Questionable Governance: Finding Your Strategy Lane
Imagine yourself sitting in a board meeting. You’ve just received a presentation detailing a recent evaluation and changes to your organization’s premier program. The session comes to a close and the speaker asks, “any questions?” Uh oh. You know that engaged board members should ask questions. But, you just learned so much. All of the questions you can think of are about the practical implementation details of the proposal. The first question that jumps to mind “is that going to be offered on Tuesdays?” is probably not the kind of question that the team needs.
So, what do strategic questions sound like for Board Members?
Strategic questions should help board members fulfill their responsibilities to the organization, ensuring that decisions are: mission and values aligned, financially sound, compliant with existing policy, and measurable.
Great questions for board members to ask:
When you’re talking about a change in a program or service: Compared to other organizations like ours, what’s our position relative to other organizations: cutting or following the trends? Who will benefit most from this change?
When you’re talking about adding or releasing: What are the hidden risks in pursuing that opportunity? If we release this effort, who might be hurt? What have you learned from people who would be most affected by this change?
When you’re talking about space: How flexible is this space if our client load shrinks or grows? What is your assessment of the accessibility of this space; what investments might we need to do to make it work for more people? How does this space fit with our work from home policy?
When you’re talking about the budget: How do our expenses match our strategic priorities for next year? How confident are you that this strategy, with these investments, will yield the expected results? If our revenue comes in more slowly than expected what adjustments would you make?
When you’re talking about program participation numbers: Who is coming now that wasn’t before? Who might we still be missing and what would it take to reach them? What’s our capacity for growth?
When you’re talking about almost anything: How can the Board best support that effort? What does success look like? What are the benefits for our clients/members, bottom-line, community? How does this fulfill our mission?
Not so great questions:
When you’re talking about a change in a program or service: Will that operate on Tuesdays or Wednesdays? I think Tuesdays are a much better idea. Will the staff spend at least 30 minutes with every client when that gets implemented?
When you’re talking about space: What color will the wallpaper be in the waiting room? Does the staff really need ergonomic chairs?
When you’re talking about the budget: Why can’t you get a handle on these expenses? Why are we giving away sweatshirts and not t-shirts?
When you’re talking about program participation numbers: Can we double our numbers next year? Why are we failing in getting people to come?
When you’re talking about nearly anything. We tried that before and it didn’t work. Why are we trying that again?
As a board member, ask yourself, will an answer to this question help me make a decision that shapes policy, leads to mission-alignment, ensures a responsible budget, or supports the CEO? If the answer is yes, ask it!
Learn more about your strategic planning process by downloading SWIM’s guide to strategic planning, complete with questions to ask yourself as you prepare for planning!