Last week’s Biz Tip described a hypothetical situation of a nonprofit board of directors out of control. They were not following established rules. They made decisions without input and approval of established committees.
This created infighting and tension amongst the members, and they lost sight of their purpose to serve the community. Their actions threaten the very existence of the organization. The entire culture needed to be changed.
I scheduled a meeting with a few concerned members to gather the facts. It became obvious the chairman was responsible for the chaos. He influenced the other board members to make decisions without proper approval.
We began by reading the bylaws, and other governing documents. Clearly the board was violating multiple written guidelines. This presented many options. Board members could file charges against the chairman and forcibly remove him. If enough of the volunteers stood together, they could file charges against the board, and remove all of them. Collectively they could hire an attorney and file an internal lawsuit. Finally, they discussed the option of going to the press, creating enough public pressure to mandate a change.
The volunteers began to openly discuss these options. The chairman caught wind of “a mutiny” and requested a meeting.
It became apparent his passion for the organization was genuine. He described an ineffective maze of committees and approval levels. The committees were biased and making decisions to benefit their needs, at the detriment of the organization. He took control and pressured members of the board to make decisions without proper approval.
Our focus changed. The immediate need was to reform the internal structure of the organization. Decisions must be made quickly, and for the benefit of the organization. All bias and conflict of interest must be removed. We began developing that solution.
All of us were shocked to learn what we thought was the problem, was merely a symptom of a deeper, underlying problem.
