Here’s something that a member of The Fundraisingology Lab posted on the members-only Facebook group.. (Trigger warning: This may be painfully familiar to you!)

I finalised everything for our tax appeal yesterday and sent it to my boss for final approval last night. I’ve worked really hard to get everything finalised before I go on leave next week.

I got an instant reply informing me the board would prefer we focus on a completely different project for the appeal.

I have decided to stand my ground and say that it is far too late to be making any changes… but I guess I just need some moral support, and confirmation that I am in my right to say no! I feel so overwhelmed, I’ve just sat at my desk and cried this morning. That horrible feeling when you work so hard on something and then get told, no we want something else!

This excellent fundraiser was asking for affirmation, and maybe a shoulder or two to cry on.

If I was in their position, it would have broken my heart too. And I see this happen often.

Boards (and sometimes other authorities) have been known to micromanage fundraising.

The results are almost uniformly destructive:

Often, board members pursue uninformed and ineffective approaches that “seem right” to them. After all, most of them have little or no education in the surprising and counterintuitive world of fundraising.

But the damage goes beyond that. Micromanaging can cause:

• Staff burnout and high turnover. When asked why they leave jobs, fundraising professionals cite board (or other) micromanagement more than any other single factor.
• Lack of strategic focus. Strategy is hard. And requires knowledge and experience. Untrained authorities almost always focus on tactics at the expense of overall strategy.
• Undermining of trust. Do they micromanage because they don’t trust the staff? Maybe, maybe not, but it sure feels that way to staff! Eroded trust creates lower quality of thought and work!

It’s important to remember that the vast majority of board members (including those who give us trouble) are wonderful people who care about our causes and are giving generously of their time – and usually their money.

That’s why understanding why they do what they do is so important.

No clarity about their role in the organization, and no systems to guide them

They think they’re doing what they’re supposed to be doing.

They are often chosen for boards because they are people who know how to get things done. So they roll up their sleeves and get on with it. You can see how quickly that turns into micromanaging.

What we should do about it: Have clear policies and guidance about board roles and duties. Put it in writing. Tell new members in an orientation session. Make it a topic at regular meetings when necessary. Make sure you give clear guidelines of which duties belong to staff and which belong to the board. This will be an ongoing conversation.

Most have little or no experience with “leading”

Like most people, the bulk of your board members’ real-life experience is “doing.” That’s different from leading.

When people join a board, it’s natural for them to assume they’ll be “doing.” Most of them are good at doing and only rarely lead.

What we should do about it: Part of orienting and training board members is to make very clear the difference between doing and leading. It doesn’t come naturally, so it must be part of the ongoing conversation.

Some have been recruited to perform tasks, not to lead

To make things even more complicated, we sometimes recruit board members in order to do something they are expert at. Like accountants, attorneys, even fundraisers we want to perform pro-bono work. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it’s bound to confuse people. The line between doing the job they’ve been asked to do and micromanaging is thin. Don’t be surprised when it gets crossed!

What we should do about it: Think twice before recruiting board members in order to get pro-bono work. Maybe you can have them serve as a volunteer without being on the board. If there’s no way to get their valuable work without having them on the board, then guidelines and conversations we talked about above are more critical than ever.

Fear

Fear is the killer. It makes all of us – not just boards – make bad decisions. Board members may be afraid that if they don’t micromanage, things won’t get done, or won’t be done right. They can fear the organization will fail. They are often afraid about money, about bad press, about all kinds of things, some of them very unlikely.

They are afraid because they care.

What we should do about it: Open dialog is what you need most. Don’t let fears fester without bringing them out into the open. The fear Board members imagine is always worse than the bad things that might actually happen.

We’ve all heard nightmare accounts of board members who were bad actors, acting on bad faith, sowing conflict for fun – just being mean.  These things are known to happen, but they are very rare. Please assume that micromanaging board members have good intentions. That puts you in better position for solving the problem.

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Related Blog Posts:

• Help! My Board Won’t Listen To Me!
• Things You Wish Your Board Knew about Fundraising
• The Type of Board Member Who Can Transform Your Fundraising (In a Good Way)