The easiest trap for a board to fall into is the one of making too many decisions. Because many pregnancy care ministries start small, the early board may decide everything from the size of the yellow page ad to where to purchase pregnancy tests.

The problems develop as the ministry grows, when board meetings can stretch for lengthy periods with discussions on subjects such as where to hold a banquet, what to do about an ailing copier and how much to spend on radio ads. When this happens, the executive director becomes frustrated ("Can't they trust me with key deci­sions?") and many board members get burned out ("Why are we not dealing with bigger issues?").

There are two possible reasons why boards slide into making too many decisions: A) The board has inadvertently become "micromanagement" over the executive director and needs to step back and give its executive director more responsibility and authority, or B) The executive director is not sure of his or her own ability to make management decisions—and the board needs to head this off by gently nudging the director toward more decision-making.

How to cut down on decisions—and cut the time of board meetings!
Let's look at the three decisions listed above. First, the banquet site. Why can't the executive director decide on the site (and most other details) and inform the board? Must this be a group decision? If we trust our executive director to lead the ministry, doesn't it follow that this person can find a banquet site (or assign someone to do so)?

Our ailing copier falls within the capital budget and if the funds are not available to fix or replace that copier, the budget may have to be amended. However, this proposal can come from the executive director ("The copier is bro­ken; I checked into several options and here they are. I propose the board amend the budget to approve $X to pur­chase copier A. I've provided the specifications on the attached page.").

Because options are already on the table, it is a far different situation than coming to a meeting and hearing, "The copier broke. I think we might need a new one." By encouraging the executive director to bring proposals to the ta­ble, your key employee is empowered and the board is relieved of duties never intended for this group. In this cop­ier scenario, the board may have to make a decision to amend the budget—but not five or ten regarding makes and models.

The radio advertising budget is part of the overall advertising budget. Once the board approves the overall budget (with a line item for advertising), the executive director is responsible for how those advertising dollars are spent. The board monitors and may ask questions, but is not stuck with administering every dollar. Instead, the executive director may report once a quarter or twice a year on advertising—but again, the board is not hampered by deciding whether radio station A or B is the best choice for the center.

Three ways to cut down on "extra" decisions:

1. Before putting any decision on the agenda, the board chair can ask: "Is this decision for the board to make? Or can this be an executive staff decision?"
2. Encourage the executive director to bring solutions in the form of proposals.
3. Keep in mind that once a budget is in place, the board can let go and look to larger issues while the executive director administers those dollars in keeping with the board's parameters. The board monitors, but is no longer forced to manage each line item in the budget.

Reprinted by permission from Boards of Excellence, a LifeTrends publication. If you'd like to know more about the resources provided by LifeTrends that can be used to encourage your volunteers, educate your Board and reach your supporters, contact Kirk Walden at kirk.walden@comcast.net.