How Do You Stop the Nonprofit Board Blame Game? (Hardy Smith)

This episode is brought to you by our friends at Armstrong McGuire & Associates. Check them out for your next career opportunity OR for help finding an interim executive or your next leader.

Are you frustrated with your board's lack of engagement or feeling like they aren’t meeting expectations? Could the real issue be deeper than just pointing fingers? In episode 283 of Your Path to Nonprofit Leadership, board expert Hardy Smith explores the critical importance of building intentional relationships between nonprofit executives and their board members. Drawing from his brand new course Stop the Nonprofit Board Blame Game, he explains that board dysfunction is a symptom of deeper issues stemming from unclear expectations, poor communication, and lack of proper orientation. Hardy provides practical solutions for fostering healthier board-staff dynamics, including how nonprofit leaders can model the behavior they want to see and be more intentional in every step of the board engagement process.

"Frustration with disengaged boards is just a symptom—real progress starts with intentional relationships and clear expectations."

ABOUT HARDY

Hardy Smith is author of Stop the Nonprofit Board Blame Game. As a consultant and speaker, he works with organizations who want to benefit from a fully engaged board. Through board retreats, workshops, keynotes, and planning sessions Hardy provides solutions to board engagement challenges. Hardy’s results-oriented approach was developed during a longtime career in the high-performance world of NASCAR racing. He has had wide-ranging personal and professional involvement with nonprofits, associations, chambers of commerce, and community groups nationwide. He is a member of the National Speakers Association, ASAE, Association of Fundraising Professionals, BoardSource, Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives, and Florida Society of Association Executives. He is a faculty member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Institute for Organization Management.

EPISODE TOPICS & RESOURCES

• Ready for your next leadership opportunity? Visit our partners at Armstrong McGuire
• Creativity, Inc by Ed Catmull
• Have you gotten Patton’s book Your Path to Nonprofit Leadership: Seven Keys to Advancing Your Career in the Philanthropic Sector – Now available on Audible
• Don’t miss our weekly Thursday Leadership Lens for the latest on nonprofit leadership

Leave us a comment below! We would love to hear from you!