When is it okay for a Board to micromanage?

Anna wrote and asked the following:

I'm curious in what situations (or what organizations) is it appropriate for board members to micromanage and be involved in the day-to-day programming of the organization? When is this not appropriate and board members should focus on strategy and long-term planning?

Let me start of my saying this. If a Board directs anyone to do something a certain way, they cannot in all fairness hold that individual accountable for outcomes. In other words, if the Chief Staff Officer’s business plan for the year contains a goal to increase membership by 2%, but the Board (or individual Board or committee members) direct the Chief Staff Officer to do this or that relative to the membership campaign, if the campaign does not achieve the 2% increase, one cannot blame the Chief Staff Officer for that failure.

So, in general terms I am a constant advocate of cautioning the Board to refrain from micro-managing because it compromises their ability to hold the Chief Staff Officer fairly and objectively accountable for results.

But that stated, there are occasions where a Board has a high number of strategic goals, and the organization does not have the resources (financial or human) to achieve them on a timely basis. So let’s say hypothetically that the Chief Staff Officer brings the Board a business plan and budget that helps achieve goals 1 through 5 on their priorities list. But the Board really wants number 6 to take place as well, and as soon as possible. There is no reason why the Board or a committee of the Board couldn’t take on the responsibility to develop that product or service, provided there is an agreement with the Chief Staff Officer on the amount of staff support and budget required to attain that goal. And again, with a clear understanding that those who are taking on that responsibility are accountable for the success or failure of that undertaking, not the Chief Staff Officer.

But in instances other than this, I caution Board members to refrain from directing any staff member. In fact, the Board should be mindful of the fact that it really only directs one person, the Chief Staff Officer. And it does that by consensus – establishing strategic goals and governing policies. Other employees take direction from the Chief Staff Officer, not the Board or individual Board members.

The Board "leads" the staff "do".