The Meaning and Challenges of Diversity - (cont'd)

Picking up from yesterday, we’ve been slow to recognize diversity around here for the strengths that it can bring to nonprofits. Gradually, however, we are learning that “diversity” means a great deal more than being simply a euphemism for dealing with racism. One of the things “diversity” means, to me, at least, is that we need to have on our nonprofit governance boards people from many walks of life, people with many different sets of skills and experiences; it means having people of wealth and people who are educated; it means having people who have political clout or the ability to tap entrepreneurs; it means people who can contribute creative ideas and people who help us understand the needs, wants and values of our target populations. When we have this perspective, we can understand diversity as a strength, a way to super-charge our charities in ways consistent with the characteristics and proclivities of the Baby Boomers and Gen Xers we’re putting on our boards..

One thing “diversity” does, however, causes gastric indigestion in nonprofit managers. Diversity changes our boards into ever more heterogeneous groups of people. This brings the nonprofits these diverse board members serve two challenges.

The first challenge is that more diversity among board members means shorter tenures with the charity; they’re going to come and go more frequently. There are two reasons for this: these more diverse board members are pulled in many directions in an overcrowded and highly competitive philanthropic marketplace; and they are part of many social networks and, therefore, have multiple loyalties they can express through board membership or in other ways with many associations. We can’t grab onto them forever, and they will have a shorter time with us before going on to other organizations. But we also receive a strength: that they come to us from other networks, other associations, where they have learned and performed and hones their governance skills.

The second challenge for charities with more diverse board members has to do with managing those board members in new and creative ways that simultaneously serve the interests of the particular charity but also the personal and professional needs of the board members.

And here we come back to the discussion that started this blog with its emphasis on trying to understand the different levels of commitment among board members. The person I was talking to apparently felt that since he was highly committed to the charity’s cause and would do practically anything necessary to make this charity work well, then everybody on the board should be expected to have the same degree of commitment.

But this isn’t the case. Different board members have a variety of levels of skills, commitments, abilities. So what do we do about that? We need to take the best each board member has to give to the organization and leverage it into mission accomplishment and not worry too much about what is NOT there. We need to be sensitive to how board members differ from one another, and we need to manage each board member in ways that both serve the organization and meet board member needs. We need to take what’s there, focus it where we need the input or the power, or the energy, and then allow individuals more freedom to come and go, wax and wane in their interest, while we’re still, all together, accomplishing the charity’s mission. We need to get what we can in the way of participation, skills, and insights and then release gracefully.

Two elements that seem to be necessary as a management ingredients, then, are praise, recognition and thanks along with the establishment of performance evaluation standards and processes that build up board members and help them feel increasingly like this charity is a place they can really call “home.” These a far different ingredients than are built into most charitable boards as I’ve experienced them over the last 20 years! But it’s going to be incumbent on CEOs and fundraising professionals to change their management of board members as boards become increasingly diverse. The diversity is a strength the charities haven’t been able to afford before, but it takes a certain savvy, a certain ability to change management styles and components, in order for the charities to take full advantage of the strengths of diversity.

Have a great Labor Day weekend!