The heart of not-for-profit board selection

To recruit a not-for-profit (NFP) board that is neatly balanced by gender, age, experience and specific skill sets, Windsor Recruitment start where all professional recruiters do, by looking into the candidate’s depth of experience, industry knowledge, achievements and alignments.

However interviewing candidates in a way that seeks to tick boxes is hardly enough when it comes to board members as they are ultimately responsible for governance in the NFP sector.

At NFP organisations where faith, hope and charity are very real currency, boards are driven by emotion as well as reason. Research done by the Australian Institute of Company Directors suggests that 60 per cent of directors at NFP organisations contribute because of a passion for that organisation and/or its mission and purpose. However CEO of Windsor Recruitment Dylys Bertelsen suggests the percentage of emotionally-motivated NFP directors is significantly higher.

“Board candidates reveal a lot in interviews that they won’t necessarily contribute to a formal survey,” Bertelsen says. “Most – perhaps nine out of ten – who are applying for a non-executive directorship, mention some level of emotional involvement with that specific cause. So it stands to reason that we need to measure the emotional factors that rule the candidate just as judiciously as their qualifications and industry experience.

Undertake an emotional examination

Windsor Recruitment uses a model of operation that goes deep into the candidate’s persona by examining soft skills, character, personality, values and philosophic traits.

This process is designed to measure intricate qualities like social intelligence, emotional maturity, curiosity, vision, compassion, capacity for self reflection and ability to sometimes stand in another person’s shoes.

“The aim is to be very sure about the emotional and spiritual drivers that make that person how he or she is,” says Bertelsen.

“We explore the candidate’s sense of social justice, spiritual ties, response to personal and organisational change, openness to new ideas and family ties. We discuss what moves them, deters them, inspires them or makes them angry.

“We draw them on pressures and tension, time management, passions, goals and personal dreams. And as we do we are putting together a unique jigsaw portrait of that individual’s landscape and function, psychological safety and personality. Then we test their chemistry with the culture of the NFP in question.”

Test the candidate’s compatibility with the NFP Board

An emotional examination enables you to predict how someone will perform, react and produce within the particular NFP board.

Bertelsen says most individuals who apply for a directorship are already proven leaders, but having a board that consists only of one type of leader is a self-destructive situation.

“Boards need people of different types – individuals who each bring a unique edge to a harmonious, balanced and horizontal team formation,” she says.

Recruiting non-executive board members for NFP organisations is not for the amateur or the faint hearted. Given the large amount of time involved in advertising, interviewing, psychological assessment, fact checking, selection and contracting, recruitment experts can be very helpful in assisting with the process of finding a compatible board member.