Every organization deserves a good board and effective board members. And every board member deserves a chance to be an effective board member.
But too often, things aren’t working. Board members aren’t effective – and staff aren’t helping them to be effective. Or, staff are doing all that is possible – but the board member is causing too many problems.
This book tells you how to fix the situation. This book explains why board members are (or aren’t) effective. And, this book gives you specific strategies and tools to fire the lousy board members and help the others succeed.
Maybe this book is too shocking for you. Or maybe not.
Who should read this book? Executive directors. Board chairs. Governance committee chairs. Any aspiring leader.
Topics include:
- Distinction between board and board member.
- Finding the right board members.
- Role of the governance committee.
- Monitoring board members
Tools include:
- Board job description.
- Performance expectations of the board member.
- Evaluation tools.
- Skills inventory.
As you read Firing Lousy Board Members, you’ll realize that this book is mostly about how to NOT fire people. Instead, the book focuses on finding the right board members and enabling them to be successful.
Firing is only a last resort. But it’s an important strategy to launch in some situations.
Unfortunately, some organizations and their leadership are too afraid to do this important work. What a shame. The process is not as hard as you might think.
More importantly, bad board members produce bad governance. And bad governance is a huge risk for the nonprofit sector. Bad governance can put your organization – and its board members – on the media’s front page.
It’s just not acceptable to keep poor performers around. It’s not fair to other board members. It’s not fair to staff. And it isn’t fair to the organization’s mission.
Serving on a board is serious business. Sadly, too many boards and board members (and staff, too) don’t realize how serious this business is.
Read Firing Lousy Board Members before you continue down the wrong paths. Read Firing Lousy Board Members – and talk about the serious business of good governance and effective and ineffective board members.
This book is a quick and easy read. User friendly, fast, and sometimes pretty funny.
The author, Simone Joyaux, has direct experience doing every thing described in this book. Joyaux has been an executive director, chief development officer, board chair, and chair of governance and fundraising committees.
Here is some reader applause about Firing Lousy Board Members:
At last! The long-overdue guide to making dreams of nonprofit organizations come true by exorcising the nightmare of lousy board members. Simone Joyaux’s lifetime of thoughtful, proven experience in building strong organizations is distilled in this highly readable, how-to road map to success. Read it, then get started today on building great boards and culling bad board members. --Roger M. Craver, Editor, The Agitator
Ask yourself which is the priority, the mission or the problem board member? Mission must be the answer! Simone Joyaux’s concise, direct, clear guide gives you the road map to build a power board and confront problem members who jeopardize your mission. --Robbe Healey, MBA, ACFRE, Vice President for Philanthropy, Simpson Senior Services
Tom Ahern is recognized as one of North America's leading authorities on how to make nonprofit communications consistently effective. He speaks frequently in the United States and Canada on reader psychology, direct mail principles, good (and not very good) graphic design as applied to fundraising and nonprofit branding. He is president of Ahern Communications, Ink, a consultancy specializing in capital campaign materials and other nonprofit communications. Tom's popular e-news provides tips on donor communications. He wrote the first book on donor newsletters, published in 2005, as well as How to Write Fundraising Materials That Raise More Money.
Simone P. Joyaux, ACFRE, is recognized internationally as a "thought leader" in the philanthropic sector. An expert in fund development, board and organizational development, and strategic planning, Simone is the author of Strategic Fund Development: Building Profitable Relationships That Last. This book has become an industry standard. Simone presents all over the world and is a faculty member in the Master's Program in Philanthropy and Development at Saint Mary's University, Minnesota. She serves regularly on boards, is the founder of the Women's Fund of Rhode Island, and is the former Chair of CFRE International.
