The Importance of Communications
One of the biggest relationship builders is also often taken the most for granted: communications. We all assume we can do it well, and usually don’t take the time to wonder if we can improve our communications efforts. The following are ways communicating with your nonprofit board effectively benefits both your relationships with the board and your organization in as a whole:
Strengthen credibility and trust.
Maintaining great communications with your board allows them to trust you and feel like you are not hiding important information from them. Keep them in the know as frequently as possible, leaving no questions unanswered.
Always remember quality over quantity.
While it is good to keep everyone in the loop, you do have to find a balance of what is and is not necessary in meetings. If the board feels as though you are simply communicating with them for the sole reason of checking communications off of a to-do list, then frustrations may begin to boil to the brim as efficiency and expectations from meetings might not be met.
Silence is a form of communication.
Don’t ignore the silence, but instead learn to understand what it means within your board. Does any silence concerning certain topics, events, strategies, etc. have a positive, unified tone, or is it a negative, disagreeing tone? Don’t be afraid to confront the silence and ask your board members what their specific thoughts about a matter are individually.
There’s value to personal conversations.
In our world of technology, it can be easy to send emails, e-newsletters, memos and calendar invites online, but at what cost? Spending time with your board in person, even if just to share what could have been said in an email will help both of you get to know each other better, understand tone and opinions more while also creating personal connections.
Don’t let your communications with your board slip through the cracks. Start taking these steps to improving the relationships with your board members, even if they are already good!
And if you do ever need online communications help via emails, newsletters, etc., let us know!
We’d be happy to help strengthen your branding, communications and strategy, and help your brand further its mission!