The staff becomes disempowered and often passive (or passive-aggressive) in the face of repeated intrusions into what they rightfully expect would be their areas of authority. This board takes on key management functions in addition to its proper governing role. These organizations tend to be run by charismatic chief executives who value their autonomy and assemble a board with the expectation that its members are compliant and mainly serve as “window dressing” to reassure external stakeholders. This type of board approves whatever management proposes and often plays the role of cheerleader. In my 30 years of experience, I have observed three main types of unsuccessful nonprofit governing bodies: I've found that drawing on my personal experience is tricky-it can hurt important relationships if done carelessly-but necessary, given the dearth of information. That recounting complements this article in order to take on the challenging issue of board dysfunction. To help fill the gap, I wrote in detail about an example of a weak board that I unsuccessfully tried to reform and from which I was ultimately forced to resign. One of the rare case studies, “Should It Survive? Charles Dunlap and the National Legal Foundation,” focuses on an organization that no longer exists, which may have freed those involved to talk openly. People usually don’t like to draw attention to the fact that they were part of such a group. It's a topic that management literature has little to say about. Sadly, many nonprofit boards miss out on these benefits and are more or less dysfunctional, based on a 2014 report by the Urban Institute and my three decades of work in the field. Run well, they can bolster an organization's revenues, provide access to influential figures, inspire confidence in stakeholders, help manage risks, improve leaders' performance, and contribute to the crafting of a compelling mission and strategy. I've learned that building and sustaining high-functioning governing bodies is arduous, time-consuming work, but it's worth the effort. I have served on several nonprofit boards of directors and written two books about those and other leadership experiences.
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