A Strong Board of Directors Needs a Strong Executive Leader

Nonprofit leadership can be hard to come by. While it may not be tough to find people who are passionate and interested and committed to any given mission, it IS challenging to find individuals who are strong and capable leaders willing to devote time, energy and resources to a good cause. While board members are volunteers, most executive staff is paid. Unless the organization or agency is a large, national, or extremely well-funded one, the chances that executive staff is well-paid are slim. This does not negate the reality that a strong board of directors also needs a strong executive leader to guide a nonprofit organization.

The balance between power and authority that flows between the board of directors and the executive staff is important. The by-laws of the organization should dictate who does what, but problems can arise if the board has all the power or the executive staff has all the power. The division and sharing of responsibility and power are an important dynamic to pay attention to. For example, the board of directors has the ultimate financial responsibility but the executive staff may be the one who signs the checks and writes the grant proposals. It can be problematic if the board has no role in fund raising, budgeting or doesn't know what is going on in terms of the organization's finances.

At the same token, the executive director needs to be empowered to take care of daily tasks and responsibilities without interference from the board. It takes a strong executive to balance out a strong, passionate, involved board. An active and involved board of directors may be tempted to hire executive staff that they feel they can "overpower" or boss around but this is NOT in the best interest of the organization. Asking important questions, paying attention to details and adhering to policy and procedures are good ways of strengthening the overall operations of a nonprofit organization and both the board of directors and the executive staff need to do these tasks.