The forgotten art of engagement, and how to go about getting your board on board…
Reams have been written about the problems of charity boards, and how they need to change in a dozen different ways.
Relax, this isn’t another one of those articles.
This is pragmatic advice about how you can work better with what you have.
And not just with your board. It’s advice that’s equally useful for stakeholder groups, executive meetings, collaborative forums, and so on.
But when people talk to me about their bad experiences it’s often in a board setting, so that’s where I’ll situate the sermon for today.
And that sermon is this: most of these bad experiences are easily avoidable if we do the right things, and most of them are things we already know how to do.
“You’re right, for some reason we just didn’t do that this time…” is one of the most common phrases I hear in every post-mortem.
The art of engagement, of “getting your board on board”, is simply doing these things consistently and teaching them effectively to your less experienced colleagues.
So, take these five points as a reminder, or a checklist, or an aide memoir for your team.
First, and at the risk of beginning with the “bleedin’ obvious”, start every discussion with a proper recap. Remember, trustees will barely have thought about this topic in the three months since the last meeting, while you’ve probably thought of little else. The same is true if you’re a project manager updating the executive. You have to remind them what they heard last time, what they said, and most importantly, what they agreed and what you took away to do. If you skip this step, don’t be surprised if everything you thought was sewn up keeps getting unpicked.
Next, frame the discussion. Be explicit about what they need to focus on for their debate, why that is, and the outcome you collectively need to get. This sounds basic but unless you define and signpost the purpose and the level of the discussion, the conversation will go all over the shop, and you won’t get the outcome you need.
A rare but no less important step is to have them agree the perspective they should use. Often when people can’t agree, it’s because they’re coming at the same question from very different perspectives. One might be thinking about the whole population you’re here to serve, another just those who use your services. A third might be focused on the charity and balancing the books. A fourth from the perspective of their own cherished bit of what the organisation does. Ask the question directly, hold up the mirror. You’ll be amazed how powerful it can be.
Step four is to agree the how before the what. This is about forming a consensus on how to make the decision before you try and get them to make it – what are the big considerations; what do we need to see before we decide. If you find yourself tangled up in polarised opinions or being sent away time and again for more information or more research, it’s invariably because you skipped this step.
And finally, the big one, anticipate the issues. This is often the hardest because it takes time and thought. So, unsurprisingly, it’s where most people trip up, but those of us who’ve been bitten before, quickly learn the value of this habit.
It is about running through the narrative and the logic in your own mind, but from the perspectives of your audience, looking out for anything that could derail the central message you’re trying to land.
This run-through is especially important when the situation is emotionally charged. And in the passion-driven world of charity, that description can cover a lot of stuff.
This is why we do things like pre-engaging key people, testing out different language, even putting on your most cynical hat and looking for things you could take offense to if you really wanted.
It’s not about modifying your message, or diluting it to their taste, it’s simply about avoiding the linguistic landmines scattered along the path.
For leaders who’ve been around the block, this often becomes second-nature. Ironically, that often makes it harder for them to teach to others (because it’s just obvious, isn’t it?)
The point though, is that all five of these are eminently learnable habits, and they’re all ones that your people need to develop.
Nail these five, consistently, and you’ll achieve far more than just getting your board on board.