Association executives often practice a “hand-off” policy regarding selection of Board members. They feel that volunteers should choose volunteer leaders and that staff biases should not influence the process.

However, staff members – CEOs in particular – often know more about prospective Board members than anybody else. They also are charged with managing the organization, and an ineffective or dysfunctional board can make management much more difficult and the association far less viable.

Al Rickard, CAE, of Association Vision, offers tips, in the December issue of Associations NOW, on how to ensure the organization’s board selection process works properly. Staff can play the role of a vital resource in the nominating process and can gently prod association leaders to act appropriately when dealing with leadership issues.

The job of the CEO (or Executive Director) is to see that the organization does everything it needs to do and does it well. Selection of Board members is a very important aspect of that job.