As we like to say, governance is a team sport. The Governance Committee generally leads the recruiting process. But, everyone should lend a hand in finding, recruiting, orienting, and retaining great trustees.
Full Board
The full board should both approve board expansion goals and actively weigh in on strategic questions around board composition, such as the right size, skills, and demographics for your board. As a team, you should all know the priorities and be actively engaged in seeking new team members.
Committees
The Governance Committee should lead the charge in finding and recruiting trustees. But all committees should play an active role in board recruitment.
If you are moving forward with the technique of building a farm team, by having candidates first serve on a committee before being nominated to the full voting board, then task committees to help find and screen candidates.
For example, a Finance Committee is typically populated with trustees who bring financial acumen. If this is what they do in their day job, chances are they know lots of others with the requisite skills and have a better network to tap in the financial sector than those on the governance committee.
Individual Trustees
Everyone should know the board and committee recruitment priorities and be on the lookout for potential candidates.
CEO
Your organization’s leader should play an active and engaged role in prioritizing the skills, qualities, and demographics needed on the board, as well as assisting in finding, screening and orienting candidates.
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