Board recruitment is a board responsibility.
But that doesn’t mean the Executive Director should be standing outside the process.
After all…
They’re the person who will have to work with the board you build.
This is where nonprofits sometimes swing too far in one direction.
The ED has no meaningful input…
Or the ED effectively drives the entire recruiting process.
Neither is healthy.
Leave the ED out, and the board may recruit without fully understanding:
• Where the organization is headed
• What challenges are emerging
• What perspectives or experience may be missing
• How a candidate might work with organizational leadership
But if the ED controls recruitment, you create a different problem.
The board oversees the Executive Director.
The person being held accountable shouldn’t choose the people who hold them accountable.
That’s why strong boards find the balance.
The board owns the process.
The ED informs the process.
The ED can:
• Share organizational needs and future challenges
• Offer perspective on board dynamics
• Suggest potential candidates
• Meet prospective members
• Provide feedback on fit and working relationships
But the board evaluates candidates and makes the final decision.
That’s not excluding the ED.
And it’s not handing recruitment over to them.
It’s using their insight without surrendering the board’s independence.
Because you’re not simply recruiting individual board members.
You’re building a governance team that must be able to do two things at the same time:
Partner effectively with the Executive Director.
And…
Hold the Executive Director accountable.
Getting that balance right should begin before the new board member ever takes a seat.
If your ED has no voice in board recruitment…
Or too much influence over it…
The problem may not be the people you’re recruiting.
It may be who’s doing the recruiting.