Sensemaking:
A Remedy for Indecisive Boards

© 1999 John E. Perkins, III
5201 22nd Ave. NE Ste. 201
Seattle WA 98105
206 524.4496

http://www.drizzle.com/~newroots

[Accepted May 1999 for publication in Nonprofit World]

A spell of indecisiveness can afflict even well-functioning boards. Temporary indecisiveness can be a healthy stage as members grapple to understand policy options, however, chronic indecisiveness eventually takes a toll on the board members as well as the productivity and effectiveness of the whole organization. Not every issue causes chronic indecisiveness. Progress on most issues glides along well enough, but on The Issue a board cannot seem to find its way to either drop it, table it until additional information can be secured, or adopt it as new policy. The Issue gets an honored place on the agenda-meeting after meeting. Sometimes an entire retreat is devoted to it, leaving no doubt about its importance with board members, the executive director and others. In a surprising flurry of movement, a decision may be made by the board, but, somehow, a month or two later The Issue is reopened and the whole dreary Sisyphean¹ process starts anew.

Sound familiar? Because this situation within the decision- making process of boards is common and widespread does not mean that it cannot be remedied. The remedy first requires that you understand what generates indecisiveness.

The Ambiguous Life of Boards

Boards teem with ambiguities, uncertainties and risks. Just what you would expect from a peer-based group with the highest legal authority for deciding and setting policy within its organization. It is the board's role to clarify ambiguities either by allowing current policies to stand or by crafting new ones to meet emergent circumstances.² No one tells the board what to do, it must find its own way. Should it cling to the original mission of the organization, enlarge, or shrink it? Should it be open to direct communication from (and with) constituents and staff or should all communication be filtered exclusively through the executive director? How should it deal with a lack of quorums? How much training should be provided to newly recruited members? And so on.

An ambiguity is a statement which can be interpreted two or more different ways.³ Chronic indecisiveness in a board occurs because a policy proposal means different things to each board member and the board as a group lacks the norms and procedures to sort out the various meanings and select one action.

Indecisiveness occurs when:

• Many board members are unsure of what they and want in regard to The Issue;
• Although some members feel that they have something valuable to contribute to the decision, their opinions aren't "heard";
• Board members differ on how to evaluate potential results of alternative courses of action;
• The Issue has confused some members, but they're reluctant to ask basic questions which they fear be interpreted as ignorance and inattention;
• The board is genuinely split on which action to take and has not agreed upon conflict resolution procedures;
• Board members react inconsistently to their own previous positions on The Issue and prior decisions about it.

1. Sensemaking processes include discussions during meetings, brainstorming, and so on.

2. Sensemaking activities include paper and pencil assessments, fact-finding trip to gather more information and the like.

3. Sensemaking artifacts include all paper documents such as minutes and reports, electronically recorded communication such as audio tapes, and records of communication on the Internet, such as webpages and e-mail.

Footnotes