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From Rachel Toor
What did we learn from the rollicking conversation Doug hosted with Cathy Trower and Peter Eckel? So much. Here’s a first recap, mostly in their words.
First, the four types of boards, some of which are also made up of a mix of these types of individuals:
Superhero boards. These are comprised of captains of industry and are the “fix-it” boards. They want to jump in and apply their businesses acumen to the university. These boards can push the president out of the way and say, We are going to take command and take charge. Um, right. But at least they show an awareness of issues going on in the world and have the will to be able to act, even if that might not be constructive.
In contrast: the deer in the headlights board. The oh shit board. Kind of paralyzed. OMG! What are we going to do? They’re freaking out, which is, you won’t be surprised to know, not terribly helpful. At least they’re still looking out in the horizon, but they are overwhelmed by what they see and do nothing.
Govern-by-routine boards just go on with business as usual. They keep their heads down, and meet three or four times a year, or every month, or however often it’s always been. They tend to let the calendar drive the work, not the work drive the work.
And then there are the hard-working, high-functioning, appropriately engaged boards that respond, How can we help? How can we add value? About those, there’s nothing to say except wow and thanks. And we wish there were more of them.
Of these (admitted caricatures), perhaps the most worrisome is the business-as-usual board. They have not paid attention to what is going on. They don’t read Inside Higher Ed or The Chronicle, don’t subscribe to The Sandbox. They think that college is what happened when they were students, which is, obviously, dangerous because they haven’t figured out the world is changing. They govern based on routine.
So, what’s an aspiring leader to do? How do you learn what boards are really like before you have to work with one? Board culture, even at public institutions where meetings are public, can be a black box.
Too many new presidents step in it because they had no clue what that board was really like. Our experts recommended that aspiring presidents ask to meet with the full board during the search process and have some questions ready: What are the challenges that this board sees ahead for this institution? Tell me a story about when the board did its best work? What about its worst work? (The response to that one will tell you a lot and may keep you from being offered a job you wouldn’t want.) When the board had a disagreement, how did you overcome it?
And pay attention to the answers you get: What questions did the board answer quickly? What was met with uncomfortable silence?
Astute aspiring presidents ask about financial information to lift up rocks and see the creepy crawlies beneath. You have to know how to read the numbers and to ask about things like, oh, deferred maintenance. Are buildings falling apart? Many new presidents have no clue what they just walked into. Sometimes, the board doesn’t have a clue—maybe because the previous leader kept them in dark, or maybe because they’re lying liars.
New presidents often walk into the role and go, Wait, what? You can be in for some longstanding stuff going on with a longstanding board. If you haven’t worked with a board before, you might not know you are in an abusive relationship. [Editor’s note: oh, the stories I’ve heard of geriatric frat boy unseemly behavior.] New presidents tend to think the board loves them (they hired me!) and they love the board (they were savvy enough to hire me!) and don’t spend time to understand what they don’t know.
Here’s a suggestion: Ask for a look at the bylaws. Are there term limits? How does the selection process work? When were the bylaws were last revisited? If it was during the last millennium, that may tell you something about the board and how well it is tending to the institution. Some colleges and universities are held hostage by antiquated bylaws that allow no flexibility and they have not been updated. Or perhaps the board is ignoring them and governing by precedent, which can be fine until there is a need to do something different.
Like universities and the Roy family, boards need to spend time talking about succession. When you look around and see the average age, you might wonder about building a pipeline of board chairs.
On many large private boards that revolve around philanthropy, older, white, wealthy men control things. They say, We’ve got some younger members! or We have a couple of African Americans on the board now! and pat themselves on the back. As we all know, diversity is not the same as inclusion or equity.
At least one president who watched our webcast said he took lots of notes and right afterward sat down with his board chair to talk about what they could do based on the advice.
Members can watch here because there’s even more juicy bits. I’ll follow up with a recap of what these experts—both of whom serve on boards—would want to know from the perspective of trustees.
