What’s required to develop a positive nonprofit board culture?

1. In order to maintain trust between the board chair and the CEO, the board chair must be certain that the evaluation of the organization and the personal evaluation of the CEO are inclusive, i.e., cover a balance of the most relevant outcomes.
2. The interpersonal chemistry between the board chair and the CEO must be a positive one.  If the interpersonal chemistry is poor, civil discourse at meetings is hard to maintain.
3. The CEO needs to be flexible. He or she needs to accommodate to a new boss every year or two and can’t become complacent.  The CEO needs to be alert to the fact the board, often initialed by a new chair, may want to move in a new direction. 

Directors & CEO Alert: Never underestimate the power of the established board culture as a barrier when attempting to make changes.  However in some instances culture can be an asset in change management.

Source: “Policy vs. Paper Clips” Third Edition, 2011, pp. 156-157.