“My board members won’t….” fill in the blank: attend meetings, raise money, get more deeply involved in the issues we are facing, etc. In this episode, Nancy and Sarah talk about why board members won’t and what Executive Directors, board chairs, and others can do about it. They unpack what might be behind the “won’t” and how we can change how we exchange board members to turn a “won’t” to a “will.”
Question to reflect on before you listen:
Is there something your board members won’t do? Why do you think that is?
Discussion questions:
- What resonated with you about this conversation? What would you like to take back to your organization?
- What might be some reasons behind why board members won’t do something?
- How might the resistance change if you understood the “won’t” as a “can’t”? For example, if the issue is that board members won’t raise money, what if it were framed as my board members can’t raise money? Does that change how you would address it?
- How might you break actions down into smaller parts?
Word of the week: Will
What does this word mean to you in terms of your board members? Think about it both as a verb (my board members will) and as a noun (my board members have the will to…).