Nonprofit Insubordination

I recently became aware of a situation that has me wondering what exactly is insubordination and what are reasonable consequences.

As I understand the situation, the management team had great concern about the economic viability of the nonprofit.  They did not believe that either the exec nor the board understood the gravity of the situation.  They believed that if the exec and board understood the situation, action could be taken and a full-out crisis could be averted.  The team went to the exec and expressed their concerns.  The exec accepted their arguments and took the position that more time was needed before alerting the board.  It's too soon to know what will happen next but this is where my questions begin.

The exec hinted that if the team went to the board after saying to wait on the news, the team's action would be considered insubordination and all would be at risk of being fired.  And, it does seem correct that the team's going to the board after the exec says to wait, would indeed be insubordination.  But is there a "greater good" issue and the team should just take the risk of firing with the possibility that the board would recognize that the team did the "right" thing? 

What is and who are exactly "right" in this situation?  Any thoughts? 

Comments

[Laura Deaton]

My thought: Definitely not insubordination. The staff and board of the nonprofit organization are there to serve the mission, not the staff leader. Although there is always going to be a reporting structure in place, the fact that the Board members bear the fiduciary responsibility for the organization and its mission means that they needed to be informed. In a functional nonprofit where the board and staff leadership team have a real shared governance model, this wouldn't be an issue. The ED/CEO would have already created non-threatening open dialogue between staff management/leadership and the Board and a commitment to transparent communications. Best approach would be for the staff team to tell the ED that they were so concerned that they simply could not agree to wait to share the news, and ask ED to join them for the meeting so that the ED had the same opportunity to share a different perspective, and let the ED decide how to handle his/her own participation.

[Margaret]

I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.

Margaret

http://grantfoundation.net

[Margaret]

I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.

Margaret

http://grantfoundation.net

[Michael Nyleo]

This is a really useful post. I’ve found them very useful. Now I can use it like a college boardhelp ;). Thanks

[Mike Burns]

Michael, thanks for your comment and thanks for reading my blog. Do feel free to share with others and offer your insights to future content.