Downsides to Board Term Limits

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Should there be a limit on how long a Board member serves? Last month,
we discussed the pros of term limits, and here are some cons!

1) Even if they are a good Board member, they’ll have to step off the
Board. This means the Board is losing valuable skill sets that this member had including their knowledge of the organization and its history.

2) The interest of the individual Board member may decrease as their limit is approaching. This means the member may start to skip meetings and/or not put as much effort into their position since “they are on the way out.”

3) Members may leave with bad feelings. Board members may feel ‘forced’ out of their positions, causing this to affect them negatively.

4) Recruitment. Instead of being focused on the organization, Board members will need to take time to recruit, orient and train new members. It may be hard to fill the gap left by the member who had term limited out.

5) Board momentum may be reduced. When new members join a Board, momentum may slow down or perhaps come to a halt. It takes time to orient new people who are not up to speed and/or needing time to get more involved and engaged. So…Yes, there are “cons” to term limits, but with proper planning there are ways to overcome these and still have a very positive, productive and successful Board.

For more information on Boards, do
call Dr. Mimi! 407.628.0669 or email her
at drmimi@hullonline.com

Written By

drmimi

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