ARTICLE 02 / RIDE THE WAVE
Is Your Board Governing or Managing?
A board can care deeply about an organization and still make its work harder. It often happens with the best intentions: a director jumps into a staffing decision, a committee begins directing an employee, or a board meeting spends most of its time troubleshooting day-to-day operations.
The question is not whether board members have valuable expertise. They do. The question is whether that expertise is being used in the right role.
Governance focuses on mission, strategy, financial oversight, executive accountability, risk, and the policies that guide the organization. Management focuses on how the organization carries out that direction. The two must stay connected, but they are not interchangeable.
When the boundary blurs, staff may receive conflicting direction, the chief executive loses room to lead, and the board has less time for the decisions only it can make. A board can become very busy while neglecting its own responsibilities.
A useful practice is to name the decision before discussing the solution. Is this a board decision, an executive decision, or an item that needs board input but not board control? Then clarify what information the board needs and when it should expect a report back.
This is not about keeping board members at arm’s length. It is about channeling their time and relationships toward the greatest organizational value. Board members can open doors, test strategic assumptions, ask better questions, and hold leadership accountable for agreed outcomes.
Healthy governance gives everyone clearer authority and a better chance to succeed.
REFLECTION What is one recurring item on your board agenda that belongs in an executive or staff meeting instead?
A board can care deeply about an organization and still make its work harder. It often happens with the best intentions: a director jumps into a staffing decision, a committee begins directing an employee, or a board meeting spends most of its time troubleshooting day-to-day operations.
The question is not whether board members have valuable expertise. They do. The question is whether that expertise is being used in the right role.
Governance focuses on mission, strategy, financial oversight, executive accountability, risk, and the policies that guide the organization. Management focuses on how the organization carries out that direction. The two must stay connected, but they are not interchangeable.
When the boundary blurs, staff may receive conflicting direction, the chief executive loses room to lead, and the board has less time for the decisions only it can make. A board can become very busy while neglecting its own responsibilities.
A useful practice is to name the decision before discussing the solution. Is this a board decision, an executive decision, or an item that needs board input but not board control? Then clarify what information the board needs and when it should expect a report back.
This is not about keeping board members at arm’s length. It is about channeling their time and relationships toward the greatest organizational value. Board members can open doors, test strategic assumptions, ask better questions, and hold leadership accountable for agreed outcomes.
Healthy governance gives everyone clearer authority and a better chance to succeed.
REFLECTION What is one recurring item on your board agenda that belongs in an executive or staff meeting instead?