- What happens when one or two members continually disrupt board meetings?
- What steps should be taken to diffuse the issue?
- What if the steps taken do not stop the board members from being disruptive or spreading negativity across the board?
- Should the board members be disciplined? If yes, how? By the Ethics Committee?
- Should board members be asked to resign?
- Who has the ultimate responsibility for resolving the issue?
The Genesis of Dissention
These are all difficult questions. Disagreement is one thing and can be very healthy for boards in order to reach positive conclusions. Difficult conversations should and must happen. According to the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), a strong onboarding process should lay out expectations for board member conduct and how to handle conflict should it occur.
Today’s challenging economic environment exacerbates board tensions with concerns ranging from decreased membership and conference revenue to worries about how to increase non-dues revenue and keep current members engaged. However, the work of the board must continue and must do so in a positive and professional manner.
To be nominated to and serve as a board member, you are de facto being recognized as a leader in your industry or profession. That should garner respect in itself and should also be deserving of respect from others, helping to foster productive and courteous discourse. However, when divisive board members become consistently disruptive and counter-productive to the board’s goals, something needs to be done to combat this behavior or the board will lose its way and become mired in negativity.
Tactic #1: Prevention
The most important tactic is to prevent it from happening in the first place. Besides laying out the structure for how to deal with board conflict during board orientation, ongoing communication can help defuse small conflicts before they turn into larger ones. Getting to know one another through regular interactions besides virtual board meetings helps. Besides the one or two annual in-person board meetings, consider adding a board retreat or strategic planning meeting. During these meetings, hold smaller break-out sessions so individuals can become more acquainted with each another’s lifestyle, background and personal preferences. It affords an opportunity to share commonalities and differences, whether that person is comfortable speaking up in a group setting or not, is introverted or extraverted. Those individuals who might be less likely to speak up in a larger group may be more willing to discuss ideas and concerns in a smaller group setting or only with the President. Conducting regular board assessments where members can assess how they feel the board is performing or individual personality profiles can also assist in dissecting problems before they occur.
Tactic #2: Regular Communication Touchpoints
Ongoing communications also involve regular touchpoints by the President with individual board members or sub-groups of members to bring to light and defuse any issues before they occur. Staff can also help in this regard. While staff should never become involved in peer-to-peer conflicts within the board, staff can help in alerting the President of any possible conflicts through their ongoing individual contacts with board members. Through constant communication, staff will learn their leaders’ strengths, personalities, learn what drives them and motivates them as leaders, what goals they have for their board service, etc.
Staff can also help by strategically arranging seating at board meetings to separate abrasive or distracting relationships between members. Staff can assist by contributing facts and data as neutrally as possible and in conjunction with the President, help to keep the conversation on track and focused on productive topics. Debate rules should also be in play to make sure all views are heard, including those in opposition.
Tactic #3: Intervention and Listening
If all this has failed to defuse the issue, the President should have individual and confidential conversations with the board member or members to attempt to resolve the issue and make sure that everyone feels heard and that their concerns are brought to light and addressed in some manner. Once again, communication is paramount so that the board member feels like a part of the discussion and does not resort to going behind the scenes and complaining to others on the board about the displeasure being felt. Listening is critical. If the board member is new to the board and another board member has been assigned as a mentor, the mentor could also have a discussion to help resolve the issue. Remind the new board member of the organization’s mission and how that, above all, should take precedence.
Resignation or intervention by an association’s Ethics Committee should only be reserved for the most egregious of situations, with appropriate actions being taken as soon as the conflict is diagnosed in order to avoid this last and most drastic step at all costs.