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Strategic Planning in the Arts: A Practical Guide
Boards
In today’s difficult arts funding environment, an arts organization’s Board and staff must work together, yet the tension between Board and staff—even in successful organizations—is palpable. Effective board management can develop mutual respect between the Board and staff in a way that encourages Board members to contribute their time and resources generously.
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The Board of Directors (or Trustees) of an arts organization is meant to be a leadership and support group that cares deeply for the institution and works diligently to find the resources required to achieve its mission.
Yet for many arts executives there is no area of operations that generates more controversy and anxiety than the Board. The tension results primarily from the potential of the Board, the frequency with which that potential is not fully realized, and the power resident in a lay group of volunteers.
While some Boards and arts executives enjoy strong working and personal relationships, few troubled arts organizations do not experience Board-staff conflict. The staff virtually always believes that its problems would be solved if the Board contributed more, and the Board frequently blames the institution's problems on staff errors. Even in many successful organizations, the conflict between staff and Board is palpable.
This tension can be crippling. In today's difficult arts funding environment, the Board and staff must work together; failure to do so inevitably results in the loss of the best Board and staff members, substantially reducing the odds of establishing or maintaining organizational health.
The strategic plan, therefore, must clearly delineate the roles of the Board and must reveal an approach to maximizing its effectiveness while minimizing the potential for conflict with the staff.
Boards serve both legal and non-legal functions. Legally, the Board is responsible for financial oversight, for hiring and firing artistic and administrative leadership, and for setting major policies. The Board should also serve, de facto, as cheerleaders in the community, as contributors and solicitors of funds and other resources, and as champions of fund-raising events. The Board is not responsible for making specific operational or artistic decisions. If the Board, as a unit, is unhappy with the administrative or artistic direction of the organization, it can remove the artistic or administrative director. Acting on their own, discontented Board members can "vote with their feet," choosing to resign from the Board and withholding financial support.
The line between active participation and interference is a fine one, particularly with Board members who are extremely generous with their time and money. If major donors insist on "poaching," it is difficult and risky to try to rein them in. These powerful contributors must be accommodated and "worked around" as one copes with any other major operational constraint.
In fact, one wants to encourage the interest of Board members while still discouraging unhelpful behavior. Creating "engagement" on the part of Board members is a goal of all arts executives and Board leaders. When Board members are engaged, they are the most likely to be generous and to work on the organization's behalf.
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