BOARDMANSHIP... Avoiding Conflicts Between the Board and Chief Executive By Dr. Ted Flickinger, CAE IAPD Executive Director and Managing Editor

It happens occasionally. A competent chief executive lost his/her job due to faults s/he created, or for political reasons, or personality clashes.

How skilled were the boards that dismissed their chief executives? Was there a legitimate problem or was it because a board member was not skilled at being a board member?

An uneducated board member is dangerous. A board member who doesn't know his role can work to the demise of a good chief executive. The unskilled board member is the one who thinks that he can do the job of managing the agency better than the chief executive. One unhappy board member can influence two or three other board members, just enough to get a majority to eliminate a chief executive.

A chief executive must establish good rapport and be aware of signs of trouble so he may avoid conflicts with his board. What strategies can a chief executive use in creating better relationships with his board? For example, he should consider the following questions:

1. Does the chief executive attempt to put out brush fires and reduce tensions on the board?

A problem can fester and become a mountain and be destructive to the morale of the staff, the board, and, consequently, the finger is pointed at the chief executive. The chief executive, even at times when things aren't going right, needs to point out what is positive about the agency, what's goingwell, and what plans are being made for the future, especially as they with the particular problem area.

2. Does the chief executive forewarn his board members about changes in the agency?

These can be changes in personnel or in services. Whatever they may be, the board members have a right to be informed and not hear about major changes on the street.

3. Does the chief executive have position statements and recommended actions for the board on every major issue?

An unprepared chief executive creates doubt with his board members. A board member becomes frustrated when a major issue comes up and the chief executive does not have a strong recommendation on resolving a problem. Like anything else, the more people try to resolve a problem, the harder decision making becomes. It's much easier for a board to make decisions if they have professional guidance and alternatives. They need to know the facts. They need to know the ramifications of their decisions. The chief executive owes this to the board.

4. Does the chief executive get evaluated every year by his board?

A formal evaluation is a necessity. The chief executive needs to know if he is going in the right direction and if the board is happy with the management's decisions and the way the chief executive has carried out the policies that were mandated by the board.

This means the chief executive must spend some time with the board and assess the contribution that each board member can make. Most importantly, the chief executive has to keep his board members informed. He has a responsibility, legal and professional, to keep the board informed.

The board members need to be the first to know. They do not want to hear about a problem with the park and recreation agency at city hall or the local barber shop, shopping center, or any other place.

Let them know you are on top of the problem, how you expect to solve the problem, and what kind of assistance, if any, they could render to the situation. But, don't waste their time. Board members are usually busy people and value their time. They look to the chief executive to be organized and run the operation. This helps make the board meetings efficient and worthwhile.

There have been a number of times when chief executives complain they thought they were doing their job right; they thought they were very effective on their job. What they might not have known is that they were not doing the right things, the priorities of the board.

Executives are often dismissed because there is lack of communication between the board and the chief executive. There was never any discussion as to what the mission, the priorities, the goals and objectives were, nor an agreed upon job description between the board and chief executive.

Board members and the chief executive should constantly be discussing the direction of the organization. The chief executive needs to determine whether he is attacking situations and problems as perceived by the board. It is the chief executive's responsibility to constantly survey the desires of the board. The chief executive cannot perceive his job as being one thing and the board thinking something else.

Board members all have a perception as to what the chief executive should be doing and the amount of time he is spending on particular projects. A good chief executive will continue to inform his board of what he perceives the job to be.