By Stephanie Rogen
Of late, I’ve been thinking a lot about what a trustee is NOT. I like to affirm and encourage strengths, so this feels like an odd orientation. But I realize by defining what a trustee is NOT, I can more easily convey what a trustee IS – and perhaps help boards and individual trustees avoid serious dysfunction and realize their full potential. I’m keeping this short and sweet, and welcome comments, insights, and questions that expand my understanding and challenge me in this conversation!
Trustees are NOT Volunteers: Yes, you are unpaid. Yes, you likely engage with the passion and dedication for the mission that a volunteer offers. But, you are no longer a volunteer in the way you may have been as a parent association officer, an event chair, or a committee participant.
Trustees ARE Unpaid Professional Talent: While you may offer yourself as a volunteer in particular contexts, in the boardroom you are an unpaid governance professional with professional expertise and professional responsibility for the institution.
Trustees are NOT Representatives or Delegates: Whether you are publicly elected, or nominated within a private school or not for profit board process, once you accept the role you immediately take on enterprise-wide responsibility. You are NOT a representative for a certain population or stakeholder group (like an elected congressman), nor are you on the Board to defend or protect particular interests.
Trustees ARE Guardians of the Enterprise, its Mission, and its Core Values: Trustees defend the institution’s interests, holding in the balance both the economic and social welfare of the organization and its members. Trustees play a long game and consider the needs of future generations as they deliver on relevance and value in the present. This can be lonely work, especially if you serve as a trustee or board member within a tight community where you enjoy strong personal and social connections.
Trustees are NOT Investigators: It can be very tempting to pursue deeper research into a reported problem, a troubling anecdote, or a concern voiced to you by an employee or community member. This is NOT your job. Report the issue to your leader and to your board leadership – but save the fact finding for a more intentional, board/leadership driven process. Anything else puts you at risk for violating your duty of care, your duty of loyalty, and your role as “Guardian of the Enterprise.”
Trustees ARE Pattern Detectors and Dilemma Mediators: When concerns arise about organizational performance, culture, or talent, trustees can ask good questions. Are we seeing a pattern? What do we know, and what do we NOT know? How can we work with leadership to understand and resolve a problem, if it exists? How do we message and support predictability, consistency, and responsibility within our community? And how do we help our leaders reconcile tensions and address dilemmas where we must tolerate losses and trade-offs together? This is the work of the Board.
What did I miss? What else would you offer as a “NOT” for defining the role of a trustee?