The ability to get people with widely diverse opinions to agree on an issue is a skill that board chairs must develop. It takes active listening and an ability to put aside some of your own issues to be a consensus-builder. Being sensitive to board members who find themselves in the minority may be a challenge, but it is worth the effort.
The chair must use his or her authority to help move the business of the board along. Every board member has something to add to the board’s collective wisdom, but sometimes personalities get in the way. It is up to the chair to try to bring board members to consensus and help a board member let go of his or her hurt feeling or defiance when the majority vote has gone the other way so that the board as a whole may be productive and do its job.
