What do trustees actually do?

Managing change as a trustee

Stewart explains that regardless of whether the charity is in a period of change or more of a steady-state, he fully expected to be committing significant time and energy to the role. He says, “It was a role that I took on because of a desire to be involved in an organisation and help it fulfil its mission and purpose…I don’t think I was ever under the illusion that it would be limited to four quarterly board meetings a year. There was certainly a desire on my part to be far more involved.”

In periods of crisis and change, a charity may need to draw on the skills and experiences of its trustees more than usual. Asking them to sit on or chair a subcommittee on a specialist topic. As the Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home took the tough decision to wind down its retail operation, Stewart led a committee to deal with the property arrangements.

For Welsh, despite being a governance expert, the change in the vision for the Home has been tricky to manage. New CEO, Fyffe-Jardine had a vision for operating the charity in a very different way and trustees had to question whether this vision was still meeting the charity’s core mission and whether it was a financial risk.

In a crisis situation with significant pressures, it can be very hard to remain a critical friend to the CEO and maintain oversight of the charity. Welsh explains: “The biggest learning curve…wasn’t necessarily the distinction between the trustee and executive team, but it was more how does that work in practice because actually, that line is not particularly black and white in practical terms.”

On reflection, Welsh feels that trustees manage change best when they are “trying to help the charity move forward rather than stifling progression.” He says: “It’s a very easy mistake for trustees to make to put the brakes on any kind of change…really trustees are there to promote the change and implement the change as long as the change is within the scope of what the charity is there to do.”

Expecting the unexpected

For both Welsh and Stewart, the last two years have been a lesson in expecting the unexpected. When the new strategy was in place and the board began to see financial and social change as a result, Welsh says, “that’s the moment when I thought, the Dog and Cat Home isn’t an enormous charity, but it’s making an enormous difference to the people who rely on it.”

Being a trustee can be a very different experience depending on the skills and experiences you bring to the board. For both Welsh and Stewart, it’s been extremely challenging, but very rewarding.