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The Board and the CEO: Seven practices to protect your organization's most important relationship.
Good relationships lie at the heart of every successful organization. Yet no relationship is more important—or more challenging—to navigate than the one between the board and the CEO.
In this practical and concise book, Peter Greer and David Weekley draw from their years of experience to equip board members and organizational leaders to enter into an impactful, life-giving partnership.
With this pivotal relationship in place, individuals and the organizations they serve can truly flourish.
In this practical and concise book, Peter Greer and David Weekley draw from their years of experience to equip board members and organizational leaders to enter into an impactful, life-giving partnership.
With this pivotal relationship in place, individuals and the organizations they serve can truly flourish.
- GenresLeadershipBusiness
146 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 31, 2017
36 people are currently reading
71 people want to read
About the author
Peter Greer
26 books26 followersPeter Greer is an author, speaker, and president and CEO of HOPE International, a global faith-based economic development organization serving throughout Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe. Peter received a B.S. in international business from Messiah University and an MPP in political and economic development from Harvard's Kennedy School.
As an advocate for the Church’s role in missions and alleviating extreme poverty, Peter has co-authored over 14 books, including The Gift of Disillusionment, Mission Drift (selected as a 2015 Book Award Winner from Christianity Today), Rooting for Rivals (selected as a 2019 Leadership Resource of the Year in Outreach magazine), The Spiritual Danger of Doing Good (selected as one of the top 40 books on poverty by WORLD magazine) and Created to Flourish. More important than his role at HOPE is his role as husband to Laurel and dad to Keith, Liliana, Myles, and London. While his sports loyalties remain in New England, Peter and his family live in Lancaster, PA.
Blog: peterkgreer.com. Twitter: @peterkgreer. Facebook: @PeterKGreer
As an advocate for the Church’s role in missions and alleviating extreme poverty, Peter has co-authored over 14 books, including The Gift of Disillusionment, Mission Drift (selected as a 2015 Book Award Winner from Christianity Today), Rooting for Rivals (selected as a 2019 Leadership Resource of the Year in Outreach magazine), The Spiritual Danger of Doing Good (selected as one of the top 40 books on poverty by WORLD magazine) and Created to Flourish. More important than his role at HOPE is his role as husband to Laurel and dad to Keith, Liliana, Myles, and London. While his sports loyalties remain in New England, Peter and his family live in Lancaster, PA.
Blog: peterkgreer.com. Twitter: @peterkgreer. Facebook: @PeterKGreer
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
April 21, 2021
Brief. Practical. Actionable. Sound advice.
January 15, 2024
Helpful and practical.
December 15, 2022
This is a review of the Board and the CEO, a book published in 2017 by Peter Greer and David Weekley. This book looks at seven practices to protect your organization’s most important relationship - the relationship with the board and the CEO. This short read, just over 100 pages, stems from extensive research and experience in the nonprofit world from these authors.
This book, and its findings, emerged after an experience that Peter Greer had in a learning experience with other faith-based nonprofit leaders. As these leaders talked about the greatest challenges facing their organizations, Peter admits that “one after another, leaders shared that their greatest difficulty [was] related to some aspect of their relationship with the board.” Those leaders, and the authors of this book, quickly identified that this Board and CEO relationship was exceptionally challenging - and perhaps more than anything else in the organization - was “a proverbial minefield, with the potential to sabotage an organization: creating dissension, thwarting progress, undermining impact, and knocking it off mission.” Greer, researching for another book on what causes the most mission drift in organizations, continued to find that “at the center of…organizational drift is often an unstable board-CEO relationship.” Time and time again they saw “too many organizations drift, self-destruct, or shut down as a direct result of missteps in this key relationship.” This book is meant to help encourage and equip organizations to remain on mission, by understanding how to navigate the board-CEO relationship.
I wish I would have read this book about a decade ago. For about seven years, I worked in a context that did not have a simple, effective and shared understanding of the way that a board carries the responsibility to steward the mission and the healthy conflict of an organization. As a board, we did not have the capacity to analyze what sort of personalities make a good and effective board; nor did the board understand its role in communication, accountability and the facilitation of healthy conflict. Many boards are full of good people, but do not have the right mix, or a simple, effective and shared understanding of the way they are responsible to steward the mission and conflict of an organization. I, too, did not know how to engage the distraught board structure that I inherited in truly effective and transformative ways. In efforts of clarity, our board certainly tried to further clarify responsibilities of the CEO/Leader and the Board in the bylaws and other organizational documents, but without shared ownership through practice, the relationship between the CEO and the Board are vulnerable. I believe this book would have created a shared understanding and effectively transformed our working relationship.
