I’m not a fan of proof-texting commonsense advice with passages cherry-picked from the Bible. There are times, however, when the echoes of scripture are too loud to ignore. A case in point is this from the AGB Board of Director’s Statement on Justice, Equity, and Inclusion:
Trustees are fiduciaries. They hold their institutions in trust. Many equate fiduciary responsibility principally with safeguarding the financial and tangible assets of institutions. But in fact, trustees also guard and steward institutional values, mission, campus culture, the educational program, and the well-being of thousands of human beings, especially students. Trusteeship goes far beyond the balance sheet. (emphasis mine).
To my ear, the advice from AGB is a modern-day, governance-focused application of Jesus’ long-ago warning about misplaced priorities and concerns. “What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” Jesus asks. “Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?” (Matthew 16:26 NIV).
Please hear me when I say it would be an unfortunate misreading of Jesus’ words within a board context to conclude that fiduciary matters don’t matter. Safeguarding the financial and tangible is essential and necessary work of those called as stewards, but that’s just one side of the board’s work.
The real problem comes in reading Jesus’ words as an either/or; stewarding stuff or stewarding an institution’s soul. In fact, the issue, as diagnosed by Jesus and echoed in the AGB statement, is not in giving too little oversight to the “stuff” of our lives or of our institutions, but rather, it’s in ignoring the soul factor.
Specific to faith-based organizations, Susan Beaumont, a consultant and spiritual director writing for Luther Seminary’s faith+leader blog, states:
Holistic leadership recognizes that the institution is host to a soul, a direct agent of the divine spark within. The soul is the authentic and truest self of the institution; the source of its divine calling, and character; the protector of institutional integrity. Tending institutional soul requires nurturing organizational effectiveness and spiritual wholeness as one.”
Tending the soul of the institution is more than a simple call to prayer, and it requires more than slapping a scripture verse on top of good business practice. It is more than understanding the culture, strategy and spirituality of an [institution]. It requires basic leadership orientations that may seem at odds with traditional practices of leadership. Nurturing the soul-tending capacity of our leaders takes intentionality, time, and attention. The payoff is greater authenticity in decision making and the genuine transformation of our [organizations].
Money, mission, and soul. Yes indeed. A board’s fiduciary responsibilities go far beyond the balance sheet.
For more on this topic, see also:
Finding mission clarity in fuzzy metrics