I sit of the board of Save the Purple Frog League.

Sorry I am late, our board sat for ages tonite.

I am passionate about my local community, I sit on 5 boards

Rightly or wrongly, but I tend to think of people who reference their board involvement in this way as those who probably do little more than attend a monthly or quarterly meeting; patiently listen to spiels from the CEO, Chair and maybe Sub-Committee Chairs; and walk away with a bunch of papers that they discard as soon they get home.

Fortunately, due to a very wise and supportive Chair of the first board I was invited to join, I learnt that there is more to being on a board than attendance. I still recall my orientation to that board when the Chair said to me ….

People don’t just sit on our board; they serve on our board. Are you prepared to serve?

From that first board experience, I came to appreciate that board members SERVE by…

• Setting the vision and strategic direction of the organisation.
• Ensuring key constituents are served.
• Thoroughly searching to find the most suitable person for the Chief Executive role.
• Supporting and fairly evaluating the Chief Executive.
• Actively participating in a comprehensive planning process and monitoring performance against the plans’ goal.
• Monitoring and strengthening programs and services
• Providing adequate financial resources.
• Ensuring a robust risk management process is in place.
• Maintaining the legal and ethical integrity.
• Building and growing a diverse and competent Board.
• Enhancing the organisation’s public profile and garnering community support.
• Listening to others describe problems and …
• Then making yourself part of a worthwhile and workable solution.

In short, I realised that being an effective board member involves more than turning up, it requires making a contribution as well.

Chris is the Founder of Cause & Effective.  He and his team help cause-based organisations open the door to opportunities when their CEO departs.