ARE OUR BOARD ASSUMPTIONS STILL SERVING US?
Reflections from the October 14, 2026 Food Co-op Dialogue Studio
The Question?
“What assumptions have we inherited about the board of directors’ role that may no longer serve today’s food co-ops?”
On October 14, food co-op board directors, managers, and other co-operators from across the United States and Canada gathered for the second online Food Co-op Dialogue Studio, hosted by Jon Steinman and Laura King.
Rather than seeking solutions or prescriptions for effective governance, participants explored the question through dialogue: listening to one another, noticing assumptions, and allowing new questions to emerge.
Key Themes Explored
The dialogue moved beyond the familiar tension between governance and operation, exploring;
Expectations placed on directors
The challenges of recruiting and retaining board members
The relationship between boards and general managers
A deeper concern about the connection between food co-ops and the communities they exist to serve
The dialogue also raised a more fundamental question: Are the governance structures and practices we have inherited still helping food co-ops fulfill their purpose?
Opening exercise: When you hear the words “board of directors,” what do you notice?
Before entering the dialogue, participants were invited to pause and notice what the words board of directors brought to mind.
Even before considering what a board should do, we bring histories and expectations to the idea of a board. Some come from direct experience; others may be inherited from broader cultural ideas about authority, leadership, expertise, and responsibility.
Noticing these associations offered an opportunity to ask where our assumptions come from and whether they continue to serve us.
What emerged from the dialogue?
Rather than arriving at a consensus about the ideal role of a board, participants surfaced tensions that deserve further exploration across the food co-op community.
1. THE PARADOX OF PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
One revealing tension was the expectation that board members should bring professional expertise to their roles.
Participants reflected on the tendency to recruit lawyers, accountants, human resources professionals, and others whose skills appear directly relevant to running a grocery business. This makes sense when a board is expected to be hands-on or involved in operations. But what happens when a general manager is responsible for running the business and the board focuses on governance, strategic direction, and monitoring?
One participant described the frustration of joining a board with considerable professional experience, only to discover there was little opportunity to apply those skills meaningfully. Others observed that boards can lose creative, knowledgeable people when their governance structure leaves little room for their contributions.
At the same time, participants raised concerns about general managers carrying an enormous burden: operating a complex grocery business while also navigating the broader responsibilities of leading a cooperative.
The paradox of the inquiry was striking. Co-ops might recruit professionals because their expertise is considered essential, yet the board’s defined role can leave directors with few opportunities to contribute their knowledge and experience. Meanwhile, general managers may be carrying responsibilities that could benefit from greater engagement by an informed, capable board.
This raised questions about the expertise directors should bring, and about how that expertise can best serve the cooperative. When the group questioned whether co-ops place too much emphasis on professional credentials rather than curiosity, commitment, willingness to learn, and connection to the cooperative’s purpose, one participant recalled joining a board at a young age with little understanding of fiduciary responsibility. Over time, they learned what the role required, challenging the assumption that directors must arrive with all the necessary knowledge and skills already in place.
2. GOVERNANCE, OPERATIONAL CONTROL, AND THE SPACE BETWEEN THEM
The dialogue surfaced uncertainty about the relationship between a board’s governance responsibilities and its authority over the business.
Policy Governance was a recurring reference point. Participants recognized its intention to empower the general manager, clarify responsibilities, and allow the board to focus on strategic outcomes rather than operational details. Yet they also explored how the model can be interpreted as leaving the board with less meaningful influence over the direction of the business.
This led to an inquiry into whether, and how, boards might contribute differently to relieve general managers of the considerable burden of running both a grocery business and stewarding the cooperative. What might this require of directors in terms of experience, knowledge, and capacity? Without sufficient understanding of the business and confidence in their own contribution, boards may struggle to ask informed questions or participate meaningfully in shaping the co-op’s future.
3. WHO BELONGS ON A BOARD, AND WHAT DO WE EXPECT OF THEM?
The group acknowledged the real demands of board service. Meetings, preparation, committees, retreats, and ongoing learning can be difficult for people balancing employment, caregiving, financial pressures, and other responsibilities.
Retired people may have more time available, while younger members and those with demanding work or family commitments may find participation harder.
Some participants also questioned the assumption that board service should be primarily unpaid. If people are motivated to serve by a desire to contribute skills and experience, the expectation of (mostly or entirely) volunteering might create an additional barrier for those who cannot afford to give their time without compensation? Could compensation that better reflects the expectations of board service make participation more accessible to a wider range of member-owners?
4. IS A REPRESENTATIVE BOARD THE RIGHT STRUCTURE FOR EVERY CO-OP?
The dialogue moved beyond the expectations placed on individual directors to question the structure of governance itself.
