The Board’s Role in Nonprofit Strategic Planning

Picture your last strategic planning retreat. A full agenda, a room full of smart people, big things to decide...but at some point, things go off the rails. Staff shrinks into the background. Someone takes the whole day off track by trying to relitigate a program decision from six months ago. The loudest, usually wealthiest, voice in the room starts running the show. If that sounds familiar, you're not alone, and it's not your board's fault, nor is it yours. These situations occur simply because no one has ever clearly explained what a board's role in strategic planning is actually supposed to be. In this solo episode of Changemaker Conversations, Alyssa Conrardy goes deep on just one seat at the table: the board. She breaks down what board members are legally responsible for, why over-involved and under-involved boards both create problems, and how board involvement changes once you build your strategic plan the Shared Power™ way, with the people you serve at the center. Here's what you'll learn in this episode: The two ways boards get their role in strategic planning wrong The three legal duties every board member carries ( and what they actually require What your board should and shouldn't be doing in an effective strategic planning process How Shared Power™ strategic planning reframes the board's role and differentiates hierarchy of voice versus hierarchy of labor How to answer the most common pushback from boards used to running the show | MENTIONED | Episode 3: How to Build an Engaged Nonprofit Board Episode 8: The Four Roles That Make—or Break—Your Strategic Planning Process Prosper Strategies' Strategic Planning Services This Episode's Blog Post | CONNECT | ChangemakerConversations.com for show notes and additional resources Prosper-Strategies.com to learn more about our strategic consulting practice. [email protected] with topic suggestions, guest recommendations or questions On LinkedIn with Alyssa Conrardy, Lindsay Mullen and Prosper Strategies