It’s We, not You

Those of you who are regular readers of this blog know that I am a huge fan of language.  I pay a lot of attention to the words people use, their written and spoken grammar, the idiosyncrasies of regional speech patterns, and so forth.

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Thus, it should come as no surprise that I pay special attention to board members’ use of pronouns.  For example, when board members speak, do they makes comments like, “You should really redo the website so that it does a better job of telling your story,” as opposed to, “We should really do a better job of telling our story on our website.”

Do their patterns of speech make it clear that they see themselves as of the organization and not outside of it?  If not, they are sending a very clear message and telegraphing their story loudly and clearly.  When I have the opportunity to listen to board members speak about the organization and their position as a board member and/or have the opportunity to witness a board or committee meeting, and then subsequently hear an executive director’s assessment of board member engagement, I am never surprised.  I can predict who sits back and who jumps in, who gets it and who does not.

While I will always say that passion for an organization’s mission is the number one requirement of any future board member, it is never sufficient.   Other things that are important to bring to the performance of the oxymoron that is the volunteer job of being a nonprofit board member, and that most others will cite, are time, commitment, needed expertise, to mention but a few.

One of the things that we must start paying much better attention to in recruiting future board members is their understanding of the true positioning of the board of a nonprofit.  In other words, do people view a nonprofit board as icing – or as part of the cake?  Do they see it, and their role on it, as essential to the health and well-being of the mission delivery system, or as peripheral?

Board members who see their role as standing on the sidelines observing the game will never be the board members of executive directors’ and caring board members’ dreams.  They will not be the ones who talk of “we,” who are all in, who get that board members have serious work to do in collaboration with the other essential ingredients of the cake—the executive director, staff and other volunteers.  The successful execution of the job of board member cannot happen from the safety of the periphery; it happens only when a board member commits.

It is a commitment to do all that is within the guidelines of the job and her/his powers to help ensure the delivery of the mission promises.  It is an understanding that the varying perspectives and complimentary skills and experiences that good board members actively bring to the organization are as indispensable and vital to organizational success, despite the fact that it doesn’t happen day in and day out at the site of the organization, as the daily work of staff.  It is understanding that such a commitment happens as part of a team—a we.  Never a you.