Choosing to Serve as an Officer for a Nonprofit Organization
This piece is Part 2 of 4 in our Pathways to Effective Board Leadership Series.
There is no perfect time to decide to serve as an officer for a nonprofit organization. However, the best time to consider this option is often just after you complete your first year of Board service and have relinquished your unofficial title as a “new Board member.” Insights gained from your first-year experiences interacting with Board members, management, and staff will provide a unique view that you would not have had prior to the start of your Board service term.
In our 4-part series looking at how to make the most out of your first year of Board service, the key point of emphasis was that this time will pass quickly so it is important to use proactive early engagement and outreach tactics to jump-start your first year.
Now serving as an “experienced” Board member, it is time to explore whether a more active leadership role would be a good fit for you. Serving as an officer requires a higher level of skills, time commitment, and determination than a non-officer Board member position. The officer role is not for everyone. This is why regular Board members often outnumber officer Board members by 3 to 1 or a higher ratio (for example, a 19-member Board of Directors might include 4 officers and 15 non-officer Board members).
To help you determine whether serving as an officer is a viable option, try completing this short self-assessment exercise regarding the key attributes of an officer. It is advisable for every Board member to go through these questions. Determining that officer service is not a good match is just as important as deciding that officer service is for you.
Key Officer Attributes:
Capacity – do you have the time and financial resources? (for example, a Board chair might have to travel more frequently, attend extra meetings, cover travel costs, set an example as a higher-level donor, or other similar circumstances that regular Board members do not have to shoulder).
Fortitude – do you have the courage to fight though the tough times, make difficult decisions, manage conflicting personalities of people involved in the governance?
Skills – do you have the skills to fulfill high-level leadership roles, give inspirational speeches, manage conflict and negotiation, and possibly be the face and voice of the organization?
Passion – do you have a burning desire to support the organization’s mission in both good and tough times?
If you cannot respond with a strong “yes” to all of the above, it is almost always better to opt instead for a quiet wisdom role, in which you serve the organization as a regular Board member by attending meetings, participating at events, and working on select projects that match your current capacity to give back to the organization.
Planning Tip – When considering serving as an officer, make sure to fully understand the ascension pathway and service term(s) of the role. Sometimes officers move up through the officer positions, starting at a lower role and ascending through Board chair and sometimes a past Board chair. Other times there is a single service role such as a treasurer. Even for single service roles, you may be allowed to serve multiple terms. All these will impact how long you may need to serve and should be part of your consideration process on whether to serve as an officer.
When considering the next step to serve as an officer, it is best to first hit the pause button. This will give you time to quietly complete the self-assessment exercise and make sure your capacity, fortitude, skills, and passion are all in alignment with the officer position, and to determine whether the timing is right for you. It is better to fill quieter, less-demanding regular Board roles efficiently and effectively than to take on a role you might not be able to fully embrace. Both you and the organization will be better off.
