How can a trustee be really effective?

I have always struggled to work out how to harness and use the talents of all the members of a board of trustees. It’s particularly a problem if all the trustees wait to be asked about what they can do to help. It's also hard for a trustee to know what it is they should do. So this blog looks at how a trustee can take the initiative to be of the greatest use to the board and the organisation.

Respond and engage in good time.

Nothing takes up a Chair’s time like having to follow up on an email to trustees, whether it's about feedback on a document, confirmation on availability, or opinions on a particular issue. Rule number 1 for a trustee is to be, and stay, engaged!

Offer help to your Chair and CEO

It’s the simplest way to be helpful. Ask! Ask the Chair and CEO if there is anything they would like you to do. Any projects or tasks that a trustee could take off their plate. It might be a specific offer, and it might be a general offer, but both are worth making.

Keep your eyes wide open.

Trustees will often see and hear things that a Chair or CEO doesn’t. This might be because they go places, or meet people, or see the world through different lenses. Trustees should provide feedback on their observations on how they see the world: ‘The CEO needs more help’, ‘that trustee is struggling’, ‘nothing seems to be happening on’ and so on.

Offer your expertise

Many trustees are recruited for their expertise and then left wondering exactly how the organisation plans to use their skills. The answer is simple: don’t wait – offer your help.

Focus on a particular area of the organisation’s work.

Trustees can rarely keep abreast of everything an organisation does, let alone make a useful contribution to everything. One way round this is to pick an area or two and make it your business to know those areas inside out. So if the issues come up at a board, the Chair or CEO know you are the person to talk to. The logical thing would be to make this area linked to your skill.

Listen to your beneficiaries and clients.

Most chairs and CEOs are pretty busy, and knowing what is happening at the front line isn’t always easy. Having trustees who know what is going on with front-line staff, or in projects, or with clients/beneficiaries, or those with lived experience, can be really useful.

Speak truth to power (of your chair and CEO)

Somebody needs to tell your Chair and CEO how things really are. Sometimes this will be each other, but it never hurts for a trustee to have a quiet word (initially at least) with a Chair to tell them where they think they are going wrong (or right).

Look at the horizon and the competition.

The world is changing fast. AI is transforming the world of commerce and government. Political turmoil is only making life harder. A trustee who is abreast of things that are happening in the wider world, or the charity world, is hugely useful.

Next time, we’ll look at what a Chair and CEO can do to make each trustee as useful as possible.