November 5, 2026 | By David M. Wagner
There are many reasons that nonprofit boards stop being effective (or never start in the first place): lack of mission clarity, poor understanding of their role serving the organization, turnover, and so on.
There is one factor, though, that I don’t think is talked about enough.
Many nonprofit boards that suffer from poor engagement, inconsistent governance, or ineffective support do so because they never came together as a team.
Effective boards, on the other hand, operate like other high-functioning teams.
Moreover, when there is good teamwork on a board that has struggled with its engagement, governance, or operations, that team mindset is often essential to overcoming those challenges and improving the group’s effectiveness.
It’s time to start treating nonprofit boards like teams, instead of just an assortment of people you pray will help with fundraising.
Here are some examples of what that looks like in practice.
Shared Objectives, Distinct Roles
One mistake I’ve seen nonprofits make is to treat all board members as interchangeable.
As an example: asking every board member to research potential donors, initiate contact, build the relationship, identify aligned opportunities, make an ask, send thank-yous, and be responsible for nurturing the relationship…is asking a lot.
Besides blurring the boundaries of operations vs. governance, this approach sets the expectation that every board member be skilled at every one of those steps.
Treating your board members as individuals with unique perspectives, assets, and roles is more likely to get them engaged – and to achieve better results.
Revisiting the fundraising example, consider putting board members with research skills on prospecting duty; asking well-connected members to initiate contact and make introductions; and putting members with fundraising or marketing savvy to task advising on aligned funding opportunities and asks.
The same applies more generally: you likely already prioritize recruiting board members who bring diverse perspectives and skills to the table. Why not ask them to employ those viewpoints and abilities in distinct roles – by serving on aligned committees, taking on specific, relevant tasks, and filling appropriate board positions?
That’s how any other team would operate – not as interchangeable parts, but as unique individuals bringing their different assets together in service to your mission.
Collective Effort
Another sign of a board that is struggling to function well is when progress is made by through the extraordinary efforts of several (or, more commonly, just a few) individuals.
Is anyone else having flashbacks to the dreaded “group project” in school?
Besides being an inequitable distribution of the workload, dumping board tasks on a few individuals (or allowing them to always take up the work) also means that the rest of your board is abdicating responsibility for their duties. The un-tasked members have less reason to feel any ownership of the organization’s mission.
Knowledge isn’t shared or developed uniformly. Efforts and decisions become harder to coordinate.
Sure, some tasks lend themselves well to one person working in depth, by themselves (you probably don’t need a committee to prepare a financial report for the board’s review).
But even if some of the work is done separately by individuals, look for opportunities to get others involved in sequential steps or even just by reviewing and offering comments on work products.
For your board to function effectively, it helps if it resembles a team working together on tasks, rather than a group of individuals who have taken on different projects independently.
Safe Spaces for Tough Conversations
This may be one of the most often overlooked requirements for a high-functioning board: the ability to wrestle with conflict productively and respectfully.
On boards that are in trouble, one or more of the following may be true:
A minority of members (or maybe just one) often dictates decisions by quickly aligning around one idea or option before alternatives or other opinions are heard.
Opinions that dissent from the majority are not given equal airtime or treated as problems to be solved – e.g., consensus may be prioritized to the point where dissenters are pressured to go along with the majority view.
Members withhold their opinions from group discussions, preferring to share them privately – or not at all.
Behaviors that violate board norms or organizational values are silently tolerated, rather than openly addressed.
These are signs that your board is not a (psychologically) safe space for tough conversations.
In contrast, effective teams embrace conflict as an opportunity to hone ideas and build commitment, proactively seek out dissenting opinions, and openly hold each other accountable for airing concerns, adhering to team agreements, and following through on commitments.
Your mission deserves a high-functioning board. While it’s important to address issues of low engagement, inconsistent support and governance, and ineffective operations, addressing those symptoms individually may not improve things long-term. Instead, consider focusing on building a sense of teamwork among your board members. Together, they can tackle issues – and serve your organization – effectively.
If your board hasn’t gelled as a team yet and you’re not sure how to make that happen, set a free strategic clarity session with me to explore some possible quick wins and team building strategies.