Ask any nonprofit leader what can make or break an organization, and you’ll hear some version of this: “The staff leader-board chair relationship is key.”
And when it’s working, it’s a clear turbocharger for your mission. But, when it’s not, it can drain energy from your ED, CEO, board, staff, and ultimately even your impact.
In this episode, Glennda pulls back the curtain on one of the sector’s most important (and most misunderstood) relationships with a powerful case study: Girl Scouts of the USA. CEO Bonnie Barczykowski and Board President Noorain Khan didn’t know each other before stepping into their roles together – but they chose to say yes not just to the positions, but to the partnership.
Together, they will walk you through exactly how they built that partnership. From an intentional kickoff retreat to weekly 45-minute check-ins with clear agendas and next steps to shared norms about role clarity, feedback, and how the board and staff interact.
They’re even candid about how they handle disagreement, and what it really takes to create psychological safety between a board chair and CEO.
If you’re an ED/CEO, board chair, or aspiring leader who wants your board-staff partnership to feel less adversarial and more like a united front, this conversation will give you both inspiration and concrete practices you can start using right away.
TUNE IN TO LEARN:
- Why the CEO-board chair relationship is the nonprofit sector’s ultimate force multiplier: And how a strong partnership at the top can fuel your entire organization (and mission).
- How Bonnie Barczykowski and Noorain Khan built trust before their first board meeting: Using intentional onboarding, shared vision-setting, and structured conversations about work styles and expectations.
- Why debriefing became one of their biggest leadership tools: Helping them see dynamics they’d miss alone and strengthening decision making with shared observations.
- What they do when they disagree – and why conflict isn’t a red flag: It’s an opportunity to slow down, bring in the right voices, and keep the mission at the center of every choice.
- How they create psychological safety at the highest level of leadership: So that the CEO can share challenges openly and the board chair can offer perspective without overstepping.
KEY QUOTES:
- “As many of you know, when this relationship is working well, it is magic, and it can be like a turbocharger for your organization.” – Glennda Testone
- “[T]he intentionality of everything we’ve done to carry that into that next partnership at some point is so critical because I think often for a CEO you feel like you get it down and then you just assume, oh, I’ll just continue, but that other individual is going to be different.” – Bonnie Barczykowski
- “There are some dynamics here that don’t exist in a corporate setting that we need to be very honest about, and those dynamics are complicated.” – Noorain Khan
- “We are teaching our youngest members how to show up when they are not just grownups, but like young activists, and in their school settings. So we have a real responsibility at the board and management level nationally to embody the things that we teach all of our members across the country every day.” – Noorain Khan
ABOUT GUEST:
Bonnie Barczykowski joined Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) in 2023 as chief executive officer. She is committed to ensuring that every girl has an opportunity to join Girl Scouts, make their voices heard, and develop the skills they need to lead—today and into the future. Bonnie is honored to lead an organization to which she is so deeply devoted, having previously spent more than ten years as chief executive officer of Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri. During that time, she built a compelling strategic vision that successfully expanded access for girls across the region, transformed program experiences, engaged communities, and led a $50 million comprehensive fundraising campaign.
Bonnie has been a champion for girls and women throughout her career in both the private and nonprofit sectors, including a decade leading one of the largest chains of fitness centers for women in the world. She received both her BA and MBA from Lindenwood University.
Noorain Khan has spent nearly a decade at the Ford Foundation, where she built and led the first-ever discretionary program team under visionary President Darren Walker. During her tenure, she oversaw Ford’s largest program area, with $500 million in grantmaking. She shaped the foundation’s most ambitious and flexible funding efforts, which included launching Ford’s work in disability rights and growing it into the largest private funder of disability rights in the world. Noorain co-founded and incubated pioneering sector-wide efforts such as the Disability & Philanthropy Forum, the first US philanthropy-serving organization focused on disability rights, and the Disability Inclusion Fund at Borealis Philanthropy, which has moved over $14 million to 72 disabled-led organizations through participatory governance, centering disability leaders as decision makers.
Noorain credits the Girl Scouts with sparking her interest in social impact during her experience as a troop member in her native Michigan. After being active in the organization for over three decades, she was elected the National President of Girl Scouts of the USA, presiding over 1.8 million members and chairing its National Board of Directors.
In addition to her role leading the Girls Scouts of the USA, Noorain is the founder of NFK Philanthropic Strategy, where she guides private clients, and a Senior Advisor at the investment firm XN. Her monthly newsletter about purpose-led careers, Mission Critical, reaches over 20,000 people. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband Sabeel Rahman and their two children, and co-leads Daisy Troop 2314.
RESOURCES:
- Bonnie Barczykowski LinkedIn
- Noorain Khan LinkedIn
- Girl Scouts of the USA LinkedIn
- Girl Scouts Website
- Glennda Testone LinkedIn
- Nonprofit Leadership Lab
- Joan Garry’s Guide to Nonprofit Leadership – 2nd Edition by Joan Garry
- FREE WORKSHOP: Let’s Build the Nonprofit Board of Your Dreams!
- FREE WORKSHOP: The 5 Practices of Outstanding Nonprofit Leaders
- Music by Jukebox the Ghost
Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
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