Allison Henry on Improving Recruitment

– Allison Henry, Clinical Assistant Professor of Management & Organizations and Director of the Golub Capital Board Fellows Program

Art: Yifan Wu

For nonprofit boards of directors, recruiting new members often starts on the wrong foot. Seats are filled through familiar networks or existing donors, making the process easier—but not always better.

That can leave boards stuck lacking the expertise and broader perspectives they actually need.

“Boards tend to recruit people who have the same backgrounds as themselves,” says Allison Henry, a clinical professor of management and organizations and director of the Golub Capital Board Fellows Program at the Kellogg School of Management.

The issue is not just whom boards recruit, but how they do it. A better approach starts with addressing what the board needs, not how it can land the prospects it’s already identified.

At Kellogg Insight, Henry outlines ways nonprofits can improve their process for recruiting and selecting board members. Read “When Building Nonprofit Boards, Look Beyond Your Network” for more. #KelloggLeader #Organizations