Daring to Lead 2011, the third in a series of surveys of national nonprofit executives, found that the relationship between presidents and board chairs plays a significant role in overall presidential job satisfaction. 

Rick Moyers, vice president of programs and communications at the Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation in Washington, is a co-author of the Daring to Lead report. He noted: 
 

While I’ve learned not to overclaim what the data prove, many years of experience with executives and boards have given me plenty of evidence that executive directors with strong working relationships with their board chairs are happier in their jobs, are less likely to be burned out, and believe that their boards work better because of the chair’s leadership. . . [We] should view board chairs as key to supporting executives and strengthening boards. And because board chairs matter so much, we need to create better systems and resources for training and supporting them.

How does your institution promote good president/chair relationships?


Guest post by Emilie Babcox.
Image by Orin Zebest.