How to Design Social Innovation Accelerators That Deliver Real Impact
Learn tips to create social innovation accelerators to weave tangible impact by design from start to finish
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Board Engagement: Five Strategies to Mobilize Leaders for Community Impact
Discover how board engagement can amplify community impact through effective strategies that inspire participation
Board Engagement: A Common Challenge
Board engagement is vital for any organization, but in my work with many mission-driven organizations, I frequently see board members — especially volunteers — lose interest over time.
After the initial excitement of a project, some board members may not follow through, which leaves more work for a few dedicated (and overworked) individuals. This creates a cycle of further disengagement and diminished commitment.
The impact?
Missed opportunities, stalled initiatives, and increased risk of burnout for those who genuinely care, ultimately blocking the organization’s ability to harness the energy and creativity of its most committed advocates.
To address this issue, I suggest you empower board members by clarifying the “foundation” of the motivational pyramid: an aligned “why” (e.g., needs) before a board-owned “what and how” (e.g., solutions and action plans).
Here are several strategies based on my experience that can help you foster sustainable board engagement over the long term.
1) Alignment on Top Needs: The Foundation for Board Engagement
This is the 20% that generates 80% of the impact.
If you’re aligned on what is most important and why, it’s much easier to identify the right solutions.
Even though it's an incredibly simple concept, it can be challenging to execute.
A common issue I encounter is insufficient time dedicated to brainstorming, understanding, and aligning on the most crucial needs.
To address this, prompt participants to share their thoughts on key needs before a critical meeting by using tools such as surveys, interviews, and initial small group discussions.
Then help participants identify how their ideas connect with and may be addressed by other proposed needs, which promotes faster alignment. Group discussions combined with live revisions of the top needs are essential tools.
In these discussions, pay special attention to those who haven’t yet shared — creating space for their contributions is crucial. Sometimes a few outspoken individuals may unintentionally take charge of conversations, limiting ideas and broader engagement.
Another common challenge is that an abundance of ideas can obscure what truly matters.
Treating too many needs as equally important dilutes resources and, ultimately, harms effective action.
To gain clarity on the most pressing needs, challenge participants to prioritize the identified needs. Use tools like rating scales to facilitate this process and asking why their top-rated items matter the most to them.
Finally, jumping to solutions before aligning on core needs can actually delay progress.
When specific tactics or solutions are introduced prematurely, individuals may become overly focused on details, impeding alignment on the bigger picture.
To clarify the distinction between needs and solutions, consider this example: A need might be improving community mental health, while a solution could be a peer support program. Recognize that such a program is just one of many potential approaches to address that need.
Take a close look at your list of needs to ensure all items can serve as goals or purposes, allowing board members to then develop concrete solutions — a strategy we will explore further in the next section.
As an added bonus, concentrating on needs (versus a wider set of solutions) helps condense your list of items, enabling participants to contribute without feeling overwhelmed.
2) Engage Your Board to Take Ownership of Solving Top Needs
Foster your board's ownership over solving top needs to create lasting impact — even if this approach takes longer initially.
While you can certainly suggest ideas, your primary aim is to empower your board to prioritize their top solutions and follow through on action plans. Accountability then naturally flows from their sense of ownership.
One effective way to achieve this: form breakout groups, which can evolve into specific committees. Board members then join the group that most aligns with their interests and capabilities, tapping into their intrinsic motivation.
To promote accountability, have each team create and share three crucial elements.
- their top impact metric and target to understand if they’re making progress
- a set of challenges to the impact metric and solutions that address them. The most powerful plans include prioritized roadmaps, which rank solutions based on strategic criteria, such as feasibility and expected impact on their top metric
- specific action plans on top solutions that include deadlines, needs and resources to succeed, and roles and responsibilities of the team.
One common challenge in breakout sessions is the uneven distribution of expertise and skills among groups.
Group dynamics can make or break collaborative sessions, and breakouts are no exception. Yet simply letting participants self-select can result in unbalanced teams.
