Why Nonprofit Boards Are Failing Their CEOs And What To Do About It
I know how hard it is to be a nonprofit board member and volunteer. I've been one for almost two decades. Nonprofit board members devote hours of their time, without any financial compensation (in fact, they are often expected to donate). They deserve our appreciation. However, I've watched many talented, mission-driven leaders quietly fail in jobs they should have thrived in—and too many boards watch in confusion, wondering why.
Nonprofit boards spend enormous energy finding the right CEO. They craft the job description, run the process, interview the finalists, carefully deliberate and make what they believe is the best possible hire. And then, too often, they hand that person the keys and walk away.
The result is predictable. A new leader ends up spending their first year trying to figure out what success actually looks like—navigating unspoken expectations and wondering whether the board is pleased or disappointed. They aren't evaluated in any meaningful way, and they don't receive substantive feedback from staff or their board. They can get demoralized and end up burning out which leads to turnover.
We have a board-CEO relationship crisis in the nonprofit sector. And most of it is entirely preventable.
The Onboarding Gap
When we ask most nonprofit boards what onboarding they provided their new CEO, we hear some version of the following: "We introduced them to key stakeholders. We made sure they had what they needed." What we almost never hear is that they developed and executed a structured, intentional plan for the first 90 days, including clear priorities, explicit success metrics and regular check-ins.
The for-profit world has learned, often painfully, that executive onboarding is not a formality. It is a strategic investment. The first 90 days set the tone for everything that follows, including relationships, culture, credibility and momentum. A new CEO who enters without a clear roadmap isn't being set free. They're being set up to flounder.
In a sector where most CEOs are managing complex stakeholder landscapes, constrained resources and high-stakes programming from day one, "figure it out" is not a strategy. It's an abdication.
The Accountability Paradox
Boards are often reluctant to give real-time feedback to their CEO. Maybe they don't want to be seen as micromanaging, or they like the person and don't want to offend them, or the relationship feels fragile and they are nervous to rock the boat. Then something big goes wrong and the feedback arrives all at once—in a moment of crisis and urgency—when it's too late to course-correct gracefully or in an intentional way.
A CEO who receives honest, timely feedback (even when it's hard) can adjust and recalibrate; they can grow into the role. A CEO who is shielded from feedback until the staff, board or partners reach a breaking point is denied the opportunity to improve or the courtesy to know where they stand. They didn't receive the information they needed to succeed.
The boards that do this well treat feedback as a regular practice and not as a crisis response. They build in structured touchpoints—not just annual reviews or one-off conversations—and they create the kind of relational trust where a CEO can say, "I'm struggling with this," and the board can say, "Here's what we're seeing," without either conversation feeling like a threat.
What A High-Functioning Board-CEO Relationship Looks Like
I've had the privilege of watching some exceptional board-CEO partnerships up close. A few things these folks consistently get right are:
1. They define success together, up front. Not vaguely, but very specifically. They agree on what a strong first year looks like. They know which decisions the CEO will own entirely, and which will require board input. They acknowledge what the board needs to know to feel confident, and what the CEO needs from the board to feel supported. These conversations happen proactively when the leader is hired and are part of an ongoing conversation; they are not raised in response to a problem.
2. They communicate proactively and often. Not just at board meetings but in regular check-ins between the leader and their Board Chair. The CEO knows that the board is acting as a thought partner and a group of individuals they can come to with questions and concerns, not just an oversight body that is waiting to evaluate them and catch them making mistakes.
3. They treat the CEO's development as a board responsibility. Great boards invest in their CEO's growth through supports like executive coaching, peer networks and conference participation. They understand that a stronger CEO makes a stronger organization and that development isn't a luxury, it's a lever for transformational change for the leader and their org.
What Boards Can Do Right Now
If you're a board member reading this, here are three things you can do in the next 30 days:
1. Have an honest conversation with your CEO about how they're experiencing the board relationship. Not how you think it's going but how they experience it. You may be surprised by what you hear.
2. Review your onboarding process for future hires. Even if your current CEO is thriving, the moment to build this infrastructure is now—before you need it—and not once you are in an urgent situation where you have limited options.
3. Commit to a regular feedback cadence. Quarterly is the minimum, but more frequent informal check-ins are ideal. Build it into your governance calendar and make it a two-way conversation. Ask your CEO what the board is doing well, and where they can be more supportive, as well as getting updates from them on their progress against goals.
Boards pour tremendous resources into finding great leaders. The return on that investment depends almost entirely on what happens after the offer is signed. That part is on you—and it's where the real work begins.
Christina Greenberg is CEO of Edgility Search where she supports executives and boards with leader transitions, governance and evaluation. Read more on her Forbes Business Council Executive Profile.