April 25, 2007 | Read Time: 1 minute
Volunteers who serve on nonprofit boards are expected to freely express their thoughts about the organization while they hold their seats.
But, in reality, that rarely happens, says Mike Burns, a Connecticut strategic-planning consultant.
Mr. Burns, writing for Nonprofit Board Crisis, says many board members simply don’t feel comfortable criticizing the organizations they serve.
“Even in the best of circumstances, it is not comfortable to tell a chair or head of fund raising they aren’t doing a great job (although through some miracle I have seen it done),” Mr. Burns writes. “Certainly a member can speak to their dissatisfaction with board meetings but even this can sometimes be troublesome.”
As a result, he writes that nonprofit groups should conduct exit interviews for outgoing board members. And organizations should set up the interviews in a manner that encourages candor.
What makes for a successful exit interview? Click on the comments link just below this posting to share your thoughts.
