Nose in, fingers out

Nonprofit executives hear it all the time: you need to keep your board focused on strategy, not tactics. This oft-repeated advice sounds great in theory, but how do you actually put it into practice? How do you get your board to shift its focus to thinking and acting strategically?

Our guest today is Jeff Yost, President and CEO of Nebraska Community Foundation. Since his appointment in 2003, Jeff has worked with his board to keep organizational strategy sharply in focus.

Over the years, Jeff has learned that the real work of creating and curating a board full of strategic thinkers happens outside of the boardroom. It begins with defining a board culture, recruiting new members to match the culture, providing clear expectations during onboarding, and holding members accountable, especially when they get off track. The single most important factor, says Jeff: taking time to develop relationships with your board members. Everything happens through relationships.

Jeff gives loads of practical tips to the nonprofit executive looking to help his or her board transition away from tactics toward strategy. You’ll want to listen to this one over and over.

To learn more about Jeff or the Nebraska Community Foundation, click here!

Click here to download as an MP3 (right click and choose “save as”).

In this episode, Jeff and Darren discuss:

Making expectations clear from the outset of the board relationship.
What “nose in, fingers out” means for you and your board.
Why incremental change is the only kind that sticks.
The power of peer learning.
If you aren’t focusing on relationships, you’re doing it wrong.
How smart leaders work through teams.
The importance of understanding what you aren’t good at.
His book recommendation: Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…And Others Don’t by Jim Collins.
The single-most important factor in nonprofit leadership: mentors.

Jeff’s Magic Moment challenge!

Other resources from this episode: “A Different Vision of Rural Philanthropy” (Nonprofit Quarterly)

We’re so glad you joined us!

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