Leadership and Governance in Times of Crisis: A Balancing Act for Nonprofit Boards

Abstract

How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the roles of nonprofit boards? We reflect critically on the leadership and management activities of boards to understand the implications of the current crisis on governance. Employing a contingency approach to governance, we present a model of boards of directors’ leadership and management roles under four governance configurations as organizations navigate through the stages of the pandemic. We suggest that organizations with governance configurations that are more suited to predictable environments will generally experience greater shifts between management and leadership activities as they move through the stages of the COVID-19 crisis.