A Direct Line Blog

By Donya Parrish, MCU VP- Risk Management

Have you ever thought about what it means to be a “good” board member? Is it being present at every meeting? Asking the most questions? Reading the packet first? No matter how YOU rate “good,” your metric might not line up with helping your credit union be as healthy and successful as possible.

BoardSource has a downloadable guide on What Makes a Good Board Member? It includes some simple dos and don’ts on listening, the balance between the CEO and board, asking the tough questions, being an ambassador for the organization, and more. It is easy to go into a board meeting with the goal of getting it over with or completing the agenda in record time. While that is fair for the time you are volunteering, it doesn’t really contribute to your credit union’s success, and that should be your primary goal.

In this time of post-COVID when nothing feels quite “normal” yet, maybe it is a good time to look at the functionality of your board and set some goals for yourselves. You can work toward “good” more easily if you define what you think that means.