What Makes a Great Board Member?
A great board member is an active volunteer who is devoted to the association, company and mission. They are not afraid to ask difficult questions, share their knowledge with the other board members and assume the role of a leader within committees. They also seek out opportunities to improve their governance abilities and acquire new ones through leadership workshops and classes.
A great board member is aware of the commitment to time required to serve on the board. They are required to attend all meetings of the board and committees. They are actively involved in their committees, and offer feedback and assistance as needed. They also look for ways of making the board more efficient, like using tools like scheduling software and platforms that permit easy document sharing.
The ability to exercise sound judgement is the primary characteristic of a great member of a board. They don’t allow petty issues to distract a meeting, or distract the organization’s missions. They can see the bigger picture and provide a valuable outside perspective that is critical to decision making. They also have a great sense of the overall industry and how it affects strategy choices, M&A opportunities, hiring and firing and fundraising, legal issues and organizational design decisions. Wisdom is cultivated through experience, failures and intuition. Board members who lack this ability can cause harm to your business.