Just as sports teams focus on fundamentals, there are certain basic strategies for an effective board. Here's a brief checklist to apply to your board:

Get the Right People - This is tougher than it sounds. Associations have a history of using board positions as a reward for active volunteers. Recruit for expertise, not reward. Strive for diversity and a mix of experience to enrich your board discussions. Using a leadership development committee can help identify those volunteers who have the commitment to live up to their responsibilities and weed out those who are only looking for prestige or resume-enhancement.

Communicate Effectively - Develop written job descriptions for every volunteer position to create the right expectations. Include meeting schedules, estimated preparation time, committee work, and estimate of expenses the volunteer is expected to bear. Sample descriptions can be found on this website. Every committee should start the year with a written description of its mission and specific charges or objectives to achieve. Create a board policy manual and keep it up to date.

Make Meetings Productive - Provide concise information about every action item in advance of the meeting. Anticipate the questions your Board members will have and strive to provide them with the answers in their background materials. Structure your agenda intelligently – start and close with items that build consensus; place controversial items on the agenda just before lunch or other natural break.

Stress Accountability - Assign each objective to an individual (such as committee chair) with a deadline. Establish reporting mechanisms for every committee and task force to track progress.

Evaluate - Most boards do not improve without conscious effort. Build a board assessment into your annual plan of work. By conducting regular assessments, your board can build on its strengths and improve its weaknesses.

Tune-Up Your Committees

Committees are the engines that power many of our association activities and programs. And, like the engines in our cars, we may not think much about them unless they sputter, make dysfunctional noises or refuse to start. With a little preventive maintenance and a tune-up now and then, your committees can run more smoothly and help your association get moving. As an association leader, you have two things to consider: First, how to organize your committees, then how to assure that they function effectively.

Organizing Your Committees:

The first question to ask is, do you have the right committees? To answer this question, start with your association’s strategic plan. The plan should identify your programmatic priorities and tell you what committees you need. Look closely at any committees you have that don’t relate to the strategic plan. It may be time to eliminate these and free up that staff time and volunteer energy.

Ad Hoc Committees - There’s a move today toward fewer standing (that is, permanent) committees and toward more ad hoc committees or task forces, formed to accomplish a specific task then disbanded. It is often easier to convince your members to volunteer for an ad hoc task force with a clearly defined task and timeframe, than for a standing committee.

Mission & Authority - Whether standing or ad hoc, each committee must have a specific statement of mission or purpose and clearly defined parameters of authority. Be sure that your committee chairs understand what authority (if any) their committees have to represent or make commitments for the organization. Committees sometimes think they can commit the financial resources of the organization or sign contracts with hotels or other vendors, when in reality this authority is reserved for the Board. It is critical that your association establish policies regarding committee authority, and communicate them to all committees.

Orientation Meetings- In addition to providing each committee chair with written policies and procedures, consider holding an orientation for all committee chairs at the beginning of the association’s year. A half-day session that covers the association’s policies and procedures related to committees and provides a primer on how to run an effective meeting will set the stage for a more productive year.

Size Matters - Finally, in organizing your committees, consider the size and composition. Five to seven members is usually considered to be optimum for group process and effectiveness. If the committee is expected to accomplish much of its work by conference call, for example, large groups can be especially unwieldy.

Diverse Leadership - Strive to make your committees representative of your association’s membership. That may mean that you have to make a more intensive effort to find new volunteers. Your effort will pay off, however, in bringing new ideas into the committee and establishing a mechanism for identifying future association leaders.

Increasing Committee Effectiveness:

Once the committees are organized, your next challenge is to help them work effectively. Here are some tips to improve your committees’ performance.

Set Goals - Each committee should have an annual charge or stated objectives to achieve that relate to the association’s strategic plan. This gives them a road map for the year and helps assure they don’t go off on unproductive tangents that are unrelated to the association’s mission or long-range goals.

Define Expectations - All committee members should have a written job description that defines what is expected of them. The job description should include the committee’s purpose and authority, the length of the term, how many meetings members are expected to attend, whether work will be accomplished in face-to-face meetings or by conference call, how many hours of preparation time or outside work might be expected, and any financial considerations, such as whether committee members pay their own travel expenses.

Build Teams - Committees work best when there is a level of trust and confidence in each other. Encourage committees to devote some time, especially at their first meeting, to getting acquainted. You may also want to take a page from professional facilitators and establish ground rules for the group process.

Establish Reporting Mechanisms - Set up a regular reporting system so you can spot trouble before it’s too late. You might require reports 30 days prior to every Board meeting, for example, or at the end of each quarter. The report can be a simple one page form that has the committee name, chair’s name, and spaces to note progress to date on each charge, any problems encountered and any recommendations to the Board. You may want to establish a separate report for Board recommendations that addresses background, options, action steps and financial implications.

Identify Personal Benefits - Recognizing that your volunteers have competing demands on their time, try to give them some personal benefit for serving on the committee. When I chaired the Membership Section Council, for example, I tried to set aside a little time at each meeting to share some membership activities that were working in our associations. Everyone went home with some new ideas, their bosses saw some organizational benefit for their participation, and many of those ideas found their way into the section newsletter.

Eliminate the Deadwood - It happens. People agree to serve on a committee, then never show up and never do any work. This can be demoralizing to the other committee members, especially if the deadbeats are included in committee recognition. After all, you don’t want to reward people for not honoring their commitment! Encourage your committee chairs to follow up with their inactive members. Sometimes it’s a temporary problem, an unexpected crunch at work or an illness in the family, and the member will be able to participate later in the year. If it’s a more permanent change in circumstances, give the member the opportunity to resign gracefully from the committee.

Celebrate Committee Accomplishments - I don’t think I’ve ever heard a volunteer complain about an association giving them too much recognition. And you don’t have to wait until year end. A letter from the President can recognize a hurdle overcome or a champagne toast can celebrate a committee success.