Open, strategic recruitment is the answer. Start by asking: what challenges and opportunities lie ahead, and what perspectives are missing from the board? Avoid unrealistic wish lists for a mythical “perfect” trustee. Instead, identify the capabilities that matter most, whether that is financial confidence, fundraising knowledge, safeguarding expertise, local connections, lived experience or the ability to ask critical questions.
It is also important to challenge assumptions about who can be a trustee. A valuable board member may be the person who listens carefully, notices what others miss and helps the group reach consensus. Another may contribute for only a short period but bring the courage needed to change the organisation’s direction. Lived experience should also be valued as expertise.
Inclusion must shape the whole trustee experience
Diversity means inviting people in; inclusion means ensuring they can participate, influence decisions and feel respected once they arrive.
Practical barriers can exclude talented trustees before they have the chance to contribute. Complex board papers, inaccessible meeting formats, inflexible schedules and unclear expectations can all make trusteeship feel intimidating or unmanageable. Removing these barriers by design encourages inclusion.
There are a number of ways to remove barriers, this could include:
- Accessible information sharing: Use easy-to-read papers and concise financial health checks, and share papers well in advance.
- Accessible meetings: Consider online meetings, captions and visual descriptions.
Consider different routes into governance. For example, co-opted trustees for time-limited specialist input and associate trusteeships for people who want to gain experience without immediately taking on legal trustee responsibilities. Ensuring trustees with lived experience as well as service user boards that can feed directly into board discussions. These approaches widen participation while building future trustee confidence.
Focus board time on what matters most
A high-performing board does not try to manage every operational detail. Board time should focus on strategic priorities, emerging risks and the decisions where trustees can add most value. Trustees should be able to disagree and test assumptions, while chairs ensure different voices are heard. A simple way to prioritise is to separate issues into ‘act’, ‘watch’ and ‘note’, helping the board spend its time where it matters most.
Invest in the relationship between trustees and employees
The relationship between the board and chief executive is crucial. Legally, the board is the CEO’s employer, but in practice the relationship is more nuanced. CEOs know about the charity’s day-to-day reality, while trustees are volunteer decision-makers who depend on the CEO for information and board support.
When this relationship works well, there is trust, clarity and mutual respect. The CEO feels supported as well as challenged; trustees understand their role; and both sides can share successes, failures and difficult decisions. The board becomes a source of resilience rather than an additional burden.
Warning signs include trustees taking operational decisions without the CEO, surprise concerns being raised in meetings, unrealistic demands, poor information-sharing or a CEO who avoids challenge and treats the board as a nuisance.
Clear governance arrangements can prevent many conflicts. A scheme of delegation defines which decisions belong to the board and which belong to employees. A trustee code of conduct sets expectations for behaviour. Regular induction, development, trustee appraisal and board reviews help ensure that people understand their responsibilities and remain effective.
Build a board that keeps learning
No board will be perfect. What distinguishes an effective board is its willingness to learn. It reviews its own composition, addresses problems before they become entrenched and makes changes when evidence shows that current ways of working are not serving the charity.
The strongest boards combine strategic discipline with humility. They make space for challenge, welcome different experiences and stay connected to the people and purpose at the heart of the organisation. In doing so, they give their charities something invaluable: governance that is confident, inclusive and ready for change.
