Q:

"When I joined my board two years ago, my 'orientation' wasn’t great; basically, it consisted of a link to a folder of random policies, and a lot of 'you'll figure it out'. That made things really challenging for me, because it was my first time on a board and I had no idea what questions I should even be asking in order to ‘figure it out’. For the first year, I voted on things I didn't fully understand, I stayed quiet when I probably should have spoken up, and I constantly felt confused and stressed out about not knowing what to do. I read a lot of stuff online - some of it more helpful than others - and did my best to step up in the ways I knew how. Now I'm on the nominations committee, and I’ve been put in charge of the orientation program for the fall. We have three new board members joining, and I want to make their experience better than mine. But I honestly don't know what a good board orientation even looks like. Where do I start?"

A: 

I’m sorry that you had a crappy orientation experience in your board role. If it’s any consolation, you are not alone! Across the sector, we do a pretty terrible job with board orientation. Instead of setting board volunteers up for success, we’re often leaving them to their own devices (and then we complain about board directors that aren’t fulfilling their roles effectively).

I love that you are interested in building out a better orientation experience for your new peers. I truly believe that developing the process and assets needed for a solid board orientation is one of the most important investments a board can make in its own governance. 

Build a system, not just a seminar

Before you get started, I recommend taking a step back. Instead of focusing on this year’s orientation, consider how you can build lasting infrastructure that will support board orientation for years to come. I have seen many organizations with inconsistent orientation processes; some years are great, others not so much. This is usually because a motivated individual (like yourself!) takes it upon themselves to put a thoughtful orientation process together, but doesn’t document the process or assets in a way that is reusable. 

I am always encouraging board directors to think about building infrastructure that outlasts their own involvement, and this is a perfect opportunity to do that. What does that look like? You will want to develop or update a board orientation policy and process for your organization, and think about ways to document all the assets, tutorials and explainers that you share in a sustainable way, so they can be reused in future years. 

For example, one ED I know got tired of explaining the structure of their organization’s financial statements for new directors every year, so she made a screen recording of the exact demo that she used to run in person. This created a reusable asset that she can share with the board every year (and that board directors can return to at any point if they need a refresher!), and it allowed her to spend more time answering questions during the actual orientation session. Other examples might include things like building an FAQ document for new directors, or saving a library of recorded governance webinars for future access (something I recommend for every organization that does an online governance training with me).

>> Want help building out a strong board orientation? Check out our Orientation360 service.<<

What should a board orientation cover?

There are three general areas that you will want your board orientation to cover: understanding the organization itself, understanding the organization’s governance and understanding the organization’s environment. Each of these topics is important in setting board directors up for success, but I find that that specific order of information often flows well; new directors are most interested in the organization, the governance nuts and bolts help them to get a handle on their role, and the environmental considerations make the most sense once directors have figured out why and how they will use that context. 

Understand the organization

Every organization is unique, and how you orient new board directors to your organization will vary. But there are three main areas that you will want to cover: your impact model, operational model, and revenue model. New directors should understand each of these models at a high level, with some deeper dives into specific areas where it makes sense. 

• Impact model: Your impact model is how your organization creates, measures, and communicates your impact. Any conversation about impact should start with your core purpose - why does your organization exist? - and share your impact priorities or theory of change (if you have one articulated), along with your strategic plan. You’ll also want to spend some time emphasizing your organization’s values, which are key to strong governance.
• Operational model: Your operational model is all of the roles, infrastructure, and internal systems that support your organization’s day-to-day work. Orientation around the operational model is usually kept high-level for most things (think about things like your org chart, profiles of senior staff, HR infrastructure), with a deeper dive on your risk management planning, any procedures in place for managing legal requirements, and your board/executive relationship.
• Revenue model: Your revenue model is how you generate, manage, and align resources to advance your core purpose. You’ll want new board directors to be familiar with your revenue sources and expense buckets at a high level, with support to understand fund development systems (don’t assume board volunteers have a pre-existing understanding of fundraising and philanthropy). Directors will also need to know the organization’s financial situation, be aware of financial controls in place, and be comfortable navigating financial reporting, including the annual budget, quarterly finance updates, and audited financial statements. This is an area where many board directors lack confidence, so be prepared to offer tailored, ongoing support as needed. 

Understand governance

Many people come to board service without a strong understanding of nonprofit governance or the role of nonprofit boards. And even those with previous board experience will benefit from governance orientation, because one organization’s practices, culture and expectations may be quite different from the next. You’ll want your governance orientation to focus on two main areas: understanding the board’s role in the organization, and sharing all of the procedural ‘nuts and bolts’ with directors.

• Board role: Before understanding the board’s role, directors need to first understand what governance is and why it matters (remembering that the terms ‘governance’ and ‘board’ are not interchangeable!). And then, within the big picture of governance, it’s easier to spell out the board’s formal responsibilities, starting with legal requirements as the foundation, reviewing all of the board’s core governance functions, and any other discretionary responsibilities assigned to your board (i.e. fundraising). 
• Board nuts and bolts: Once your directors understand the ‘what’ and ‘why’ of their role, it’s time to share details on the ‘how’. Orientation should review the board’s meeting cadence and norms, your annual workplan and goals, and committee structures and functions. Take time to go through your bylaws and policies, with close attention to policies relating to confidentiality, conflict of interest, and code of conduct, along with any accountability mechanisms. If you haven’t covered insurance for directors in your operational review, this is a good time to do it. And finally, be really clear about expectations for directors; if you expect email responses within a certain time frame, or expect board attendance at fundraising or program events, say so up front!

Understand the environment

Because boards need to make complex decisions about the organization, it’s important that they understand the external environment that the organization is working in. This can take many shapes and forms, and it’s likely something that directors will engage with on an ongoing basis. In general, you’ll want to be providing opportunities for new (and existing) directors to understand the communities the organization works in/with, the legal and policy framework surrounding the organization, trends and external forces shaping the organization’s work, as well as an introduction to the norms and trends of the nonprofit sector itself (including an understanding of the limitations of charity mindset, the value of EDI, and a high level familiarity with the terrain of philanthropy and funding if you haven’t already covered it).

A few last thoughts

That’s a lot to cover! And if your organization doesn’t have strong documentation around policies and processes, it may be challenging to pull all of this together - start where you are and build up your orientation assets every year. 

I always tell organizations that board orientation doesn’t happen in one brief session, but should be an ongoing part of the board’s overall learning and development. It’s also helpful to remind ourselves that there are many ways to learn; reviewing documents is always going to be a part of board service, but applied learning ‘on the job’, mentorship arrangements and cultivating a learning culture will go a long way to building out a strong orientation experience. Make sure to check-in frequently with your new directors, and evaluate your process at key milestones so you’ll know what worked, and what could use some tightening up. 

The last thing I want to say is that there is a pervasive sentiment across the sector that new board directors need a year or more to get a handle on their role; I think this is a limiting belief. It’s true that leadership roles involve ongoing learning that can only come with time, but understanding the ‘what’, ‘why’ and ‘how’ of a board role does not need to take so long! A thoughtful, thorough orientation can set new board directors up for success so that they can jump into their role effectively from the start. A growth mindset on the board will take everyone the rest of the way.

Big Takeaways:

• Build a system, not a seminar: Develop a process and assets that can be reused for your board orientation every year, rather than treating it as a one-off event.
• Three areas for orientation: Your board orientation should provide directors with an understanding of the organization, its governance, and its external environment.
• Set new directors up for success: A thoughtful orientation process can provide new board directors with an understanding of their role, and how to fulfill it, rather quickly.