Certainly, over the years, I had read many books on the effective culture, governance and structuring of boards. In all my previous studies, never have I encountered the well thought out - and simply applicable advice - that is given in this book, The Board and the CEO by Peter Greer and David Weekley. This book clearly and practically outlines a simple, effective, and shared understanding of the way a board carries the responsibility to steward the mission and conflict of an organization, and it outlines the way the CEO works within the board and the system to carry out those discernments. This book will undoubtedly help the board to steward it’s irreplaceable role to identify, clarify, and remain focused on the organizational mission.” In identifying, clarify, and remaining focused on the organizational mission the CEO will be freed up for the responsibility of implementing the mission. For these reasons, I recommend this book.
This book, and its findings, emerged after an experience that Peter Greer had in a learning experience with other faith-based nonprofit leaders. As these leaders talked about the greatest challenges facing their organizations, Peter admits that “one after another, leaders shared that their greatest difficulty [was] related to some aspect of their relationship with the board.” Those leaders, and the authors of this book, quickly identified that this Board and CEO relationship was exceptionally challenging - and perhaps more than anything else in the organization - was “a proverbial minefield, with the potential to sabotage an organization: creating dissension, thwarting progress, undermining impact, and knocking it off mission.” Greer, researching for another book on what causes the most mission drift in organizations, continued to find that “at the center of…organizational drift is often an unstable board-CEO relationship.” Time and time again they saw “too many organizations drift, self-destruct, or shut down as a direct result of missteps in this key relationship.” This book is meant to help encourage and equip organizations to remain on mission, by understanding how to navigate the board-CEO relationship.
I wish I would have read this book about a decade ago. For about seven years, I worked in a context that did not have a simple, effective and shared understanding of the way that a board carries the responsibility to steward the mission and the healthy conflict of an organization. As a board, we did not have the capacity to analyze what sort of personalities make a good and effective board; nor did the board understand its role in communication, accountability and the facilitation of healthy conflict. Many boards are full of good people, but do not have the right mix, or a simple, effective and shared understanding of the way they are responsible to steward the mission and conflict of an organization. I, too, did not know how to engage the distraught board structure that I inherited in truly effective and transformative ways. In efforts of clarity, our board certainly tried to further clarify responsibilities of the CEO/Leader and the Board in the bylaws and other organizational documents, but without shared ownership through practice, the relationship between the CEO and the Board are vulnerable. I believe this book would have created a shared understanding and effectively transformed our working relationship.
Certainly, over the years, I had read many books on the effective culture, governance and structuring of boards. In all my previous studies, never have I encountered the well thought out - and simply applicable advice - that is given in this book, The Board and the CEO by Peter Greer and David Weekley. This book clearly and practically outlines a simple, effective, and shared understanding of the way a board carries the responsibility to steward the mission and conflict of an organization, and it outlines the way the CEO works within the board and the system to carry out those discernments. This book will undoubtedly help the board to steward it’s irreplaceable role to identify, clarify, and remain focused on the organizational mission.” In identifying, clarify, and remaining focused on the organizational mission the CEO will be freed up for the responsibility of implementing the mission. For these reasons, I recommend this book.
January 30, 2025
Easy to understand and applicable for both the NGO and startup sectors. As leaders in our workplace, we constantly forget that our words aren’t the only direction followed and that it is our jobs to work concurrently with the board to ensure that the company’s mission statement is abided by.
In this book, we are repeatedly reminded that the number one cause of failure of these groups is the lack of communication within the group and the veering of direction from the original mission statement.
In this book, we are repeatedly reminded that the number one cause of failure of these groups is the lack of communication within the group and the veering of direction from the original mission statement.
March 16, 2020
It is a very insightful read for any board member, and specifically any officer of a board. As a chair of a board I found it to have great ideas and directions. Both the CEO and I have read it. I plan to offer it to others on my board.
September 26, 2023
Succinct and practical, this book is a primer for boards and CEOs who want to work together for maximum impact.
The authors share successes and challenges along with an appendix of helpful resources for any board.
The authors share successes and challenges along with an appendix of helpful resources for any board.
January 3, 2025
This book quickly and concisely outlines the best dynamic for creating an involved and engaged Board-CEO relationship. It provides excellent concrete steps to follow through on, which are essential to turn the material from a 'frame work' to a daily/monthly/annual practice.
March 23, 2018
An exceptional book on this topic
September 20, 2019
Very practical.
December 23, 2023
Brief, practical and applicable. Quite enjoyed it.
February 6, 2025
Clear and concise...super helpful.
June 28, 2025
An excellent handbook for CEOs and boards. I bought it at the CMA conference in Brisbane and will buy a copy each for my directors. Practical, sensible and Biblical.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews