The industry that I have chosen is a non-profit edible schoolyard board. This
industry serves my local area, and they consult schools that want to start a
gardening program. Their location also has a garden and kitchen that provides
community plant sales, gardening, and kitchen education to children and
adults. While this program has a community outreach perspective, there are
differing views on how to serve the community. Some board members desire
to reach the lower socioeconomic groups, while others want to serve the upper
class.
Side conversations can negatively affect the board if some of the board
members feel like they do not have a say-so or voice to speak up because of
strong beliefs on either side. This board can have strong pulls to a biased
perspective on what can serve the community best. If an individual decides to
share their thoughts with specific board members, it might cause an anchoring
effect, where the first person to address the topic may sway the opinion of
others (Gardner & Peterson, 2019, p.3)). This can hinder their ability to hear
perspectives clearly, understand all the facts from each member, and make
good decisions. If side conversations are a norm, new board members might
be left out of the trusted circles of decision-makers (Gardner & Peterson,
2019, p. 4)
Side conversations can positively affect the edible schoolyard board by
making sure that everyone is up to speed at each board meeting (Gardner &
Peterson, 2019, p. 7). Additionally, the side conversation can help directors
save time by providing information to the directors that will help them see
areas that still need discussion during a meeting (Gardner & Peterson, 2019, p.
8).
According to Price (2019), "serving on a nonprofit board also requires
having a sense of stewardship. Nonprofit board members may choose to
make in-kind donations of their time or talents in lieu of or in addition to
financial giving". Side conversations can impact internal stakeholders
negatively if individual board members feel excluded. b The exclusion might
make those board members less interested in engagements and organizational
commitments to the non-profit board (Gardner & Peterson, 2019, p. 8). The
Non-profit board members are each chosen for their expertise. When it comes
to gardening, having expert guidance on providing services to the community
is essential. The side conversations might exclude input from experts because
they are not included in the group conversations, frustrating internal
stakeholders (Gardner & Peterson, 2019, p. 8). It might seem as if the board
does not know what they are doing. In the case of the edible schoolyard non-
profit, the side conversations can sway the board to serve different audiences.
This can affect the external stakeholders by excluding certain groups or not
providing accessibility to another.
References:
Gardner, H., & Peterson, R. b (2019). Backchannels in the boardroom.
Harvard Business Review, 97(5), 106–113.
Price, N. (2019, March 11). What are the qualities of an effective
nonprofit board of directors? Board Effect. b
https://www.boardeffect.com/blog/what-are-qualities-
effective-nonprofit-board-directors/#:~:text=Well-
composed%20nonprofit%20boards%20generate%20a%20syner
gistic%20energy%20where,way%20toward%20developing%20a
n%20effective%20board%20of%20directors.
