How to Deal With Disgruntled Former Board Members
In spite of general agreement that serving on a nonprofit or other board of directors can bring out the best of someone's talents, sometimes departing board members disagree. A former board member who leaves service with unresolved policy or personal issues can damage the organization he or she served. Anticipating problems, providing clear procedures for resolving conflicts, and creating post-service strategies can help address the problems of dealing with disgruntled former board members.
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Things You'll Need
- By-laws that clearly express board members' responsibilities
- Written procedures for resolving conflicts
- Strategies that allow departing members to work on conflict issues
Instructions
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Anticipate problems with board members during recruitment. Organizational by-laws should include clear statements of the responsibilities of board members. Rules about confidentiality, attendance, reporting procedures, along with consequences of violating board by-laws, should be provided at an initial interview. This will ensure that prospective members understand what is expected of them, preventing the "nobody-told-me" syndrome. A prospective member told that he/she is expected to attend committee meetings in addition to board meetings has the opportunity to evaluate the whole time commitment, rather than become gradually overwhelmed. Members told later they are not eligible to continue serving because they have missed a number of meetings will be far more resentful that those who know the consequences of absence from the start. Reporting requirements--deadlines, written or oral, copies to be provided--can seem trivial but it often produces irritation and resentment if board members do not know communication procedures.
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Use an initial interview to anticipate potential problems of policy or opinion. If a realtor is joining your board, and you know there will be property development issues coming before the board, this is the time to clarify possible conflict-of-interest issues and procedures.
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Review and improve communication procedures as conflicts emerge on the board. (The other side of nobody-told-me is nobody-will-listen-to-me.) Provide ways for minority opinions or individual objections to be heard and recorded. Board members who feel ignored or undervalued are prone to becoming disgruntled when they leave the board. Members may not always agree, but providing good ways to communicate will lessen eventual resentment.
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Conduct exit interviews with all departing board members. This allows former members to ventilate resentments and disappointments to people who should be listening rather than to the community at large. This also enables officers and others to pinpoint positive contributions that even the most irritating member has made to the board. Reviewing responsibilities should be part of an exit interview, especially in the area of confidentiality.
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Consider retention strategies that can keep former board members involved with organizational activities. Ask the former member to remain on a nonvoting advisory board. Ask him or her to head up a study group to explore an important issue that was always postponed because of inadequate information. Reviews of publicity strategies or membership recruitment and specialized issues such as a review of insurance coverage are matters that often get displaced by ongoing board issues. Especially if your former board member felt ignored, post-service projects can help address this source of resentment.
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Seek advice from peer organizations or nonprofit groups that research and advise board-building issues. An objective and impartial view may greatly enhance your resolving a problem with a former board member amicably.
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Tips & Warnings
Much as a face-to-face discussion can seem more personally welcoming, important issues of responsibility, confidentiality, and consequences need to be provided to all board members in written form.
In cases where you are certain that the behavior of former board members can cause substantial damage to your organization, seek legal advice to determine your recourse.
