Discussion: board member knowledge, skills, and expertise

Discussion: Board Member Knowledge, Skills, and Expertise
Board Governance & Volunteer Management

REQUIREMENTS:   APA format 1-2 , pages. Requested text is available in Links, or Uploads. for this assignment. Please at least reference the required texts in the formation of the paper and the references  on the reference page. DUE Thursday, April 5th  by 9 PM New York time

The most effective boards have diversity and balance in the knowledge, skills, and experience they bring to the organization. One member may have experience in accounting, law, or business, and another might have knowledge and training in fundraising, ethical compliance, or strategic planning. The ultimate goal is to plan and create a board that can appropriately and effectively govern an organization. To this end, there is no magic formula in determining the balance of membership regarding knowledge, skills, and experience; considerations must be made regarding specific board and organizational needs.

To prepare for this Discussion:

• Select a nonprofit organization to use for this assignment. This could be the one you selected for your Final Project (Boys Scouts of America), or a different one in which you are interested.
• Review the assigned pages in the course text, Extraordinary Board Leadership. Consider how the mission and strategic plans of nonprofit organizations might influence which areas of knowledge, skills, and expertise are required of board members. Reflect on the mission and strategic plan of the organization you selected and consider the areas of knowledge, skills, and expertise you might look for in a board member.
• Review Chapter 6 in the course text, The High-Performance Board, paying particular attention to examples of new board member screening and selection criteria. Reflect on the selection criteria you might use when recruiting new board members for the organization you selected.
• Review the Web site, “Sample Policy for Developing the Optimum Board of Directors.” As you review this sample board policy, consider what aspects might be important to an organization you might run.
• Review the article, “The Exceptional Board.” Consider the areas of knowledge, skills, and expertise of people that might make up an “exceptional” board. Think about which areas of knowledge, skills, and expertise you might require to compose an “exceptional” board.
• Identify at least three areas of knowledge, skills, and/or expertise you might look for in a potential board member of the organization you chose. Think about how each might be important to the board and the organization.

With these thoughts in mind:

Post by Thursday 9:00pm New york Time a description of at least three areas of knowledge, skills, and/or expertise you might require of a potential member of the board of directors of the organization you chose and explain why. Be sure to note why each area of knowledge, skill, or expertise might be important to both the board and the organization. Be specific.

Readings

• Course Text: Extraordinary Board Leadership
  • Chapter 4, “Board Self-Management” (pp. 65-96)

• Course Text: The High-Performance Board
  • Chapter 6, “Composition” (pp. 97-115)

• Article: Radtke, D. (2008). The exceptional board. Credit Union Magazine, 74(9), 40-44.
  Use the Business Source Premier database, and search using the article’s title.

Note: This article was written for credit union boards, but the information in it can be applied to nonprofit boards as well.

Web Sites