08/24/2021

Board Smarts:

Buddy up

Boards are often clubby, old-school environments that sometimes segregate into cliques, apart from other volunteers and rank-and-file members. This can create challenges even within a board, when new board members feel left out and wonder how they can better integrate.

Melissa Sorenson, executive director of the Professional Background Screening Association (PBSA), noticed the trend among her own board members. So, she and her team came up with ways to diffuse the awkwardness and encourage more engagement and familiarity.

New members just learning the ropes may find approaching their new colleagues intimidating, especially when boards move as a pack at association events. When PBSA had in-person conferences, Sorenson’s team encouraged board members to sit toward the front of the room during sessions and to bring friends with them—not other board members—to make sure board members were seen interacting with attendees and to break up any impression that the board was an inaccessible club.

Please select this link to read the complete article from Associations Now.