Beware the Boring Board Onboarding

Serving as a board member for a nonprofit organization can be a thrilling and satisfying experience. Once a new board member is fully up to speed – understanding the mission, helping set the strategic direction, and confident they’re contributing to its effective operation – board service can be rewarding and foster deep connections to fellow board members, organizational leadership, and the communities the organization serves.

Unfortunately, the path to that deeply satisfying experience – from nomination to election to the first board meeting – can be filled with twists and turns and detours and a lot of confusion. New board members, excited about their service, can wander about in search of guidance, direction, and a starting point.

Onboarding is the process for clarifying the pathway that leads to full engagement and meaningful contribution. Done well, onboarding blends three key ingredients: information, inspiration, and integration.

In many organizations, though, the excitement of being a new board member may unintentionally have a bucket of cold water thrown on it during onboarding:

• They face an unwieldy stack of documents laying out what a board member must have in their possession–the plethora of policies (whistleblower, conflict of interest, document retention, etc.), the bylaws, etc.

• They are asked to sign off on board member responsibilities that they are seeing for the first time.

• They learn about the give/get policy for the first time, feeling like maybe they were expected to bring a checkbook to the meeting.

In a spirit of helpfulness, the executive director or board president probably walks through the tome before them and answers questions, if the often-dazed attendees before them have any. If the new board member has served on other boards, this may be interesting – they probably have a sense of what questions to ask. But for the person serving on their first board?

This is why onboarding is such a classic learning challenge.

Organizational leaders know everything down to the smallest gory detail—it’s hard to extract what a new board member needs to know to get started (and more important, what they don’t need to know).

New board members don’t know what they don’t know – it’s hard to come up with smart questions staring at the blue sky of an organization you are new to.

Although I might quibble with the document-heavy approach, board service does come with legal responsibilities. It’s an essential part of onboarding – just not one that needs to be crammed into a single hour.

All those documents are not the only aspect of the learning experience that is Board of Directors 101, though. New board members come in craving a deeper understanding of why those materials matter and how they will contribute to the overall success of the organization.

They want the excitement they felt to deepen into real impact—just as organizational leadership hopes it will.

Starting onboarding with possibly the least interesting element may be setting a tone no one wants.

So, how do we fix this?

When I look at this question, my goal-oriented self cannot help but ask what organizations are trying to accomplish through this onboarding process – how they define success.

To extend my Board of Directors 101 metaphor, what is it organizations hope that board members will know, understand, and be able to do thanks to a successful onboarding process?

An organization can jazz up this entire experience by naming intended outcomes in three key areas:

• Information – the policies, procedures, financial information, and strategy documents that board members need to monitor the operations of the organization and their participation as board members.

• Inspiration – opportunities to connect to your mission, understand its positioning in your sector, and advocate on its behalf.

• Integration – connections to other board members, senior leadership, and the communities the organization works in service of.

Just like onboarding a new employee, a clear definition of success will drive the process that best serves your organization.

Executive Directors should work with their board president or governance committee chair to clearly identify objectives: information, inspiration, and integration.  Together, they can find a sweet spot where inspiration and information and integration intersect. It’s the place where a new board member can get excited about bringing their skills and resources to the organization and become a strategic partner and steward.

At the end of a solid onboarding process, a new board member should know where the organization is headed, what role they will play in getting there, and how this board works together to grow the organization’s impact.

With clear objectives in hand, the arc of the onboarding – the ongoing process that will lead to success in a year – can be mapped out. Organizational and board leadership can decide what key information and experiences a board member needs at this moment in time and then roll the rest of the information out between and during succeeding board meetings.

This may seem like a tall order but remember that the process of onboarding can begin while the board member is still a board candidate.  For instance:

• You can help with inspiration by visiting programs.

• You can share valuable information, like your strategic plan, if you have one, or at minimum discuss the key strategic issues facing the organization.

• You foster integration by including multiple members of the board in meeting candidates, making intentional connections to board members who are exceptionally good ambassadors.

As you think about each area you hope to cover through the nomination and onboarding processes, here are some activities to consider (remembering not to over index on information!)

INFORMATION

Ways to help new board members get the lay of the land—without burying them beneath it.

• Share the basics: bylaws, IRS letter, board meeting calendar, org chart, and a clear picture of your committee structure.

• Give them the big documents but do it thoughtfully. Think: last audited financials, Form 990, and your strategic plan – or a short brief, if it’s the size of a phone book. (Remember those?).

• Provide role descriptions – not just for board members, but for officers too.

• Highlight key policies (conflict of interest, DEI commitments, fundraising expectations) in plain English.

• Offer an orientation session that covers fiduciary duties (duty of care, loyalty, obedience) but keep it grounded in real-life examples of how they play out on your board.

• Make space for a one-on-one with the board chair or someone from governance to talk through what being a “good board member” really looks like for your organization.

• Share a glossary of acronyms or commonly used program terms—because nobody wants to feel like they need a decoder ring to get through a board meeting.

INSPIRATION

Reminding people why they said yes to board service and helping keep the pilot light burning that ignites passion.

• Have your executive director tell the origin story – why your organization exists, what’s at stake, and why your work is critical at this moment in time.

• Share your long-term vision and their role in making it real – how are board members helping most in the current environment.

• Build in mission moments at every board meeting – stories from the community, voices from the frontline, or connections between current events and your mission.

• Invite new members to visit a program (not just an annual report)

INTEGRATION

Making new board members feel like they belong and know where to jump in to help right away.

• Set up a welcome call or coffee with the board chair or executive director. No agenda – just connection.

• Pair them with a board buddy – someone who can translate board culture and offer a friendly face at meetings.

• Host a small welcome lunch or social for new members and a few veterans (no handouts or presentation decks allowed.)

• Make space for new folks to introduce themselves at their first meeting – who they are and what drew them to your organization (two minutes – no need for full résumés).

• Invite them to join a committee early based on what lights them up, not what needs warm bodies.

• If you have a few new members, consider a group onboarding session. It works during freshman year at school; it will work during the freshman year of board service.

• Toss in a dash of low stakes get to know you questions or prompts at meetings. Even if it feels a little cheesy, the payoff in connection is worth it.

What a board member needs to understand about the organization and their role as well as their ability to meet their fiduciary, strategic, and generative obligations is key to a board member’s success.

Onboarding doesn’t have to mean silent yawns and forced smiles. Done well, it sparks engagement, clarity, and connection. If you want to reimagine your onboarding experience, let’s talk. You can email me at gary@garybagley.com or DM me on LinkedIn.