TROUBLE IN THE SEARCH PROCESS

Many individuals on search/transition committees feel an affinity for a particular candidate in the application review stage – often based on what they have in common – whether it is hometown or the same college or rooting for the same sports team. Having a diverse search committee can balance that tendency.
Another time that an individual search committee member, or the whole committee, can “fall in love” is during and after an interview. I have seen committees want to stop interviewing after they meet someone they believe is perfect.
One time sticks out in my mind. The search was for the Dean of an Ivy League College; the candidate came from another Ivy League College so, there was the feeling of having much in common. The committee was also attracted to the candidate’s responses to questions.
I urged the committee to continue the process and began conducting telephone references. The first name on the candidate’s list was a well-known public figure who served on the Board of the candidate’s college. I had barely introduced myself when the reference said “I owe an allegiance to our field (higher education).” He began telling me all the reasons why this person was not a good candidate for any college or university. To be fair I called other references and while the response was not as strong, it confirmed everything the first reference had said. The committee was relieved that it had not made a hasty decision.

FALLING IN LOVE TOO SOON

Each of us knows what falling in love feels like – that time when we believe that the object of our affection is perfect. There is no listening to someone else’s opinion – it’s love at first sight! As individuals, we fall in love totally, often many times. Falling in love as search committee members is even more risky.
Over time, an individual in love learns about imperfections – small ones and sometimes-BIG ones. For a lover that journey of discovery is a very personal one but for a search committee that journey of discovery needs to be shared and the committee does not have the luxury of a long time for gradual exploration. Making the wrong decision has serious consequences for an entire organization.
Love at first sight, early in the process, limits one’s ability to think rationally, hear others and put the organization’s needs first. Falling in love with a particular candidate becomes an individual response when it should be a committee’s rational journey.

IDENTIFYING POTENTIAL BOARD MEMBERS/VOLUNTEERS

Many people are wary of volunteering, worried about another time commitment that gets out of hand. Organizations who need volunteers have to make any “job” that needs filling one that has a discrete start and finish. This fits people’s desire to help – with boundaries.
Another way to encourage volunteerism is to publicly thank people who have helped in different ways – large and small. Hopefully this illustrates the many volunteers the organization has and emphasizes that it is an organization where the work is accomplished by volunteers.
When your nonprofit is identifying future board members, someone or several people have to get to know current and new members to know what their talents are. This could be done through social times, new member orientation or a survey of the resources a member could share with others.
Do you have other suggestions?