In my 40+ years on nonprofit governance consulting I have seen too many boards whose knowledge of their executive director's behaviors and values can be summed-up in 2 words: No Clue. It's not that boards don't forge relationships with their execs but most often except for board officers, the relationship is principally perfunctory and transactional. And, this is generally not a problem but for the reality that this most often lasts because there are so few opportunities for relational transactions OR more important, performance reviews. Of course this doesn't mean that more would be known or understood but the following piece about scrapping racist bird names if very telling about this reality. And, I should note it is likely a tip of the iceberg situation for many nonprofits that appear anything but racist. You may for instance recall my piece about Margaret Sanger.
But today, this blog is about the "birds". In this Washington Post article, there is the following:
The Audubon Society, the leading bird conservation nonprofit in the US, is still named after a man who enslaved Black people and criticized the emancipation of enslaved people in the Caribbean. In April, the CEO of the Audubon Society, David Yarnold, stepped down after employees came forward with their experiences with racism and sexism.
“Environmental organizations cannot operate with impunity … For too long, boards have looked the other way as executive leaders have ignored or directly perpetuated racism,” said Andrés Jimenez, executive director of nonprofit Green 2.0, in a statement responding to the leadership shakeup. Jimenez’s organization puts out a report each year that has tracked diversity within environmental organizations and foundations since 2017. This year’s report found a slight bump in the average number of people of color and women on staff. It was a show of some progress — but fell far short of a full reckoning with the legacies of racism and discrimination against Black, Indigenous, and other people of color within science and environmentalism.
Sobering; Upsetting? You decide and think about what is true or not about the core values and actions of your CEO. Oh, and let's not forget performance reviews.