It’s one of the most common topics of discussion in my informal CEO support group.
At least once a month, somebody asks what they’ve done to deserve their current “Board of Idiots.”
The saddest thing is that most of the idiots are well-intentioned. They probably have no idea of the grief they are causing their CEO or the staff of the organization they claim to love.
I might even have had a few idiot tendencies when I was on the board myself.
Could you be an idiot board member?
- Do you either fillibuster nonstop or never speak up during meetings?
- Do you feel the need to crap on every idea, even if you were the one who brought it up two months before?
- Do you have to respond to every perceived slight?
- Do you badmouth other board members, especially to junior staff?
- Do you want to get involved in every decision the organization makes, right down to the type of paper in the photocopiers?
- Do you think a non-profit should run like a corporation?
- Have you ever reminded the CEO, in the middle of a board meeting, that they are “just an employee”?
