What makes a charity board effective? The centrality of behavioural governance.

In the 20 years or so we have been supporting charities to improve governance we have seen an inexorable rise in clients looking for board development support. Increasingly, the source of the request is a challenge the Chair or CEO is facing from a dominant individual (or group) and/or poor behaviours in the boardroom.

Our experience is supported by a new nfpResearch report, published by the Association of Chairs and the ACEVO, which makes for sobering reading. Despite generally positive findings on board effectiveness in the sector overall, 59% of charity leaders say they have experienced challenging behaviour in the boardroom and only 51% consider their board to have the skills and diversity it needs.

Are these two findings linked?

Does poor boardroom behaviour put people off from wanted to serve as a trustee?

Anecdotally, our experience suggest the answer is a resounding YES.

We come across far too many good people who leave the board long before the end of their term of office, citing frustrations arising from the behaviours of colleagues. These behaviours include people exerting disproportionate influence, trustees overstepping their role (interfering in operational matters or getting into too much detail) and, increasingly, downright unprofessional and offensive behaviours such as bullying, rudeness and intimidation.

The new Charity Governance Code (published in autumn 2025) places a much greater emphasis on behaviours than its predecessors, which we have warmly welcomed. In our view, while structures and processes can help ensure good governance and promote appropriate behaviours, if people do not behave well, governance will be poor. Equally, while good behaviour can result in good governance, despite the absence of appropriate structures and processes, this creates a high risk situation where good governance can quickly collapse if behaviours change (e.g. in response to a change of personnel or an increasingly stressful situation).

Getting the right people on the board is the solution to these challenges and, in our view, the chances of achieving this are greatly enhanced by a quest for diversity amongst trustees.

Beyond the moral imperative to eliminate discrimination, diversity is essential because all the research evidence is that more diverse groups make better decisions. In the charity sector this will in large part be because a more diverse board helps:

• ensure beneficiaries’ views are better represented;

• avoid group think and stimulate creativity and innovation;

• support fairness and openness in dealings with beneficiaries and stakeholders; and

• increase public confidence and accountability.

Diversity, in our experience, acts as a vital counterweight to dominance and provides a valuable source of challenge to inappropriate behaviours. The sector must get to grips with the diversity challenges it faces, including:

• Engaging with more people who have lived experience of the charity’s cause.

• Using open methods of recruitment and effective selection processes for choosing new Trustees.

• Specifying clearly the skills and experience sought when recruiting Trustees, including priorities for increasing board diversity.

• Setting terms limits for Trustees.

• Seeking independent input, by asking people outside the charity what they think could be done better.

A genuine respect for, and valuing of, diversity should go hand in hand with a relentless focus on good behavioural governance including:

• Fostering collective responsibility and teamwork

• Building trust between trustees and with senior staff.

• Rewarding good behaviour and performance with praise (and calling out poor behaviours).

• Being constructive and respectful, even when challenging others.

• Managing conflicts of interest properly.

• Ensuring regular attendance and good preparation for board meetings.

• Effective chairing that promotes inclusion and checks dominance.

• Regular, constructive feedback and review of board performance.

• Adopting a code of conduct.

Addressing diversity and behaviours together as high priorities for improvement and development will, in our view, reverse the decline in boardroom behaviours we are encountering.

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Want to find out more? Contact us at julian@almondtreeconsulting.co.uk to discuss your organisation’s needs.