"According to A Snapshot of America's Nonprofit Boards, published by the National Center for Nonprofit Boards , the average number of board meetings per year is eight, the majority of boards have meetings lasting two hours or less, and the average board member attendance is 71 percent."

What does this mean? Well, if you only went to work eight times a year would you know what is going on? "The average board member gives around 11 hours per year with the average executive working 3,000 hours."

This issue alone creates lots of problems, meaning one has to be realistic as an executive director as to what he or she can expect from a non-paid volunteer.

In evaluating your board ask yourself these questions: How is your board chosen? Do you choose board members because of political influence or based on their ability to "give or get" funding. Do you pick board members who seem to lack basic skill of reading financial statement or knowing how to delegate responsibility? Is you board made up of people who want to "hold hands" seeking to build a consensus or the hard nosed executive types who charge ahead to get things done? What about accountability?

Are poorly performing board members allowed to languish around year after year adding little value to the organization or do you kindly thank them for their service and find more effective board members? 

The nonprofit arena is as Webster's puts it a Paradox - Something apparently absurd or incredible that may be true in fact.