Dealing With Board Directors

The best way to deal with difficult board directors is to prevent them from happening. Ensure that the objectives of your agency’s board members are clear and they can integrate their own vision with that of the organisation. This will minimize the amount of instances when an individual’s advice to a board member is not beneficial. However, if a problem occurs, deal with it early and don’t ignore bad behaviour. Avoiding it will only make https://theboardmeeting.blog it worse.

It starts by establishing a direct, one-on-one meeting with the individual that is causing problems. It’s crucial to be professional and calm, however be direct in your conversation and clearly set out your concerns. If that doesn’t work, you can try a group intervention with someone the board member is comfortable with and/or the chair. You might also review the Values Statement of your organization and/or other documents that govern your organization for language that could be used to define acceptable behavior – such as respecting people and courtesy.

Another alternative is to ask the person to quit the board (ideally by a voluntary decision however, if needed by a vote of confidence). This will require careful planning and preparation prior to the meeting or discussion. Create a precise answer to the major questions you want to discuss. Be assertive but maintain the appropriate tone.