When you’re first testing breakouts, consider a deliberate approach to group formation. Strategically assign board members that complement each other on these factors:
- Tenure: Seasoned members with deep institutional knowledge with newer members bringing fresh perspectives
- Personality: Organized, analytical members who can help the group follow through with creative members who can generate innovative ideas and energize the group
- Background: Individuals representing diverse backgrounds, such as those familiar with the perspectives of staff, target donors, beneficiaries, or different professions
This method thus carefully crafts learning and collaboration opportunities that can set board members up for success
For more on designing high-impact strong goals, plans, and processes, see How to Build Accountability in a Team: The Key to Innovation Strategy
3) Tap into Common Motivations During Regular Meetings to Promote Board Engagement
This might involve dedicating time to share uplifting stories and experiences that you know will inspire your volunteers or encouraging them to consider projects that align with their core desires and interests.
One common challenge: understanding the specific motivations of your board members beyond a surface-level grasp.
To address this, consider initiating meaningful discussions or conducting surveys to gather insights about their personal "why."
For instance, ask about the unique and impactful experiences that arose through their involvement with your organization. Dig into specific examples and explore why these experiences hold meaning for them. By doing so, you gain deeper clarity into their motivations.
With this enhanced understanding, you can design meetings and initiatives that address these needs while systematically tackling challenges — if any exist — related to fulfilling them.
4) Build in Accountability Rhythms to Sustain Board Engagement
In your regular meetings, review board member commitments and spotlight progress in a public setting.
Tools such as an impact dashboard or commitments tracker help you keep tabs on promised items and celebrate wins.
If certain board members fall short on follow-through, ask about their challenges, co-create solutions together, and suggest a separate follow-up if behaviors continue.
As commitments evolve, this meeting enables the team to collaboratively pinpoint the support (or transitions) needed to enhance their contributions while sustaining a culture of ownership.
5) Be Open to Transitions To Protect a Culture of Board Engagement
As you transition to greater board ownership, be aware that everyone may not be “on board.”
This is par for the course.
As noted in the introduction, repeated disengagement and lack of follow-through can lead to a downward spiral. Therefore, to maintain a healthy culture, swiftly identify protective actions, such as transitions, when a lack of follow-through becomes a pattern.
In fact, a small group of highly motivated individuals can often accomplish more than a larger, disengaged, and slow-moving organization. This mirrors how small innovators can effectively challenge larger industry players.
To safeguard board engagement when considering new members, consider this three-pronged approach:
- Recruit: Align on the characteristics of your most effective and engaged board members. Focus on recruiting board members who possess specific skills or experiences that certain committees urgently need to enhance their impact. Pinpoint where effective and passionate recruits might be "hanging out" today to guide future board expansion efforts.
- Align: Share clear expectations upfront, outlining who fits the board role based on the core needs, definition of impact, and key capabilities needed. This helps prospective members understand their commitment and shape their involvement.
- Scaffold: Create and manage a board "journey" featuring onboarding, mentorship from seasoned board members, and key projects designed to nurture engagement over time.
For more board or donor retention and engagement strategies, see this series
#1. Impact stories: Overlooked Key to Successful Donor Retention Efforts
#2. Effective Donor Retention: How Donor Journeys Transform Your Impact Stories
#3. How to Build Storytelling Skills for Emotional Impact and Donor Retention
#4. How Impact Stories Boost Nonprofit Effectiveness and Donor Retention
#5. 5 Great Questions for Nonprofit Storytelling and Donor Retention
Conclusion: Enhance Board Engagement and Empower Your Biggest Advocates
By prioritizing clear goals, empowering board members to take ownership, and creating a culture of accountability and inspiration, you can transform disengagement into active participation.
Amplify your mission through the commitment and creativity of your board — who are often your strongest advocates.
What are other effective strategies for board engagement? Feel free to share in the comments below or with me directly.
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