BOARD coaching

At ElevateNPT, we see it all the time – well-intentioned boards bogged down by micromanagement, unclear roles, or lack of strategic focus. The result? Missed opportunities to drive real community impact. 

Nonprofit boards can be ineffective for any number of reasons:

1. Insufficient Commitment

Board service is a job – an important one. To do it well, it must be a priority, second only to your faith, family, and employment. If you’re not prepared to give your board service that level of importance, it’s better to decline the role than to serve half-heartedly.

2. Micromanagement or Lack of Oversight

Many board members come from careers where they manage people and operations. But board service requires leadership, not management. When members default to managing staff tasks, they abandon the strategic work of charting the organization’s future. If your organization has staff in place, management is not the board’s role.

3. Failure to Wear the Right Hat

Board members wear two hats:

• Board Member Hat: At the board table, making  policy decisions and discussing strategy. 
• Volunteer Hat: When helping operationally  under staff direction. 

When volunteering, board members have no authority to direct staff or suggest operational changes. Those conversations belong at the board table.

4. Fear of Giving Honest Feedback

Effective boards hold one another accountable to their shared vision. If you cannot challenge another board member when needed, this may not be the right board for you. Board service requires fulfilling the duties of Care, Loyalty, and Obedience – and stepping away if you cannot.

5. Limited Understanding of the Mission

Many well-intentioned individuals join boards without a deep connection to the organization’s mission. Effective board service begins with passion: What do you care about more than anything else? Without that passion, meaningful leadership is impossible.

6. Poor Recruitment and Succession Planning

A board is like a living organism. It stays healthy only if new members join as others depart. Without intentional recruitment and preparation of new board members, the board loses capacity, institutional knowledge, and strategic momentum.

7. Lack of Diversity

Boards need members with diverse skill sets and diverse lived experiences. Diversity includes differences in race, body type, neighborhood, and especially experiences relevant to the community challenges your organization addresses. Diverse boards better understand root causes and drive lasting solutions.

8. Weak Board Leadership

The Board Chair plays a critical role in facilitating meetings, building consensus, and supporting the executive director. Great chairs ensure every member has the opportunity to share perspectives and feel respected when doing so.

9. Inability to Support Consensus

Individual board members have no authority outside of board decisions. Members must uphold decisions even if they disagree personally. Undermining board decisions publicly is unacceptable. Members unwilling to uphold this principle should resign; those who violate it should be removed.

10. Lack of Fiduciary Awareness

Board members are fiduciaries, legally obligated to act in the organization’s best interest. Duties of Care, Loyalty, and Obedience require informed, prudent decision-making. Ignorance is not a defense, nor is failing to act on known issues. Directors and Officers insurance does not cover dereliction of duty.

11. Refusal to Embrace Fund Development

Every board member plays a role in building a Culture of Philanthropy. Fund development isn’t just asking for money. The first 95% involves introducing people to the organization, engaging them, and nurturing their commitment. The board must model this behavior to ensure organizational sustainability.

ElevateNPT can help you address these challenges with intentional efforts to improve governance practices, enhance board diversity and skills, foster a culture of transparency and accountability, and commit to ongoing training and development for board members.