Last week I attended a cooking workshop hosted by the Eureko Achmea Academy in the Netherlands. 23 businesswomen were given the opportunity to network, to cook together, to eat together and to get to know each other better. There were many interesting people at the event from all sorts of organisations, profit and non-profit.
One of my dinner conversations was with the managing director of a Dutch NGO, which operates globally. It’s my opinion that board members, volunteers or not, should be given annual targets that they should meet. If the board members are unable to meet their targets, then they should be asked to leave the organisation. If they are not adding value, there is no value for the NGO.
If there are definite targets to be met, perhaps prospective board members will think twice before accepting a board position and consider how they can add value and truly help an organisation before accepting the role. Non-executive board positions are often honorary but the strategy of an organisation also needs to be honoured.
The lady I was chatting to, had never considered the concept of target setting for board members, however she thought it was a great idea. What do you think? Do you think it’s fair to set targets for non-executive, voluntary board members of non profit organisations (NGOs).
HELEN MARTIN BLOG 