Secrets to a Powerful Board Chair-Executive Director Partnership

“Collaboration and partnership are all based on trust, if you can win the trust of a person then you can have them as a partner to invest in anything”
― Anuj Jasani
No relationship is more critical to the strength and well-being of your social impact organization than the one between the Executive Director and the Board Chair. Each plays an essential role in your organization’s ability to engage its stakeholders and achieve its mission. As a result, your board and staff leaders must view their relationship as a partnership and work towards developing a solid connection that empowers your social impact organization to thrive.
Here are the secret elements that develop a productive partnership:
Regular and Frequent Communication
Executive Directors and Board Chairs need to communicate regularly. This communication can, and should, occur both formally and informally. In the early stages of this partnership, an effective strategy for the Executive Director is to “over-communicate” to ensure transparency and build trust. Over time, the right amount of communication and the most impactful topics will evolve. Establish a schedule of regular meetings to discuss progress on the strategic plan, internal and external issues facing the organization, board development and engagement, committee work, and meeting agendas.
Work the plan
Use your organization’s strategic plan as the compass for the direction and destination you want to move the organization. Work together to distill your strategic objectives into operational plans for the staff team and engagement opportunities for the board. The strategic plan will serve as the framework and guiding signpost for your work together as board and staff partners.
Build trust
The most sustainable and impactful social impact organizations build a robust mission-driven culture in staff and board teams. This mission-centered culture creates a sense of energy and enthusiasm for the organization’s work. Because creating organizational culture starts at the top, board and staff leaders must do the work necessary to build a solid relationship anchored in deep trust. The simplest and most effective method to build that trust is to be willing to share vulnerabilities, be honest with each other, and establish the mission as the cornerstone of the partnership. The relationship between the Executive Director and the Board Chair must be a safe space to explore and solve the organization’s most critical issues.
Hold each other accountable
An essential element of successful personal and professional relationships is accountability. Each person must be willing to hold the other accountable. This agreement is more easily achieved when the organization’s mission is placed at the center of the relationship. Accountability at the top level can build a powerful cultural norm. When the Executive Director and Board Chair demonstrate accountability between each other, it creates an environment where a culture of mutual trust and accountability will develop throughout the organization.
Get a Coach
Engaging with an executive coach is extremely valuable to both the Executive Director and the Board Chair. An executive coach can strengthen their partnership by helping them look critically at the organization and defining an effective plan of action. This type of support is especially effective directly following a leadership transition or when an inexperienced Board Chair or Executive Director joins the organization. The perspective and understanding your team will gain from the coaching process will produce a significant return from a relatively modest investment.
Creating a culture of accountability and shared leadership takes time and effort and often takes leaders out of their comfort zones. But, a commitment to this kind of goal is a worthwhile investment that will build a more robust and sustainable organization that will yield remarkable results for your organization’s mission.