This list of mistakes emerged from the inaugural article of the charity lawyer blog and has struck a chord among various Twitter users and bloggers advocating for leading nonprofit organizations. Attorney Jean Takagi reviewed this list and added his own mark by including five mistakes that managers make, drawing lessons from his personal experience.

Here are 15 mistakes made by managers in nonprofit organizations:

1- Not Understanding Fiduciary Duties

When a person assumes the task of overseeing a nonprofit organization, it means accepting the responsibility to act consciously, in good faith, and with loyalty, and also accepting responsibility for failing to achieve the required outcomes.

2- Not Providing Effective Oversight

Oversight is typically exercised through policies and procedures that the nonprofit board ensures are followed. The general governance policies for nonprofit organizations include procedures regarding conflict resolution, executive compensation, reimbursement of travel costs and expenses, and protection for whistleblowers.

3- Disrespecting the Executive Committee or the Chair of the Board or the Founder of the Organization

No party, regardless of what it is, can impose control over a nonprofit organization, as only the executive committee is allowed to assume the duties of the board and act on its behalf if it is difficult to convene a meeting for that purpose. Founders can also play a supervisory role in the organization.

4- Micromanaging

It is within the board's tasks to supervise the progress towards the strategic goal, not to get involved in the day-to-day tasks of the organization. If any board member makes this mistake, it undermines the authority of the executive director, and thus, they should be prepared to let go of those daily tasks.

5- Shying Away from Difficult Questions

It can be uncomfortable to ask hard questions or express disagreement with the views of a senior member of the board, but groupthink will not lead to any significant decisions. On the other hand, the best members are those who calmly express their thoughts.

6- Poor Conflict Management

If conflicts of interest arise within the board, simply disclosing the conflict and obtaining the approval of the honest directors is not enough to resolve it. In such cases, the honest members of the board should consider alternative arrangements that do not escalate this conflict.

7- Lack of Awareness of the Laws Governing Tax Exemptions

Many directors working in business believe their counterparts in the nonprofit sector operate in a less regulated world, but the opposite is true. Tax-exempt organizations enjoy a set of tax benefits and other advantages, and to ensure that these benefits are not misused, governments have imposed additional legal requirements that tax exemptions must follow.

8- Operating with Outdated and Inconsistent Administrative Documents

Some organizations change their goals and the issues they work on but do not make the necessary updates regarding their administrative documents. Conversely, some organizations follow daily procedures that do not match the administrative documents they initially prepared. Therefore, it is important to make some updates regarding their working documents.

9- Raising Disputes Outside the Board Room

All board members must adhere to the wisdom that says, “What happens in the boardroom stays in the boardroom.” Upholding the duty of loyalty, all board members must commit to the confidentiality of what occurs within the board.

10- Failing to Plant the Seed of Diversity in the Board

Typically, the board in its early days consists of friends and advisors of the organization's founders. If this is the case for your board, try to introduce some diversity to build a network of talents, expertise, and backgrounds that may bring a new perspective and added value to the board.

11- Hiring Board Members Without Giving It the Attention It Deserves

We usually choose friends, relatives, and colleagues because we believe they share our vision, support our positions, and make meetings enjoyable, sometimes because we couldn't find anyone else. Whatever the reason for the choice, we must ensure that the new directors will attend meetings, communicate their vision clearly, and govern independently.

12- Failing to Educate and Motivate Board Members

The organization's chair or executive director and all board members can correct this deficiency by putting forth a set of guiding procedures, regularly informing board members about the significant issues facing the organization, and repetition is acceptable when the same mistake continues. Your board should also possess the four analytical traits: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

13- Failing to Document Actions Appropriately

Some of us prepare minutes that document everything said in meetings, while others prepare minutes that document actions without mentioning any advice or counsel. The correct approach is to combine documenting what was said and what was done.

14- Not Reviewing the Program's Effectiveness and Efficiency and Taking Appropriate Actions

Some board members merely take the executive directors at their word that everything is fine, but they do not have adequate mechanisms to verify whether the executive directors are completing their tasks effectively.

15- Not Holding Executive Directors (and Non-Participating Managers) Accountable

Younger leaders make some mistakes due to their lack of experience, and some boards do not know how to deal with these mistakes. Should the executive director be dismissed just because work was not completed, even if the director was not directly to blame?

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Website: Charity Lawyer

Author: Elysia Carter