Building Great Relationships on your Board of Directors – What you can do to have effective relationship and manage conflict when serving on a Board of Directors (BOG)
Background of Conflict Resolution and Board of Directors/Boards of Governors
Are
you a director or executive member of a non-profit organization or corporation?
Do you have a conflict on your Board of
Directors?
As a facilitator and conflict resolution
expert, I focus my work on volunteer Boards of Directors. I wrote this blog for
anyone interested or involved in serving on an agency board. Conflict is an important part of growing a strong board, listening to different
perspectives from the community and helping an organization have a positive
impact on the community (read conflict is good for business). Planning ahead to understand what conflict could look
like, having an agreed upon process for resolution and learning how to use the
process is a valuable skill to develop as a board member. When you master conflict resolution and
integrate it into your work, you improve the chances that your agency will
achieve its overall goals.
Introduction to Conflict Resolution and Board of Directors
Serving on a Board of Directors for a not-for-profit agency
is an excellent opportunity make a
contribution to the community. You can
shape the future of the organization by making a contribution of your time,
expertise and knowledge. The ability to
identify and resolve conflict is a necessary
skill. There are different types of disputes you can experience on a
Board. Some can be resolved quickly and
others will require a process for resolution.
This post will outline four things you can do to establish a framework
to make conflict resolution work for your Board of Directors.
1. Establish a Dispute Resolution Policy
The Board Dispute Resolution Policy should outline the process for identifying,
addressing and resolving a dispute that involves board members or their single
employee (e.g., CEO, Executive Director).
The policy should state that dispute resolution is an important tool for
the Board to use when there are significant issues that appear to be difficult
to resolve.
The document should include the following elements:
b.
The process for the resolution
of the conflict
c.
The phase in the resolution
process (e.g. negotiation, mediation)
d.
Who should be involved from the
board to assist with the process
e.
If outside assistance is
required, who will be involved
f.
A method to record lessons learned
g.
A date for the annual review of
the policy
h.
The dispute management process.
Building a policy should be
based on the literature and well-known
tools for effective negotiation and dispute resolution. See the Meditate2Go blog on creating an organizational dispute resolution program and policy.
2. Board Orientation and Continuing Education
Training and education should support the policy. The annual Board Meeting schedule should
incorporate training. Everyone should have an opportunity refine and develop
their skills to identify conflict, apply the conflict resolution tools and obtain feedback. The learning process can
utilize a wide variety of methods
including case studies, role plays or guest speakers. Actively engaging the board members in the learning
process is the key to success.
3. Apply the Tools for Emerging Challenges and Opportunities
Every organization faces a wide variety of challenges and opportunities. The challenges can consist of conflicts
between board members, with staff or with other agencies in the community [1].
The opportunities will often present themselves as a chance to expand existing
services, create new services or build new facilitates. Negotiation and conflict resolution tools can
be helpful to build partnerships and find solutions to challenges or opportunities.
Applying the tools as a Board is a positive way to strengthen relationships in
the community and find new and innovative ways to work with other
organizations. See the Meditate2Go blog
on Interest-Based Approach to help your
Board work with other agencies in the
community.
4. Engage the Local Mediation Community
Every community has a rich resource of people trained and willing to assign an organization
with dispute resolution training, mediation, and effective
conflict coaching. Learn about
the mediators in your community. A
strategic partnership local mediators can help the organization develop healthy
relationships in the community, provide a framework for exploring new ideas among groups
and assist the Board in moving forward with challenges and opportunities.
The Board of Directors is a critical
element in the long-term success of
community agency. Building excellent relationships between board members
will involve having a framework for identifying and resolution disputes. Establishing a Board policy, engaging in
ongoing training, using the dispute resolution tools and partnering with
mediation experts in the community can make your time on Board a constructive and positive experience. Good luck as you play a critical role in the community as a member
of the Board of Directors.
Contact the Mediate2go Blogger:
Jerry Mings is a facilitator and mediator with enormous experience in the health and social
sector. His work is focused on Boards and Senior Teams as they work in the
areas of organizational priorities, dispute resolution strategies and effective
community partnership opportunities. With over 18 years of practice, his work
has involved national health charities,
government funded organizations and private sector service firms. In addition,
Jerry designs public participation systems and asynchronous facilitation
methods using the Internet.
[1] Marion peters Angelica, “Resolving
Board Conflicts” (1999) The Grantsmanship Center.