One participant asked whether a small representative board is necessarily the right way to govern a food cooperative. For a co-op with tens of thousands of members, a dozen directors are quite challenged to represent such a large and diverse ownership. Participants described the difficulty of connecting with member-owners, gathering meaningful input, and ensuring the loudest voices do not dominate.
Alternative structures, such as governance circles or other ways of distributing participation, emerged as possibilities worth exploring.
If the purpose of a board is to represent member-owners and provide direction on their behalf, are there other ways to accomplish that purpose?
The dialogue did not dismiss representative governance, but invited participants to question whether a familiar structure should automatically be treated as the only viable option.
5. THE STRUGGLE TO CONNECT WITH MEMBER-OWNERS
A recurring thread throughout the dialogue was concern about the relationship between food co-ops and their communities.
One participant reflected on their co-op’s early years, when a strong community-based mission inspired participation and there were more candidates for board positions than available seats. They wondered whether that sense of purpose had weakened.
Others acknowledged similar experiences. As co-ops mature and become successful grocery businesses, the demands of retail operations can take precedence, leaving less attention for relationships with members and communities.
Member-owners may join because of a co-op’s history, values, and community purpose. Others may be primarily drawn to products, prices, or the shopping experience. A large membership does not necessarily translate into meaningful participation or a shared understanding of why the cooperative exists.
Participants also wondered whether food co-ops have become more connected to national cooperative systems and resources than to their own communities.
6. WHAT DOES THE GENERAL MANAGER ROLE REVEAL ABOUT THE BOARD?
The group considered how two perennial challenges are often discussed separately: general manager recruitment and retention on one hand, board recruitment and effectiveness on the other. The dialogue suggested a connection between them.
Does the difficulty of recruiting and retaining general managers reveal something about how the role has evolved, what responsibilities have accumulated around it, and how boards understand their own contribution?
7. THE ASSUMPTIONS WE BRING TO HOW WE WORK TOGETHER
The assumptions under examination were not limited to the formal role of the board. They also concerned how people relate to one another and communicate – the inherited assumptions for how boards engage in monthly meetings, on committees, and in retreats.
Participants explored how easily groups can confuse different modes of communication. Discussion, debate, and dialogue are often treated as interchangeable, even though they serve different purposes.
If one person expects a debate, another a discussion, and someone else believes the group is engaged in dialogue, misunderstandings can follow. A group may struggle not because participants lack goodwill, but because they have different expectations of what they are there to accomplish.
Being explicit about the purpose of communication can help. Sometimes a group needs to debate competing options, sometimes it needs to discuss information, and sometimes it needs time to explore assumptions without trying to reach a decision. Dialogue offers a way to investigate the foundations of a question before deciding what to do about it.
Questions for future dialogue
The session generated questions that could inform future Dialogue Studios or conversations within individual food co-ops.
The purpose and structure of governance
Is a representative board the best way to govern every food co-op? What other structures might enable meaningful participation and effective governance?
How much expertise should directors bring to the board, and how much should they develop through their service?
How might governance models evolve in response to the needs of today’s co-ops?
The role of the general manager
What responsibilities have accumulated around the GM role, and which appropriately belong there?
How can a board contribute more actively to fulfilling the co-op’s mission while leaving operational leadership with the GM?
Participation, capacity, and representation
What assumptions do we make about who belongs on a board and what makes someone a good director?
Are our expectations of board members realistic, equitable, and accessible to people with different life circumstances?
Mission and member engagement
What happens to a co-op’s sense of purpose as it matures into a successful grocery business?
How can co-ops remain connected to the communities they serve as their memberships grow and diversify?
How we communicate and make meaning together
Are people clear about whether a board agenda item calls for discussion, debate, decision-making, or dialogue?
What might become possible if we used dialogue more often to explore difficult questions before moving to solutions?
Continuing the dialogue
The October Dialogue Studio suggested that questions about board effectiveness cannot be separated from member participation, the general manager role, organizational mission, and the structures through which co-ops govern themselves.
These may not be isolated challenges that can be resolved simply by adjusting a policy or recruiting a different kind of director. They are interconnected questions about how food co-ops understand their purpose and organize themselves to fulfill it.
The next Dialogue Studio on November 12, 2026 will explore another question emerging from this wider landscape:
“When a growing number of food co-ops struggle to recruit and retain general managers, what might the role itself be trying to tell us?”
The invitation remains the same: to pause, listen, and explore the assumptions that shape our work together. Before we can consider what might need to change, it’s immensely helpful to ask whether the assumptions we've inherited are still serving us.