Creating or Renewing A Culture of Inquiry
Do your board members regularly ask inquisitive and challenging questions? Does your board have a culture that promotes dialogue and debate?
An often-overlooked board strategy is to create and or nurture a true culture of inquiry. Great boards embed this culture to engage and energize board members in a way that truly enlists the collective board skill sets, thoughts, and differences of opinion. Dialogue with debate is a great thing to have in board meetings. Open discussions that include diverse perspectives and clearly articulate many options ultimately position the board to discover synergy in the board’s choices before making the ultimate decision.
Creating a board culture of inquiry is not an easy task—it requires that each board member comes from a place of authenticity, vulnerability, and trust. The relationships board members have with each other are foundational for this—where you create genuine relationships among each board member with an appreciation for everyone’s differences.
Here are some helpful tips to begin to have a culture of inquiry:
Create a safe space for open discussion. Board members should feel comfortable sharing their opinions, even if they differ from others. A culture of respect and civility, where everyone feels heard and valued is essential in creating safe spaces.
Encourage all board members to ask questions. The board chair should set the tone by modeling the culture of inquiry—asking board members for differing opinions or thoughts.
Provide information ahead of the discussion. Having board members prepared for discussion helps board members ask better questions that make better informed decisions.
Ask questions. The board may want to provide information on how to ask effective questions and how to engage in constructive debate. This makes board members feel more comfortable asking questions and sharing opinions.
What do I know and what I don’t know about this topic?
How is the topic important to us as an organization? For the clients we serve?
Who else needs to be at the table to further define and discuss this topic?
What other information do we need to understand the topic?
How do I know if the information provided is valid?
Set ground rules. The board chair should clearly communicate the board's expectations for inquiry. This includes expectations for the types of questions that should be asked, the level of detail that should be provided, and the tone of the dialogue.
Acknowledge and celebrate. When board members ask good questions and engage in constructive dialogue and or debate, board members should acknowledge the question asked and encourage board members to continue asking questions.
To practice this, you might consider introducing a topic that is simple to tackle. Break into smaller groups to bring more voices into the room and come back together to share as a large group.
Building a culture of inquiry takes time and effort, but it is essential for a board to effectively govern an organization. By following these tips, boards can create an environment where all board members’ voices are spoken and heard by asking questions and sharing information.