Crucial to organizational success is excellence in board governance, and that applies to both for-profit and non-profit organizations. But what does board directorship entail? What separates a great board from others? And how can we build an effective board of directors capable of scrupulous risk oversight and visionary leadership?
On 18 January 2024, The Women’s Foundation engaged Foundation for Shared Impact (FSI) to conduct the “The Women’s Foundation’s Boardroom Series for Women Leaders” session, the first workshop of the series, to share with an audience of female leaders the basics of NGO board governance and the ways to build and lead a great board.
Be the Leader NGOs Need
“At FSI, we are working to get more knowledgeable leaders to join non-profit boards,” said David. “We do this by helping them build leadership capacity and skills through training and experiential leadership experiences. We also extend our rich library of resources on the different aspects of board governance to help them lead their organization more effectively and strategically.”
Additionally, through our Shared Data Project, we bolster the social impact space by leveraging data and technology to enhance transparency and accountability; enable broader, equitable access to information and resources; and improve program effectiveness through impact measurement and reporting. For example, our Charity Database is the first centralized portal to provide detailed information on all charities registered in Hong Kong, so that volunteers, funders, and members of the public can learn more about the organizations, such as how donation is spent, who sit on their board, the UN SDGs they work to achieve etc. Our Funding Opportunities Database, meanwhile, ensures social impact organizations can access information of all the available funding applications in order to plan their fundraising strategy.
“We do this because we want to ensure that leaders of social impact organizations can focus on high-level matters such as overseeing organizational strategy, improving program effectiveness, and developing their employees,” continued David. “And there are thousands of NGOs in Hong Kong that are in need of expertise and knowledge from leaders like you. I’m not asking you to quit your job to join a non-profit board; I’m asking you to consider this as a ‘strategic side gig’ for yourself and your peers and juniors.”
Building Effective Leaders and Great Boards
The first thing to do when joining a board is to listen and learn – learn about the people, then the organization, and the sector. Based on that knowledge, you will then know how to support and mentor the people and be their cheerleader. Having become an active partner, you will be able to lead and take responsibility for the organization’s success and failures. At the highest level, you will actively participate in developing high-level, forward-looking strategy necessary for the current and future success of the organization.
While there are rules, procedures, composition of committees etc. in place with the intention to produce vigilant and involved boards, they don’t necessarily create great boards. Here, David stressed the importance of treating the board as a virtuous cycle of well-functioning teams, an idea proposed by Jeffrey A. Sonnenfeld in his article, What Makes Great Boards Great. “We need to consider not only how we structure the work of a board but also how we manage the social system a board actually is, because what distinguishes exemplary boards is that they are robust, effective social systems.”
Before the conclusion of the workshop, participants gained insights on common NGO risks and engaged in discussions on ethical decision-making, based on real-life case studies.
“At FSI, we are committed to facilitating broad cross-sector collaboration and free sharing of resources, knowledge, and information to drive systems change,” said Vivian Seo, Executive Director of FSI. “We are delighted to see such a huge turnout from The Women’s Foundation at our Board Director Training session today as improving governance in the Hong Kong social impact space is one of our goals.”
Work with FSI to Amplify Your Impact
Whether you are looking to advance your leadership journey or make meaningful contribution to society through mutually beneficial skills-based volunteering opportunities, get in touch with FSI to find out how we can help you amplify your social impact!
Under our Community Connections Program, we offer Board Director Training with a board role introduction component to individuals interested in building effective leadership skills and driving systems change by joining NGO boards. We also enable our corporate partners to achieve their CSR and ESG goals through Impact Jam, which curates bespoke workshops to fit corporate volunteers’ expertise and the community’s needs. Get in touch with us to learn more!
