20 Red Flags of a Dysfunctional Board

Previously, we published an article about what nonprofit leadership can learn from frustrating nonprofit boards. In it we highlighted five common problems that boards experience and how an Executive Director, nonprofit CEO, or Board President can work to overcome them. If you haven’t checked that out yet, you definitely should! We highly recommend all nonprofit leaders familiarize themselves with the ways that boards can (and do) fail so that they can take a proactive approach to board management. 

Afterwards, we noticed the people we talked to were beginning to ask deeper questions like, “How do you know if a nonprofit board is doing a good job?” It seems that article helped nonprofit leaders, board members, and major donors to start thinking more critically about what they should look for in determining if the board they are connected to is being run effectively and accomplishing the organization’s mission. They wanted more information about what they should be on the lookout for – what kinds of red flags might signal an underlying culture problem or what kinds of signs indicate that the board is going off track. 

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As a result, we put together this helpful resource based on our team’s extensive experience in both full-time and interim nonprofit leadership roles. We hope this will equip your senior leadership team to work more effectively with your board and promote overall organizational success!

Red Flags that Indicate Board Ineffectiveness
If you need a way to evaluate your board of directors, look through this list of signs that indicate problems are brewing internally:

• The board chair is pushing their own agenda and bullying other members for support.
• Long-time board leadership has left and now there is a leadership vacuum.
• Second-guessing decision making has become common.
• The board chair abdicates leadership responsibilities, relying on the Executive Director or other board members to lead meetings and reporting.
• Bad actors are being tolerated within the organization.
• The board rubber stamps everything the board chair or Executive Director suggests.
• There is a lack of maturity and professionalism on the board and in the way that meetings are conducted.
• Confidentiality is not respected when grievances are shared, or staff issues arise.
• The board micromanages staff or programming.
• Gossiping and politicking are occurring.
• Verbal abuse is allowed.
• The board is fractured, with different members concerned about individual areas instead of the overall organization.
• Board members are not engaged in the mission of the organization.
• There is a lack of trust between the board and staff.
• Organizational hierarchy is not clearly understood or enforced.
• Decisions are being made in a process quagmire.
• Staff ally themselves with individuals rather than the organization.
• Staff are not being empowered to do their best work.
• Board meetings are boring.
• The communication chain is frequently interrupted or circumvented.
• Staff are steamrolled after giving constructive feedback.

If any of these red flags sounded familiar, it’s time to take our Nonprofit Board of Directors Assessment to help you better understand the current status of your board and identify areas for improvement. 

Access our Free Board Assessment Tool Now!

​Uncovering the Cause
What causes these behaviors? They usually don’t pop up overnight but develop as symptoms of other challenges. One situation that can lead to these types of situations occurs when the board chair is not confident in their role, authority, or expectations. There is a fine line between “abdicating leadership responsibilities” and simply not knowing the expectations of the role. Board training and board leadership onboarding go a long way to addressing this common issue.

Another reality may be that not all board members are experiencing the same things. Some may think things are fine because they aren’t hearing any complaints. The simple task of taking the list above and asking board members if they have ever experienced or witnessed any of those situations can set up some very healthy discussions about expectations for the board in the coming term.

Understanding the Implications
It’s important to recognize that negative board behavior can be more than just counterproductive. It can also open an organization up to unnecessary risk! Nonprofits already face a wide range of risk categories, ranging from financial to regulatory and everything in between, so they certainly do not need to be adding additional risk to their plate. Part of creating an effective nonprofit risk management strategy is mitigating risk in areas that the organization can control, and this starts at the top with the organization’s board and executive leadership team.

Addressing the Problem
Now that you know what to be on the lookout for, it’s time to get ready to address these issues head on. Remember, it is much easier to call out and discuss these issues in the abstract, before they become an issue, than it is to try to solve the problems they create once the damage is already occurring!

Having the right leadership in place is key to addressing board dysfunction before it brings down an organization. Ensure that your Executive Director and/or Board President is willing to be blunt and take the steps needed to correct problems as soon as they arise. When a nonprofit leader is coming into an organization where these types of problems are already occurring (and may have been happening for a while), they will need to be prepared to put an end to destructive behaviors and lead from a clean slate. In these cases, it is critical to be transparent with the incoming leadership about the organization’s current challenges to ensure that they have the context needed to lead well.

Next Steps
If the organization’s Executive Director is not confident in their capabilities to spearhead the kind of change that needs to occur, their leadership may need to be further developed to help fix the institutional problems that exist. Unfortunately, this kind of self-awareness is often hard to come by. As a leader, if you’re not sure whether your leadership skills are up to the task, use our Nonprofit Leadership Assessment to help you identify areas where you need improvement and prioritize those areas to offer the greatest benefit to your organization. 

Take the Free Leadership Assessment Now!

When you need board advisory services, we can help! Our nonprofit consulting team has extensive experience leading nonprofit organizations and coaching nonprofit boards across many different types of organizations. Contact us today to find out how we can help!

Originally published: 4/26/23
Updated: 7/12/24