is enough, instead of using their skills, networks, and influence to support the organization's mission.

- They think their role is advisory, not fiduciary, failing to understand their legal and ethical responsibility to the organization and its resources.

- They think they are executives who are supposed to govern, not work.

Everyone of these ways of thinking is wrong, and this has led to organizations not achieving their full potential. This way of thinking has limited boards from tapping into their full potential for the success of the organization.

The solution to this kind of thinking is to recognize that you are all co-trustees, holding the organization in trust for the community and the government. As such, you are all bound by the duty of care, duty of loyalty, and duty of obedience.

Flowing out of these duties are six operational responsibilities for the founder and the board, serving as co-leaders toward the actualization of the mission and vision of the organization.

- Co-facilitators: The first and foremost duty of the founder and the board is to facilitate solutions and the execution of those solutions. This means facilitating conversations within the community to identify the right solutions to the challenges the organization seeks to change. For example, a board member might facilitate a conversation with a local business owner about a community need. The founder then facilitates a conversation with the board to identify solutions. This also means facilitating resources to meet those challenges, both within the community and the organization.

- Co-architects: After facilitating those conversations within the community to identify solutions, it is the responsibility of the board to structure these solutions into executable programs, events, and activities—just as an architect will draw a house plan after hearing the ideas of the homeowner. For instance, the board might take the community's desire for after-school tutoring and structure it into a formal "Youth Learning Initiative" with a budget and timeline. It is the duty of the founder to then transform these ideas of the board into an executable framework for the organization.

- Co-mobilizers: After drawing up the executable plans, it is the duty of the board to mobilize the people and resources to execute the plan. As you must already know, it is never the duty of the architect to build the house. If they do so, they will lose sight of the big picture and not be able to provide that supervisory capacity for the building to go according to plan. Instead, they mobilize the people and resources to build the house. So is the role of a board. For example, a board member might leverage their professional network to recruit volunteers or connect the organization with a grant funder. Just as it is the duty of the founder to mobilize the people to build the organization.

- Co-evaluators: After mobilizing people and resources, it is the duty of the board to evaluate the work being done in the community, to tell if it's going according to plan and if results are being created. So is the responsibility of the founder to evaluate the work being done within the organization, to tell if the organization is working according to plan and if results are being created. For example, the board might review a quarterly impact report and ask for data on key performance indicators, while the founder evaluates the internal team's progress toward those goals.

- Co-reporters: It is the duty of the board to report the work being done within the community, including progress and setbacks, to the community and the general public. So also is the duty of the founder to report to the board, the work being done within the organization, the progress, and the setbacks. A board member might present the organization's annual report at a public event, while the founder provides a detailed update to the board at each meeting.

- Co-entrepreneurs: It is the duty of the board to identify creative ways to create transformational results for the community and scale those results exponentially, including finding ways to create more results with less or fewer resources. As board members, you all are entrepreneurs and you must think like one. You must think of ways to use your resourcefulness, even in the midst of a lack of or unavailable resources. For example, a board member might identify a new, sustainable revenue stream for the organization, such as a social enterprise, or propose a partnership that reduces operational costs.

If you have been following, you will notice the chain of servitude. The board serves the community, and the founder serves the board, while both the founder and the board serve the organization.

This is the chain of service that creates results, not the other way around.

Therefore, to be successful, you must understand these roles and approach your leadership from this perspective. If you do so, your board will follow you and build with you, and your community will support you. These are all you need to build a successful and sustainable nonprofit organization.

Now, say this with me: my role and that of my board is not to do the work, my role and that of my board is to create the roadmap and build the team that does the work.