The BBC ran an interesting interview of members of British Parliment who were stepping down after long careers.  A question that struck me as meaningful during the radio piece was, ‘what will you miss when you leave?’  To borrow that question and ask it of your board members should offer some meaningful insight into what they treasured most about their service.  By asking such an open-ended question you get an assessment of your organization’s culture and collegiality. 

One way to think about your board nominations is to consider who you would invite to on a backcountry winter yurt trip.  There are numerous responsibilities that need to be accounted for (melting snow, splitting fire wood, cooking, route finding, assembling group gear).  You need a variety of skill sets.  Who would you consider?  Who would exhibit favorable team expedition behavior?  Considering not only the talents of each individual but there ability to build chemistry among the team has increasingly become a valued attribute.  Of course, not all board nominations start at the talent level.  The New York Times ran a pieces yesterday that confirmed a trend that many of us are seeing repeated across the sector.  Advancing new board members with money to give is the highest priority, even if an organization is saying come and serve on our board as an ATM.  I believe there is a better way to engage major donors than slotting them all onto the board but that is another post.

What has worked so successfully for your enterprise?