10 Steps To Developing A Diverse Board

1. Know why you need diversity

We live in a very complex world. Few problems have simple solutions. Having a board made up of different kinds of people makes it more likely that issues will be looked at from a variety of perspectives. It opens the possibility for more creative solutions. Including different backgrounds on your board also sends a signal to others that you are not an insular and narrow-minded group.

2. Be clear about what you need

The composition of your board should be dictated by your strategic plan or your vision for the future. It may mean that the board will look and sound different at different times. For example, a chorus trying to reach a younger audience would be foolish not to include younger people on the board. There are some kinds of diversity needed on just about every board: gender, age, skills, and personalities. Everything else depends on the resource needs of the organization and is dictated by the mission, location, and racial and ethnic mix of the area.

When you put people from different backgrounds and with different personalities around the board table, expect disagreements—even conflicts. The point is to explore the differences in order to gain a deeper understanding and to make smarter decisions.

3. Don’t succumb to tokenism

By adding one person from a demographic group previously not represented on your board, don’t think you are getting someone who will know how everyone from the same group thinks and feels. Each person will bring particular perspectives and opinions growing out of his or her life experience. But they cannot be expected to speak for everyone else. If possible, bring on two people simultaneously from the same group who have different skills or other attributes.

4. Realize that diversity comes with a price

When you put people from different backgrounds and with different personalities around the board table, expect disagreements—even conflicts. The point is to explore the differences in order to gain a deeper understanding and to make smarter decisions. Working through differences requires time and a willingness to keep an open mind. You might need some training on how to deal with conflict—or even an outside facilitator if things get really hot.

5. Provide opportunities for social interaction

To be an effective board, members must have opportunities to get to know each other, to learn what each person cares about, to discover shared interests, and to laugh together. Such opportunities may be built into board meetings or may be arranged via social events or retreats. However, beware of social events where those of different backgrounds do not participate. Such events easily give the impression of a board with two classes: insiders and outsiders.

6. Get new board members involved right away

No matter what their background, give new board members an adequate orientation. Find out what their interests and abilities are and get them involved in a task. Expect full participation. If they do not follow through on commitments, check in with them to find out what the problem is. You may have had different understandings about what was expected. If you leave things hanging, they will likely get the impression that their participation was not valued anyway.

7. Ask for feedback

A board can learn a lot by asking its members for feedback. New board members often have valuable insights on the way the board operates. Those who have different life experiences from the rest of the board may raise questions that had not occurred to anyone else, but that may turn out to be crucial in dealing with challenges facing the organization. Don’t just solicit feedback on the board’s work, but on their own participation. Is it what they had expected? Hoped? Are there ways to make the experience more fulfilling?

8. Make use of everyone’s gifts

Everyone who sits on a board should be there for more reasons than their demographic group membership. Each person should also be recruited because he or she has a particular skill that is needed on the board as well as the ability to participate actively in board deliberations. Individuals may bring valuable insights or access to outside resources that are needed by the organization. They may have time available and interest in taking on specific tasks that need to be done. Don’t assume that someone is willing to use his or her professional skills on the board. An accountant may not want to be on the finance committee, but might prefer to get involved in a different challenge. Make use of what they have to give.

9. Be aware of differences

Don’t pretend (or believe!) that “differences don’t matter.” If differences did not matter, we would not have to work so hard to create and maintain diverse boards. There is truth to the observation that men and women often think differently and value different things, that ethnic groups have values and practices not shared by other groups, that people from economically different backgrounds look at the world through different lenses, that introverts and extroverts communicate in different ways, that baby-boomers have different expectations than Generation Xers. But don’t assume that all people with the same demographic profile think and act alike. To avoid falling into the traps set by unexamined assumptions, become aware of your own assumptions and then proceed with caution. Check things out. A diverse board can be a wonderful opportunity to expand your horizons and understanding of the human condition!

10. Use the governance committee to build a diverse board

Building a board that continually has a diversity of skills, perspectives, and other resources is an ongoing task. It must be institutionalized in the charge to the governance committee as part of its responsibility to identify prospective board members, to orient and involve them, and to evaluate the needs of the board from year to year.
This article by Berit Lakey is reprinted with permission from the October/November 2003 edition of Board Member, Vol. 12, No. 7, a publication of BoardSource. For more information about BoardSource, call 800-883-6262 or visit www.boardsource.org. BoardSource © 2003. Text may not be reproduced without written permission from BoardSource.