Role of the Chief Executive and Faithful Presence

One the most important roles of the Board of Directors is the selection of a Chief Executive, according to BoardSource. It is the Chief Executive that acts in the intersection between governance and the organization.

The Chief Executive acts on behalf of the board to ensure that the organization is effectively engaged in making the mission come alive within the parameters established by the board. The chief executive leads the day-to-day process of creating a mission-directed culture that engages staff, volunteers, supporters, and the community. The Chief Executive leads the day-to-day process of promoting a performance-based culture that builds organizational health and sustainability.

The Chief Executive acts on behalf of the organization to ensure that the board of directors is engaged in effectively governing the organization.  The board looks to the Chief Executive to demonstrate day-to-day compliance with the shared  mission and organizational expectations.

This governance intersection can be a very difficult and complex place.  It is this place from which the Chief Executive must constantly  focus on building the governance partnership.  If this relationship is based on a shared mission,  if there is a common commitment to mutuality and the building of trust, and if there is an effective pattern of communication, the governance partnership will grow! If, on the other hand,  this relationship is characterized by mission drift or confusion, lack of trust and transparency, and a poor pattern of communication, the governance partnership will fall apart and the organization will drift into mediocrity or irrelevance. Worse case scenarios include organizational crises that may involve the dismissal of the Chief Executive. There are numerous examples described in the media where this has happened.

In a book entitled To Change the World, James Hunter describes a way of looking at cultural engagement that might help Chief Executives as they negotiate this difficult governance intersection while  nurturing the governance partnership. Instead of trying to change or fix  governance and/or the organization during times of difficulty, Chief Executives might  practice what Hunter calls  Faithful Presence. Faithful presence is not about change.  Instead, it emphasizes cooperation between individuals and institutions to serve the common good. It is this cooperation that is central to the idea of governance partnership.

Perhaps the best the Chief Executive can do in the governance intersection is practice Faithful Presence.