When I first began my last campus job, I had never led an alumni association board of directors. In actuality, I’d never led, managed, coached, or guided a volunteer board of any kind, or attended a meeting. My background was digital engagement. I was a total newbie on this front.
It quickly became my least favorite part of the job. I had so much anxiety in the run-up to meetings that I downloaded the Headspace app and started meditating. Part of the issue was circumstance. I learned right after starting the job that the incoming president of the board of directors was also my predecessor’s hand-picked successor, and I’d been selected instead of him.
To say we had a rough start working together would be an understatement. Thus, the meditation app. And it wasn’t just because the president hadn’t been selected for my job. My predecessor had been in the role for 41 years, and I was hired to do things differently. A mandate for change met my inexperience and other extenuating dynamics, creating a difficult situation I had to navigate.
But over time, the dynamics began to change. By the end of my tenure at Longwood University, I looked forward to my interactions with the board. Now, as I think back on that starting point and how things ended, I consider the shift I helped orchestrate one of the professional accomplishments I’m most proud of. I worked hard to create a vibrant alumni board experience for these highly engaged volunteers.
I thought I’d share eight strategies I tried while reflecting on those early, dark, frustrating days at the beginning, and how I created a productive, collaborative, and fun environment for the volunteers and the university by the end.
Deliver real wins. The reality is that nothing changed until I delivered clear wins. The biggest was executing a full-scale Alumni Weekend that had always remained out of reach. Once board members got to feel all the feels and sleep in the residence halls after fireworks, I gained momentum and began to earn their trust and respect.
Teach them what kind of board they are. The Longwood University Alumni Association was a separate 501(c)(3), but it had no employees, and the money that was brought in through royalty agreements didn’t cover the cost of their three meetings each year. It’s an example of an interdependent alumni association. I’m certain they didn’t realize the different models and the implications for the power they had and didn’t have. We often discussed our model specifically, and what that meant for how the board should think about supporting the Office of Alumni and Career Services, and not the other way around.
Narrow the mandate. When I first arrived, the board wanted to have a hand in every issue. They loved the school and wanted to make a difference in enrollment, retention, career outcomes, athletics, and philanthropy. We narrowed their impact area and focused on the board being the keepers of the university’s cherished traditions. This also aligned with the primary royalty revenue stream where they could make a difference: the class ring program.
Recruit by engagement, not friendships. When I first arrived in the role, an honest answer to the question, “How do I get to be on the alumni board?” was, “You have to know someone.” The board was selecting people from their friend groups. We built metrics and reporting with engagement scores, and I encouraged the board to first look at the highest scores and then at demographics. This ensured that the board members we invited were engaged in this new era and suite of programs.
Take money off the table — as much as possible. Over time, I deliberately gave the board less information about the overall budget. Instead, I brought in only the results of the class ring program and other royalty payments. I explained that the Office of Alumni and Career Services budget came from multiple sources, and it simply wasn’t part of their purview. They didn’t need to focus on annual budgets when the interdependent model simply didn’t call for it, and moving away from those conversations improved the experience for volunteers and staff.
Grow your future board. I always saw my role in moving the board forward to a better future state as putting “my people” on the board, who, of course, were those who were highly engaged with the initiatives of this new era and liked where the program was headed. I didn’t always get my way, but by the end of my tenure, most board members were aligned with my vision. I wanted to bring allies onto the board without abandoning the metrics-first approach.
Get out of the boardroom. One dynamic that created strong momentum was getting out of the boardroom and taking on different community service tasks. We spent time together at the local food bank and other nonprofits, where we could work together and have fun.
Make it a VIP experience. Building on the community service idea, we layered board meetings onto signature event weekends and hosted board receptions in different spots on campus and around Farmville. I wanted the volunteers to feel like being a board member was a VIP experience and one filled with joy and camaraderie with the other directors.
I’ll admit my focus wasn’t on creating a “working board.” My goal was to create more of a VIP experience for those who loved the school. I wanted the alumni board to feel like a culminating engagement experience for the university’s true “school color bleeders.” Yes, the board was helpful and functioned like an extension of our team in specific areas, but I did not need or want the board to feel pressure to get things done.
I made mistakes along the way, of course, but ultimately, I think back very fondly on many of those board members who made my tenure at Longwood University a positive one.
About Speaking Engagement
I’m beginning to assemble the SE calendar for the spring, and would love to hear from you on a few fronts:
Who are the movers and shakers you’d like to hear from on the Keynote?
Who have you heard present at a conference that would make a great Agora talk?
Are you interested in writing a guest article?
If you’ve got an idea or would like to contribute to SE, please let me know.
About the Next Keynote
On Monday, I’m sharing my interview with Andy Chan. Andy is the VP of Innovation and Career Development at Wake Forest University. We discuss his provocative TEDx talk from thirteen years ago called Career Services Must Die, and how things have evolved in the space. We also talk about experiential learning and what makes for great corporate partnership. A big thanks to Andy for sitting down with me for this convo.