In most businesses that employ a Board of Directors, the board consists of key employees of the company like the CEO, presidents, and vice presidents as well as key investors.
Contrary to conventional wisdom, the smaller the board the stronger it is. When you have a big board, the power of the CEO increases since the board is often ineffective has little oversight and is subject to being lead around by the CEO.
Many non-profit boards call for large boards, which gives the Executive Director (ED) tremendous power. I was a board member and treasurer of a small non-profit with less than one million in revenue. Yet, the by-laws required a board of over 25 board members. The board meetings were pretty much a simple review of what the non-profit was doing and the decisions of the ED rather than a board that provided direction to the ED as it should be. Small boards, by contrast, are easier to manage and provide much more oversight.
Do you have a Board of Directors? If so, is it small enough to be effective?
