How to Deal with Challenging Nonprofit Board Members

Have you ever had the feeling that no matter how hard you try, it’s a mathematical impossibility to get all of your board members to agree on a specific strategy or direction? If so, you’re right where you need to be.

Nonprofit boards are made up of passionate and driven individuals who want success for their organization. But, this passion often brings tension in the form of different viewpoints seeing how the organization should meet its mission and goals.

What do you do when there are board members who have differing opinions that turn into disruptions within your board? We’ve written five areas to explore when proactively dealing with a particularly challenging board member and how to encourage a passionate but productive nonprofit board.

1. Establish Meeting Agendas. Establishing agendas is a great way to avoid unproductive conversation.
2. Review Board Requirements for All Members. Make sure to carefully construct your nonprofit bylaws to avoid conflict within your board. Reviewing requirements is a great way to get the board back on track and remind everyone how the organization progresses as usual.
3. Isolate Challenging Members When Necessary. Sometimes, it’s not enough to stick to the meeting agendas to bring members back into proper alignment. This could require more direct action by confronting the individual directly, in a way that avoids embarrassment.
4. Identify When It’s Time to Plan an Exit. At times, it’s in the best interest of your nonprofit to plan an exit for a board member who is no longer a good fit. This can be a hard decision, so carefully consider all other actions to resolve the challenges going on within your board.
5. Improve Your Board Member Recruitment Process. Ensure that your board member aligns with your mission, vision and values. Taking the time to get the right board culture is worth the extra step it takes with a longer process.

If you’re interested in reading a more in-depth article about these 5 steps check out our full blog post.