Welcome back to our Board CEO Partnership series.
This is episode three in our eight-part series designed to help boards, board chairs, CEOs, and Executive Directors build healthier, more productive, and impactful partnerships.
Throughout this series, we’re exploring the Culture CARES framework as a model for building healthy board culture.
CARES stands for commitment, appreciation, respect, engagement, and safety. In episode one, we talked about why healthy organizations need healthy board culture just as much as they need healthy staff culture.
In episode two, we explored commitment and how the concept of 150% accountability creates the foundation for strong board CEO partnerships.
The True Power of Appreciation
And today, we’re diving into the second element of CARES, appreciation.
But before be- we go any further, I wanna share what I believe is the most important takeaway from this entire episode. Appreciation isn’t simply recognition for past contributions, it’s fuel for future contributions.
Let me say that again.
Appreciation isn’t just recognition for the past. It’s fuel for the future.
Most people think appreciation is about looking backwards, saying thank you, recognizing the effort, and celebrating accomplishments.
And while those things do matter, appreciation does something much more powerful. It motivates, it inspires, it energizes.
It reminds people what they do matters. And when people feel valued, they naturally want to contribute more.
And that applies to board members, CEOs and Executive Directors, staff and leadership teams, and volunteers.
Healthy boards understand that appreciation isn’t a nice extra. It’s a leadership tool.
Before we dive in, don’t forget to download the Culture Cares Board CEO Partnership Playbook from the show notes.
This companion guide includes reflection questions, discussion prompts, and practical exercises designed to help your board put today’s lessons into practice.
Don’t just listen to these episodes, use them.
Bring the playbook to a board meeting, incorporate it into your onboarding process, work through the exercises together, because healthy board culture isn’t built through information alone.
It’s built through that intentional conversation and action.
Shifting the Corporate Culture
Let me ask you a question. When was the last time someone made you feel truly valued? Not just thanked, not just recognized, but valued.
Someone who sought your perspective, acknowledged your expertise, trusted your judgment.
Most of us can remember those moments, and if we’re honest, we can probably remember moments when we experienced the opposite.
Moments when our ideas were dismissed, when our contributions were unnoticed, when our expertise wasn’t respected.
Those experiences shape how we show up. They influence our confidence, our engagement, our motivation, and ultimately our performance.
Appreciation isn’t just about making people feel good. It’s about creating conditions where people can do their best work.
Let me share a quick story. About a year ago, I was coaching a CEO who was leading a successful organization.
She had more than 20 years of experience in her field.
She was highly respected in the industry, strategic, thoughtful, experienced, one of the most capable nonprofit leaders I’ve ever worked with.
Her board was made up of highly accomplished people, successful executives, community leaders, and major donors.
I’m talking major, like billionaires with a B on this board, and people who genuinely cared about this mission.
On paper, it looked like a dream board any of us would want to have, right? But she came to our coaching sessions really frustrated, and it was about the board.
And it wasn’t that they didn’t care or weren’t engaged.
In fact, they were very engaged. The challenge was that they often questioned her recommendations before fully understanding them.
They second-guessed decisions she had spent months evaluating.
They unintentionally acted as though their success in their own professions automatically translated into expertise in hers.
Over time, something started to unravel. She became less enthusiastic, less energized, less willing to bring bold ideas forward.
And it wasn’t because she lacked confidence in herself, but because she felt like her expertise wasn’t being valued by the board.
And that’s when I realized something important. One of the greatest gifts a board can give a CEO isn’t advice. It’s confidence.
Confidence that their expertise is respected, that their perspective matters, that they were hired for a reason.
The irony was that this board had recruited her because of her expertise.
Unlocking the Four Dimensions of Appreciation
Yet unintentionally, they had stopped trusting the very expertise they hired her to provide.
Many boards underestimate how much influence they have on the motivation and energy of the organization and its leadership team.
We often assume motivation comes from a passion from their mission, and that’s certainly part of it.
But motivation is also influenced by culture.
When people feel appreciated, they engage more, they contribute more, they take initiative, they share big ideas.
And on the other hand, when people consistently feel overlooked, they begin holding back.
Not because they care less, but because they feel less connected to their impact.
And this applies to everyone; board members, CEOs, executives, staff members, volunteers. Even the most experienced leaders need encouragement.
Even the most accomplished board members want to know that their contributions matter. Not just their money, but their contributions.
Appreciation reminds people why they said yes in the first place, why they joined the board, why they accepted the leadership role, why they continue investing their time, talent, and energy into the mission.
Healthy boards understand that appreciation isn’t simply about recognizing past contributions. It’s about inspiring future contributions.
Within the CARES framework, appreciation has four dimensions. Number one, appreciating expertise that we just talked about, recognizing the knowledge, experience, and judgment that people bring.
Number two, appreciating contributions, acknowledging the effort, follow through, and impact.
Number three, appreciating perspectives, welcoming diverse viewpoints and encouraging healthy discussion.
And fourth, appreciating people, remembering that every person wants to know that they matter.
They wanna bring their strengths and values to the team, and when those aren’t appreciated, it becomes a hidden source of resentment.
There is a quote from Maya Angelou that captures this beautifully.
“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Board members may not remember every agenda item, every motion, every report, but they will remember how the culture made them feel.
Sustaining and Encouraging Leadership
The same is true for CEOs and Executive Directors. I want to leave you with one important leadership lesson.
Boards often focus on what CEOs need to do to improve, and that’s part of governance. That’s okay.
But healthy boards also pay attention to what CEOs need to sustain. Leadership can be so lonely.
Nonprofit leadership especially can be lonely. One of the most valuable things a board can provide is encouragement.
Not empty flattery, not avoidance of difficult conversations, but true encouragement, trust in their expertise, belief that they can do it, recognition of their strengths.
The strongest CEOs and Executive Directors I’ve worked with weren’t supported because their boards lowered expectations.
They were supported because their boards combined accountability with appreciation. And these two things are not opposites.
In fact, they work beautifully together. Here’s a quick win. At your next board meeting, ask two questions: What expertise does our CEO bring that is most valuable to this organization?
And what expertise does each board member bring that strengthens this organization? Spend time discussing these answers.
You’ll learn something new about each other, and you’ll begin to build a culture where people feel genuinely valued.
Here’s a reflection question: What would be different if every person connected to this organization consistently felt seen, valued, trusted, and appreciated?
Transforming Information Into Practice
Don’t forget to download the Culture Cares Board CEO Partnership Playbook from the show notes.
Inside, you’ll find discussion questions, reflection exercises, and practical appreciation activity designed specifically for nonprofit boards and CEOs.
Use it as a board development tool, use it as part of your onboarding process, or simply bring it to your next board meeting and work through the exercises together.
The goal isn’t simply to learn about appreciation. The goal is to practice. Let me close with this.
Appreciation is far more than saying thank you.
It’s creating a culture where people feel valued, where expertise is respected, where contributions are recognized, and where people are inspired to keep giving their best into the future.
In our next episode, we’ll explore the third element of cares, respect.
And we’ll tackle one of the biggest challenges facing many boards today.
Thanks for listening to today’s episode of Nonprofit CEO Spark.
If you’re ready to turn burnout into boundaries and build a healthy, happy culture where everyone, including you, can thrive, visit culturecares.com to learn how I support nonprofit organizations like yours.
If this episode brought you value, share it with a fellow leader navigating stress and overwhelm.
And remember, you are meant for great things, and you don’t have to burn out to prove it. Until next time, keep leading with courage and confidence.