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How do I improve or change the culture of the board? Should conduct re-orientation be a strategy?

I take it this should be the Board Chairperson responsible. The Chair oversees the meetings and is accountable for the ongoings of the Board. Consider Boards where the CEO is not a participant; the Chair would be in charge. That said, the members of the Board, too, have a role to play in ensuring they, too, do their part to ascertain the culture developed is in tandem with the organisation, its mission and goals.

Your position Kophyo is agreeable. The Board's culture should be informal but professional in that it fosters respect across the board. That way people do not feel abused or used and are more likely to commit to service in such an environment.

Maria Jose, I initially had the same opinion in that the CEO and Board President should take lead in developing the Board culture. This however applies only where the CEO is a part of the Board. Even then, being an Ex-Officio I think may make it a bit of a challenge for them to carry that level of influence in a healthy Board.. Levelling the role to the Board President/Chairperson.

Mapesa, the CEO is not in charge of Board meetings s/he is an ex-official (hold no voting power on the Board). If they happen to chair the Board then it would be wrong as the Board is meant to oversight the CEO and they cannot chair their own oversight body.

I could not agree more, Kpersaud. The Boar President carries the real responsibility on this matter as they are meant to steer the Board, guide and offer leadership.

I think it's the responsibility of both the CEO and the Board Chair.

Both the CEO and the Board Chair.

I would say that all board members are responsible for building a good culture.

I agree that the responsibility on maintaining a healthy board culture is with the board president and the CEO. While the board president is responsible for calling for meetings, chairing meetings, etc. unless it is a working board, it is the CEO that knows what is happening organizationally day-to-day, and needs to engage and keep the board engaged. Even if the CEO is a Ex-Officio member of the board, they play a major role in managing board relationships. At the same time, board members themselves need to take initiative. Each individual makes the culture what it is.

The board president has the responsibility for creating a healthy culture among its members.

The board president and the CEO are very key to building a good culture for the Organization. While the board president takes a lead role, the CEO must create a supportive environment.

The board president and the CEO are very key to building a good culture for the Organization. While the board president takes a lead role, the CEO must create a supportive environment.

Everyone in an organization has a responsibility toward building a great org culture. The BOD culture is also quite important and the President and CEO carry that burden I think.

I believe it's the responsibility of both Board Chair and CEO working together.

In my opinion, the task of building a Board Culture is a responsibility of both the Board president and CEO, but not all decisions should be on CEO´shoulders. There must be a joint strategy where together could build a culture that benefits not only the Board but the organization as a whole.

I believe it's the responsibility of both Board Chair and CEO working together.

I believe the board culture is the responsibility of the board president and secondarily to the board members to constantly evaluate and refine and make sure all are participating in sustaining the healthy culture once it is established. The CEO is involved and certainly can/should provide meaningful context but they are not a board member.

It's a collective responsibility and must be shared with high sense of transparency

I think creating a healthy board structure first begins with the Chairperson, then the other board members. As the leader goes, so does everyone else.

Also, to create a culture of accountability, the board members need to be held responsible for any tasks on the "to do list" that have not been done. There is no point in coming to meetings over and over again, to discuss the same things. Boards need to be progressive in nature.

Healthy boards must also develop a culture of being "brutaly honest", meaning openess to speak out about uncomfortable issues even in their personal lives that may affect the outlook of the board.

A culture of friendship is also critical - all board members are comfortable with each other, even when it comes to praise or rebuke. Board members are comfortable to help one another and give opinions freely.

I believe usually it would be the board chairman who is in charge of the meeting not the CEO.

I suggest that it is the responsibility of the board itself to establish board culture. This may be challenging in the beginning, but if the issue of culture is discussed, key components agreed on and established both in practice and in writing, then it becomes easier for incoming board members to work in that established culture. For the incoming board members this should form part of their onboarding pack but most importantly, it should be practiced by the older board members. The CEO is not necessarily in control of the board except in the beginning if that CEO is also the founder.

A healthy board culture promotes effective governance, enhances the organization's credibility, and ultimately contributes to achieving its mission. Regularly assess and nurture your board culture to ensure it remains positive and conducive to nonprofit success.

I think that the CEO who is the vision carrier of the organization should hand down the vision of the culture, and also engage the board members in deliberating on the values and beliefs identified.

I support you

The entire Board

It is the Chair's accountability to set the tone for board culture, although dependant on the context, this may be co-created transparently and consciously with other directors and the CEO. The CEO is likely to be responsible for ensuring the mechanisms of culture are effectively implemented for the benefit of the board and the entire organisation.

I agree with this completely!

Building a board culture should be something that the board does together. Although it should be facilitated by the CEO and board president it should be mutually agreed upon. When people work towards a common goal everyone would feel as if they are responsible and have ownershiop and will have vested interest in the process.

I think the Board President, CEO and other employees in the organization are all responsible for building a professional culture at the organization. This can be come if culture is to be build on trust and team work among the board members.

I am Itoro Udo, I am from Nigeria, and I work as a corporate social responsibility project manager in a leading financial service organisation.