The applicant is well known.
He served on the board. Several trustees trust him. When his name appears in the hiring pool, the compliments begin.
“He would be a wonderful fit.”
“I hope you give him a serious look.”
Nobody says, “Hire him.” The CEO hears the message anyway.
That is the rehearsal Miriam Carver and Bill Charney place before the board in The Board Member’s Playbook. A former board member applies for a staff job, and current members apply subtle pressure while insisting they are merely sharing an opinion.[1]
I think subtle pressure is still pressure when it travels downhill through authority.
A board may delegate staffing to the CEO and then forget how much weight a board member’s words carry. The CEO knows who evaluates her. Staff know who can call a special meeting. An informal suggestion from a trustee is not received like a suggestion from a neighbor.
Policy Governance gives the board a clean test. Has the board delegated hiring within written limits? If yes, the CEO may choose any reasonable means that comply with those policies. Individual board members have no authority to add a preferred candidate to the delegation.
This is not a verdict on the applicant. He may be the strongest person in the pool. The problem is the process.
I would want the board to do more than fall silent.
First, acknowledge the breach. The chair can tell the CEO that the comments did not represent a board instruction and that the hiring decision remains hers. Clear words matter because the earlier words created ambiguity.
Second, protect the process. Any member with a close relationship or personal interest should disclose it and step away from board discussion of the matter. BoardSource recommends education, written procedures, disclosure, and recusal when personal interests may influence a decision.[2]
Third, return to policy. If the board cares about nepotism, conflicts of interest, compensation, background checks, equity, or treatment of applicants, it can state the unacceptable conditions in policy. It should not name the person who must be hired.
Fourth, preserve accountability. A board cannot fairly hold the CEO responsible for staff performance while steering staff selection. The more the board directs inputs, the less honest it is to grade the CEO on outputs.
The same rule applies when the candidate is disliked.
A trustee may know something relevant about a person’s conduct or qualifications. Silence is not required when real information could protect the organization. The board member can disclose verified facts through the process the CEO has established. The CEO then decides how to weigh them. Advocacy, rumor, and pressure are different things.
There is a limit here. Some governing documents reserve the hiring of particular officers to the board. Public bodies may also face statutes that assign appointment powers directly to trustees. In those cases, the board must perform the duty it actually holds. The point is not that boards never hire. The point is that authority should be explicit before influence is exercised.
You can make this easier by adopting a sentence every member understands:
“No individual board member directs, evaluates, or pressures staff decisions delegated to the CEO.”
Then rehearse it. Use a candidate the board loves. Use one it fears. Ask how a member can share facts without smuggling in an order.
The same care protects the former board member. A process distorted by board pressure can stain a legitimate hire. A fair competition, documented against stated qualifications, gives the successful candidate a cleaner beginning and gives rejected candidates a reason to trust the organization’s judgment.
Character shows up in how leaders use power when they could deny they used it.
A board’s restraint may be the fairest reference an applicant receives.
Footnotes
[1] Miriam Carver and Bill Charney, The Board Member’s Playbook (Jossey-Bass, 2004), rehearsal 3.3, pages 32–35.
[2] BoardSource, “Conflict of Interest for Nonprofits,” guidance on disclosure and recusal.
Additional reading
BoardSource’s The Nonprofit Board Answer Book covers board-staff relations, recruitment, and the hard questions that sit between policy and practice.
Peter Greer, David Weekley, and Tiger Dawson’s The Board and the CEO helps both sides protect trust without blurring responsibility.