November 17, 2009

I’ve ranted and raved about executive committees before. Just check my blog archive. I’m on a worldwide mission to destroy all of them.

Here’s what Marcia from Iowa said when she read my previous blog about executive committees: “The sentence that really resonated with me [in your blog] is – ‘Some organizations establish an executive committee to compensate for a weak board. Fix the board.'”

Marcia adds: “A person who is willing to sit on a board that uses an executive committee the way you, Simone, describe it might be wise to think about being part of that board. The fiduciary and oversight responsibility that belongs to a board member isn’t diminished by the number of meetings s/he attends. The full responsibility falls on all the board members.”

Marcia goes on to say: “My most recent board has had difficulty in getting members to attend meetings because they’re so disengaged. So the board decided to have meetings less often with executive meetings on the off months. Now, more of the members don’t have any idea what’s going on, and I can’t see how that’s going to make them feel more useful. Scary.”

Scary, indeed, Marcia. Hey everyone out there. Examine that executive committee. Read my past blog. Join the worldwide campaign to destroy all executive committees.

About Simone Joyaux

A consultant specializing in fund development, strategic planning, and board development, Simone P. Joyaux works with all types and sizes of nonprofits, speaks at conferences worldwide, and teaches in the graduate program for philanthropy at Saint Mary’s University, MN. Her books, Keep Your Donors and Strategic Fund Development, are standards in the field.

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