Board Responsibility

Boards are a critical pillar of your synagogue's future, at the very center of your community’s success. Active Board members are the leaders that will get you to tomorrow. Yet most Boards do not see that one of their key tasks is to recruit qualified candidates. Most synagogues are struggling with the same issues-- issues that keep them in the weeds.

There is no doubt we have come a long way. I recall my first synagogue board meeting almost twenty years ago, and the issue of the day was deciding who should have keys to the shul. I thought I had entered another universe. Over the past twenty years, the focus of Boards has changed, but by and large they are still mired in the details of keys instead of focusing on the bigger blueprint they need to create for the future.

Synagogue communities need to take responsibility for the way they look at leadership in their communities. Yes, the rabbi, the executive director, and the educator are all key positions of potential leadership. And they work for your Board.  

Most communities are just thankful that someone is stepping up to be on the Board at all. Yet few members of the community are connecting the dots by realizing that with Board membership come responsibilities for setting the course for the future.  

Where is your synagogue's course set for?  If you are not sure, maybe it is time to get involved and be part of a Board with a strategic compass pointing towards the future.

by Yoram Samets