Tip # 38 What Characteristics to Look for When Recruiting Board Members
John Carver, the developer of the Policy Governance® model, recommends that boards strive to recruit board members with the following characteristics:
- “Are visionary, able to create alternate futures….
- Are conceptual thinkers….
- Grasp the big picture….
- Are connected to the ownership….
- Demonstrate moral courage….
- Can work as a group….
- Accept and use authority….
- Can allow others to lead….
- In certain cases, have fundraising or other skills peculiar to a specific organizational need.”
(John Carver. ”Recruiting Leaders: What to Look for in New Board Members.” On Board Leadership, pp. 164-168. San Francisco, California: Jossey-Bass, 2002. Bullets added to list of desired characteristics by me for visual clarity.)
A clarifying comment about the fourth recommended characteristic (“are connected to the ownership”) may be helpful. Ownership refers to those people the board represents, those people on whose behalf the board governs and to whom the board is accountable. Being connected to the ownership means that board members as a whole reflect the demographic make-up of the ownership, see their board job as representing the whole of the ownership, and are committed to an ongoing conversation with members of the ownership to inform their board decision-making especially about their organization’s purpose.
With respect to the eighth recommended characteristic (“can allow others to lead”), board members are able to delegate authority and then take a step back and allow those receiving such delegated authority to make decisions and to act within their designated scope of authority without board member interference.
Boards that do not have a chief executive or significant other paid staff will need to retain operational responsibilities that might otherwise be delegated to a chief executive or other paid staff. Such boards may need to recruit board members with specific operational skills (financial management, human resource management, fundraising, event management, etc.) However, boards with a chief executive or other significant paid staff should be cautious about recruiting such specialists because the board may find itself pulled into dealing with operational matters delegated to management. Such specialists may also define their contribution to the board and to the organization as a whole in narrow terms consistent with their specialty interest.
(For boards without a chief executive or other significant paid staff that retain operational responsibilities, it may be helpful to differentiate between board governing tasks and operational tasks being carried out by the full board or delegated to specific board members or other volunteers.)
Once you have identified your list of desired board member characteristics, record these in board policy. In addition to providing guidance for board member recruitment, such a list reinforces expectations for current board members. (John Carver. “Recruiting Leaders,” p. 168)
For more information about the Policy Governance® system, please go to https://www.BoardsOnCourse/policy-governance.