I assumed the position of Executive Director of a national association in an oral healthcare profession. My initiation within this organization occurred amidst a chaotic situation. When I came into the organization, I didn’t understand or appreciate how operations were being managed.
The organization had neglected the importance of having a strong, united board and well-structured governance. The board had hired me in haste, after having let go of my predecessor. There was a staff member threatening to sue the organization for wrongful termination, a founding member organization threatening to leave - who also happened to be the organization’s biggest donor, and another hinting that they would withdraw their support. Instead of assuming leadership in the crisis, the board had leaned heavily on the idea that an experienced Executive Director would resolve the situation.
Not fully understanding the pitfall before me, I took control and made some important progress. I began by cleaning up the organization’s finances and reforming governance structures for better efficiency where possible. But I initiated these changes without taking stock of other potential challenges that might crop-up. One such challenge was the generation of a massive turnover of almost 80% on the board by my second year on the job.
Until then, I hadn’t considered or prepared for succession planning. I had disregarded the importance of communicating culture and values onto new board members. It became overly apparent to me when the turnover occurred that there’s a distinct difference between the perspectives of what paid employees perceive as reality versus those who volunteer as board members.
When the new board members were exposed to how things were being run, some voiced their disagreements, perspectives, and ideas. I had two board members critically analyzing and strongly opposing nearly all my decisions and actions. They resented that I had too much control and didn’t have the perspective as to why the previous board had hired me - largely to conduct a significant organizational turnaround.
Unable to foresee any hiccups with my involvement, I went ahead and fixed the problem as per the expectations of the previous board members. However, this action failed to pacify the board members. With the benefit of time, I can now concede that it left more of a vacuum for others to point out that I held too much power. Inevitably, the friction between the other board members and me increased. A poisonous environment manifested within the organization, acting as fuel for opposition among the board members to express themselves recklessly and in some cases, even attempts to micro-manage my everyday actions and even those of my staff.