Board Chair: More Than Meeting Leader

Board Chair: Much More Than Meeting Leader

In the second year of my membership on a trade association board, I was asked if I would like to begin climbing the “officer ladder.” I agreed, and served as Secretary for a year. I followed the sequence and found myself President of the Board – in my late twenties, with some management but little governance experience. I walked into this leadership role without a real understanding of what a chairman or president of a board should be doing.

That was an early experience that would lead to many valuable years of service on a variety of boards of directors. I began to learn through experience and professional development that there was a lot more to, not only serving on a board but also serving as a leader of a board, than most of us know. I believe this led me to focus on governance when I started my consulting practice. Organizations can be so much more effective when we understand our roles. Every board should consider writing a “position description” for each board member, officer, and committee chair.

The role of the chairperson of a board is obviously critical. We all know that the board leads the organization, and that the CEO leads the staff. What we may fail to see clearly is how important it is that the chairman lead the board, not just be the primary meeting facilitator and decision maker.

Here are some of the key responsibilities of the Board Chair:

· Assure the board fulfills its responsibilities;

· Provide leadership to the board and the organization as a whole;

· Be a working partner with the CEO on accomplishing the board’s mission;

· Appoint committee chairs;

· Monitor financial planning and reporting;

· Lead the performance evaluation of the organization, the board and the CEO;

· Review any concerns of board members and take appropriate action;

· Work with the CEO on setting the board meeting agenda;

· And, of course, chair the board meetings.

What other responsibilities should fall under the role of board chair?

If you have had experience developing a position description for a board chair, I would love to hear more about it. Who participated in developing the description? Did the creation of the description have any positive (or negative) impact on the board?

Please click on “comment” and let us know!