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As soon as I sat down at the table for the executive staff team meeting, I could tell there was tension in the air.

As the new year rolls in, many nonprofits are embarking on a brand-new budget, with clean slates, fresh aspirations, and strategies poised for success. You may also find your organization with a new class of volunteers on your board of directors, fresh faces on committees and perhaps even new staff members on your team.

By Jim Mellor and Brian Keel

The board of directors is an essential component of nonprofit leadership. We seek boards that are engaged, embrace their roles and responsibilities, are committed to transparency, and value both short- and long-term planning. 

Rules vary from state to state, but every board has significant legal and ethical duties that it cannot delegate to others including legal, management, program, and financial oversight. Beyond the board there may be committees that further assist the organization. Committees have representation from the Board but are also an opportunity to engage other community volunteers to serve, especially if these members have subject matter expertise.

On a call with a client last week, working together to identify values for tough times, a word popped up: equanimity. I couldn’t remember what it meant, but it sounded like a smooth, peaceful lake, hinting of equity and justice. So I said, “Not sure if this is relevant, but what about equanimity?” She responded, “Yes! That is a perfect word.”

As we continue to navigate this new reality, we are challenged to step up as leaders. Whether we’re leading a company, a nonprofit, a team or a family, people are looking to us to understand how to live, learn and work in very altered and difficult circumstances.

Let’s be honest, and real.