Why charity CEOs get it so wrong with their Boards

Like many CEOs, when I first started out my expectation was that my board would provide me with advice, guidance and support and I would get on with delivering.

But those 12 people (who kept changing over time) often didn’t agree, sometimes just didn’t get on with each other, almost always had very different interpretations about what the priorities were, never properly understood the implications of any decisions they made, and in fairness sometimes weren’t very keen on me!

It was at another, awful board meeting when yet again they simply couldn’t agree, when one of the trustees snapped at me and said, ‘For goodness sake Debra – we pay you to tell us what to do!’

It was like a blinding light bypassed my eyes and went straight to my brain.  I suddenly realised where I, and I know many of my fellow CEOs, were getting it wrong.

They weren’t entirely right. It’s not the job of any CEO to tell their board what to do – but it is our job to provide guidance, advice and information to help them to carry out their three core functions:

• To be assured that the charity is running in line with its legal and fiduciary obligations 
• To be assured that the strategy and plans are being delivered in line with its charitable purposes 
• And to have the right information to take decisions when required

I realised then that I am not just the delivery agent, but also the paid professional adviser to the board. It is my job to be the expert about the charity; to make sure that they have the right information at the right level at the right time; to offer advice and guidance to help them govern well and then to implement any decisions they make. 

I am very clear that it is my job to protect and support them. These are part-time volunteers who have willingly stepped up into a legally accountable role and it is my job to help them to do it well and to protect them from making mistakes that could damage them and the charity. 

Some of them have expertise in areas which is useful and of course, we seek input and perspectives from them in our work. They definitely decide on the strategy and priorities – but we present them with the information to help them to decide and will recommend courses of action based on our expertise in our work, which they will often take, but not always, as is their right.

So the CEO role is a bit like when a lawyer or an accountant is paid to give professional advice. The trustees are then free to take that advice or do something different. All of which is fine as they are the legally accountable body.

And as soon as I changed my mindset my relationship with all my subsequent boards changed dramatically and for the better.

So, CEOs, change your framing. Your job is to help them govern well. It’s your job to support, advise and inform them so that they can carry out their role and you can deliver yours.

With this framing, the relationship changes from needy frustration to a more mutually respectful and effective partnership.

Honestly – it really works.