Curious Boards
Make Better Decisions

by Bill Zelazny, District Executive

There is an interesting paradox in organization leadership. Organizations gather talented, productive individuals on boards and committees, but paradoxically this gathering of talent does not always result in a productive group. Creating a cohesive, positive board or committee that transcends the individuals is a challenge, but one worth working on to get better decisions.

Some boards are lucky and members come together that are open and have the capacity to actively engage and listen to each other. Unfortunately, other boards are burdened with ideologically rigid members who feel threatened with new ideas, are not able to have their opinions questioned or who are sarcastic toward other members who express alternate views.

It is difficult for a group to generate new, and maybe superior, solutions to problems if it is not open to views that may be different from the established culture or history. But, the very act of being challenged and having to defend one’s ideas and opinions can often bring about great creativity. Nancy Axelrod, Principle, NonProfit Leadership Services, notes, “A common ingredient of a high-functioning board is the presence of individual members who regularly turn to inquiry over advocacy…”

A “culture of inquiry” can be developed, but it takes work to establish. To make a culture of inquiry possible leaders must develop:

Trust — There must be loyalty and respect among members where ideas (and people) will not be ridiculed or summarily dismissed.

Information Sharing — Information about items must be sent out in a timely manner and individuals and the group must be willing to spend time to get educated about the topics and issues.

Generative Thinking — Decisions or solutions must be made based on deliberation and analysis, not gut feelings, personal preferences or relying on the way it has been traditionally done.

Well-attended and well-run meetings — Members covenant to attend and inform themselves before the meeting about the issues; the agenda has adequate time scheduled for discussion and there is a process by which everyone’s voice is heard.

Developing and maintaining a culture of inquiry takes time and the attention of congregation leadership, but rich debate, hard question and analysis always leads to better decisions.

For more information on this topic see: “What Makes Great Boards Great”, J.A. Sohhenfeld, Harvard Business Review, Sept 2002 and Governance as Leadership, Richard Chait, et all, BoardSource and John Wiley & Sons, 2003.