Note: This guest post is from board governance and fundraising consultant Christal M. Cherry of The Board Pro. Thanks, Christal!

Let me say this plainly: Some of y’all don’t have a board problem, you have a belonging problem.

We spend so much time trying to get the “right people” in the room. Smart people. Connected people. Diverse people. And then we make it real hard for them to actually be there.

• To speak.
• To question.
• To challenge.
• To show up fully.

No more folding chairs

That’s the gap I’m working to name and address in my new book, No More Folding Chairs, Building a Board Where Everyone Belongs. I’m writing this book because I’ve seen what happens when people are invited into leadership spaces and then quietly managed once they arrive.

• Told to soften their tone.
• Told to wait their turn.
• Told – without anyone saying it out loud – not to rock the boat.

Let’s be honest, some boards don’t want new thinking. They want new faces that think the same. When that happens, your board might look good on paper, but it’s not doing the work it’s supposed to do.

When people don’t feel like they belong, they don’t stop noticing what’s wrong. They just stop saying it. Then they start looking for the exit. That’s why I use the “folding chairs” metaphor: they’re just placeholders on nonprofit boards that claim to be inclusive but aren’t committed to real change.

When things go wrong

Let’s talk about someone I profile in the book. We’ll call him Stan. He’s a Black man, a logistics manager at Home Depot. Sharp. Prepared. Asking the kind of questions that actually move a board forward.

Every time he spoke, the room shifted … not in a good way. People got uncomfortable. They redirected. They shut it down – nicely, of course.

Stan eventually resigned from the board … and no one followed up.

• No phone call to check in.
• No “What happened?” or “What did we miss?”
• No thank you note.

Nothing. That’s what it looks like when belonging is missing. It’s nothing dramatic; just quiet loss.

This is bigger than race

Before we make this only about racial identity, the problem is way bigger than race. Belonging shows up around social class, age, gender, disability, lived experience … all of it. It’s about whether people feel like they can tell the truth, in real time, in the room.

Because if they can’t? You don’t have a high-functioning board … you have a polite one.

If this feels like your board, here’s something simple you can try.

Try this at your next meeting

At your next board meeting, don’t jump straight into reports and Robert’s Rules. Ask these questions first:

• What helps you feel like you belong here?
• What gets in the way?

Then be quiet long enough to hear the real answers. This simple exercise will tell you more than any dashboard you might use to evaluate your board.

Bring your voice to this project

My new book isn’t a how-to manual. It’s a call out… and a call in. And I’m still shaping it.

I want to include your voice. Here’s how: Take a few minutes to complete the survey and tell me about your board experience – the good, the messy, and the stuff nobody says out loud.

If you’re reading this thinking, “Yeah… we’ve got some folding chairs in our boardroom…” you already know where this is headed. This is the work I lead every day through The Board Pro: real conversations, real shifts, boards that actually function the way they’re supposed to.

My goal: no more folding chairs. If this is your goal, too, let’s build something better … together.