The Board Chair
The Board Chairperson’s Awesome Responsibility … And Wonderful Opportunity
True or false: The board chairmanship is the most critical role in a successful Christian camp ministry.
If you answered “false” you may want to reconsider. Granted, the director is the primary vision-caster and leader of the ministry. But in my experience, as both an executive director of Christian ministries and a consultant for Christian camps, the board chairman can literally make or break the executive director’s ability to lead effectively, resulting in a significant impact positively or negatively on the entire ministry.
Why attach such importance to the board chairman’s role? The answer is found in three areas of relationship and responsibility.
Executive director
Much like a healthy disciple-mentor relationship, the chair can be the director’s No. 1 listener, enabler and prayer partner. Leaders who know their board chairperson is listening to and praying for them regularly are individuals who are enabled and empowered to move forward in their ministry. The chairperson must also have the maturity and ability to corral his or her executive director. I always ask camp leaders who can, and will, tell them, “No.” A good chair senses when the CEO is headed down a path that is not in the best interest of the organization…and does something about it. Finally, this relationship includes accountability and discussions that help develop appropriate agendas for board meetings. An excellent chairman-director team can often identify potential problems in how the board intends to handle tough issues, thereby preventing difficult meetings where people must tackle an agenda that has not been properly prepared and presented.
Board meetings
There is a vast difference between the chair who uses meetings to ramrod his or her personal agenda, and the person who leads the board with wisdom and skill. Efficiency and unity are exemplarily objectives, but not if the chair’s methods result in a rubber-stamp board, or an unfocused “committee meeting” experience where nothing is accomplished.
The chairperson must present an agenda that is concise, focused and distributed (with all collateral materials) prior to the meeting. Committee reports, when necessary, can be discussed, but the meeting should not become bogged down in micro-managing. The chairman needs to balance a commitment to completing the board’s business while advancing the organization’s mission. The end result should be a board that speaks with one voice when the meeting concludes.
Board members
The board chair must lead, but cannot do so by style alone. The individual’s leadership must reflect his or her integrity, character, experience, and grace. Those who are comfortable in their “own skin” and not intimidated or affected by individuals who are not team players will do well.
A good chairman is open to the concerns, ideas and recommendations of those with whom he serves, but is quick to re-establish the board’s agenda and proper procedures if one board member is monopolizing the meeting.
The board’s leader must bring board members back to the agenda, both during meetings and in discussions between meetings. It is often those times between the scheduled board meetings when board members begin to micromanage, focusing on issues that are more effectively handled by the organization’s staff.
Furthermore, the board chairperson must intercept “end-runs,” if board members attempt to contact staff without first securing the executive director’s OK. Likewise, he or she needs to discourage board members from accepting calls from staff members who have not cleared the call with the executive director.
Serving God and your camp as board chairperson presents a challenging responsibility and an incredible opportunity to impact the camp and those it serves for years to come. If you want to gain insight from some very good camps’ board chairmen, e-mail me at dgoehner@goehnergroup.com for contact information.
Questions
- Are your camp’s director and board chairman “on the same page?” On what do you base your response?
- Does the board chair’s leadership result in clarity of vision and a verifiable advancement of the ministry?
- Is your board unified, communicating the same message to constituents after its meetings?
Filed under: Articles on March 19th, 2008