Your Role vs. Staff's Role
The single biggest cause of board dysfunction is confusion about who decides what. This lesson draws the line.
5 min read·Lesson 4 of 4
The one-sentence rule
The board governs. Staff manages.
What governance means
- Setting mission, strategy, and major policy
- Hiring, evaluating, and (if necessary) firing the Executive Director
- Approving the annual budget
- Ensuring legal and fiduciary compliance
- Representing the association externally
What management means
- Hiring and managing all other staff
- Day-to-day operations
- Executing the strategy the board approved
- Vendor selection within budget
- Member services and communications
The gray zone — and how to handle it
Real life is messier. The rule of thumb: if it's a question of what the association should do, it's board. If it's a question of how, it's staff.
Board members get into trouble when they:
- Email staff directly with assignments (go through the ED)
- Show up at events and start giving directions to staff
- "Help" with operational decisions they weren't asked about
Staff get into trouble when they:
- Set policy on the fly without bringing it to the board
- Hide problems hoping to fix them before the board notices
The healthy pattern
- One voice to the ED: the board chair speaks for the board between meetings.
- One voice from staff: the ED speaks for staff to the board.
- Committee work has clear charters that specify which decisions are board, which are staff-supported recommendation, and which are advisory only.
Knowledge check
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