By Todd J. Sukol
Anyone who works with boards of directors needs to strike a balance between accommodating board members and establishing clear organizational processes and boundaries. Too much bureaucratization leads to alienated or angry board members. Too much accommodating can lead to unhealthy, unproductive or even illegal or unethical arrangements.
Exponent Philanthropy, an excellent association of effectiveness-minded philanthropic foundations, recently published an article entitled: 6 Ways Self-Dealing Can Creep Into a Foundation’s Work. Even if you’re not working in the foundation part of our nonprofit and philanthropic sector, I encourage you to give the piece a quick read. Though the details of the Exponent Philanthropy piece will apply more directly to some of you than others, I think you’ll all benefit from thinking about how the emerging circumstances it describes may parallel situations you already face.
Wishing you all a productive, positive week,
Todd