- by Sophie Pinkoski

An effective board that truly acts with the best interests of their organization in mind have a key element in common: accountability. Beyond the board’s responsibility to its fiduciary duties, boards are expected to act with integrity by following through with their promises to their stakeholders and working toward meeting their organization’s biggest goals. Folding accountability into every aspect of a board’s culture ultimately affects the way its directors think, act, and lead. Every board decision behind their organization’s actions and outcomes must align with the organization’s mission, vision, values, and strategy.  It’s one thing to accept board responsibilities––the tasks and duties expected for your role––but another to take ownership for results that come out of those actions.

Holding your board accountable means making decisions within the context of your organization’s needs, and accept consequences for risks, challenges, mistakes, and unexpected setbacks.

Follow-through is essential here, both in your actions matching your intentions, and in communicating openly with your stakeholders. This means setting an example within your board, taking on constructive feedback, and setting aside time to learn and improve. In this way, you can help strengthen your organization's growth by bolstering its forward momentum.

Here are some key tenets of accountable boards:

Legal and ethical compliance–– Each organization will be accountable to different laws and standards according to their particular operations, industry, and jurisdiction. Depending on the organization’s location, it will be liable to oversight laws at multiple levels from federal to provincial/state laws, right down to local laws, as well as industry specific regulations. It’s the board’s responsibility to approve and review its policies to ensure functional, effective governance practices. This is not just about going through the motions of compliance, but building on an ever-evolving compliance program into your board’s culture.

Staying accountable to its legal obligations keeps your board functional by giving it formal structure and governance policies and procedures to follow.

It reminds your directors what is expected of them and of the consequences of not following through on their duties.

Transparency–– A transparent board communicates with its shareholders and/or specified stakeholders to keep them up to date on the organization’s plans and programs. This builds trust among the people most connected in your organization. After all, your board will be accountable to multiple groups, including owners, funders/sponsors, clients/customers, staff, collaborators, and the public it serves. They will be most interested in knowing exactly how the organization tends to utilize their input and funds to benefit the greater community. Transparent communications mean disclosing updates in regular reports easily accessible on the organization’s website.

When stakeholders clearly understand the organization’s strategic decisions, they can better invest in its mission and objectives.

Personal and collective accountability–– Board accountability can be divided between the responsibilities and expectations of each individual director, and the board as a collective. Every director is expected to show up to meetings prepared to contribute to discussions. This means staying engaged and present during each meeting as well as staying informed on industry trends that could impact the organization.

Expressing your unique perspectives during discussions can help hold your peers accountable by challenging their positions and biases, which will make for better decisions overall.

The collective group must come together to ensure the board is effective in both structure and composition. Regular assessments review board performance as well as any gaps in the board’s skills, knowledge and experience. A diverse board that functions under a healthy culture can hold its organization accountable to acknowledging stakeholder concerns and interests as well as adapting to rapid change in the industry and world at large.

Organization performance–– An effective board empowers its organization’s external impact. The board is responsible for presenting decisions and strategic plans to the organization to ensure its objectives and goals are being met. If a board spends all its time talking around and avoiding important decisions, they can’t build productive momentum.

It is important to define what board success looks like through clear metrics, so board members understand what is expected of them.

How do you know when your organization is delivering on its promises? Ask challenging questions to gauge where your organization is at. Your stakeholders will want to know about progress being made. Where appropriate, share timely reports on any progress and challenges the organization has met along the way. Let your stakeholders know what has worked, what hasn’t, and how the organization is committed to moving forward in the face of its biggest challenges. Be transparent about the organization’s successes and how its working to further improve.

Accountability is not just a formality for your board, but a commitment to living it in everything you do in the best interests of your organization. The most effective boards don’t just oversee the organization by complying to governance policies and procedures, but take ownership for their decisions and actions. By embracing accountability, you can position your board not just to oversee the organization of today, but to lead it into the future.

Further Reading

The Board Member’s First Duty: Accountability, BOARDroom

Accountability, Better Boards

Bringing Personal Accountability on Board, Council of Foundations

A Board of Directors’ Responsibilities, The Corporate Governance Institute

Board Accountability and Transparency: Ensuring Boards are Accountable to Shareholders and Stakeholders, Directors Institute

The Importance of Being Compliant, Savvy Directors