Personal Hedgehog: Maximizing the Skills and Talents of Your Board
One of our favorite facilitated activities at The Spark Mill is the Hedgehog Principle. In this activity, we ask participants to name what their organization is best in the world at, what they are most passionate about, and what drives their economic or resource engine. Recently, an executive director shared with me how helpful personal Hedgehog Principles have been for board engagement. I thought this was an exciting idea that other boards could use to increase and maximize the strengths of their board. Role clarity is one of the biggest challenges to effective board governance. The Personal Hedgehog Activity can help board members reflect on all they can bring to an organization and figure out the right ways to serve – here is how.
Strengthen Board Engagement
In the last few board assessments, I’ve done, board members reported that their skills and expertise are not being utilized. The other thing that shows up in assessments is the lack of effective committees. This Personal Hedgehog Activity encourages boards to share the skills and expertise they have. We know board members are recruited based on their expertise, but there are often skills and interests that don’t show up on a resume or CV that are still valuable and needed. When we know more about the vast skills and expertise on the board, along with their passions, we can better deploy board members to the right duties and committees for more effective board-led activities.
Community Building
Oftentimes, board members are recruited by one person and a small group assesses their appropriateness. Doing the Personal Hedgehog Activity can be a form of community building among the board. Having board members share their responses with the group allows other board members to know what skills and talents are in the room. With this knowledge, a board might commit to bigger or riskier strategies if they know they have the skills and expertise to support it. On the other hand, this awareness can give you insight into the types of skills, expertise, or interests to look for in future board recruitment.
Here are some prompts you can use to engage board members in creating a Personal Hedgehog.
What You Can Be the Best At: What unique talents, skills, or expertise can you bring to this board?
What professional skills do you have that could directly benefit our organization?
What have others consistently recognized you for or come to you for help with?
In what areas do you have deep expertise that few others on this board possess?
What activities or contributions come naturally to you that others find challenging?
What Drives Your Economic Engine?: What resources, connections, or access can you provide?
What networks or communities do you have access to that could benefit our mission?
What tangible resources (funding, in-kind services, facilities, etc.) might you be able to contribute or facilitate?
What doors can you open that would otherwise be closed to our organization?
What strategic partnerships could you help develop or strengthen?
What You Are Deeply Passionate About?: What aspects of our mission energize you most?
What drew you to serve on this board in the first place?
Which of our programs or initiatives excite you most? Why?
What impact do you most want to see this organization achieve?
If you could focus your board service on one area of our work, what would it be?
Reflection Questions:
Where do your unique capabilities, available resources, and genuine passion intersect with our organization's needs?
Based on your answers above, what 2-3 specific ways could you contribute that would be both fulfilling for you and valuable for the organization?
Building and maintaining an effective board is essential to success for nonprofit organizations. Knowing who is on the board and how they can contribute ensures effectiveness. If you would like support to increase your board’s effectiveness, reach out to me and my team at The Spark Mill. We’d love to help make that change happen.