The beginning of a new year always brings a mix of resolve and anticipation. This year, more than most, it also brings a quiet bracing — organizations and individuals alike preparing for what may come amid continued uncertainty. Across every sector, leaders have been required to adapt faster, stretch further, and lead with greater intention in the face of complexity. Planning feels less about predicting the future and more about strengthening our footing for whatever lies ahead.

The nonprofit sector has met this moment with creativity and resolve. Over the last five years in particular, the combined demands of service, resilience, and innovation have prompted organizations to reimagine leadership — to explore models that feel more inclusive and more responsive to the realities we are navigating.

Boards have experimented with project-based board service, flexible service expectations, and engagement measured by presence over stewardship. Together, these shifts reflect a broader effort to make governance more accessible and responsive, while also raising important questions about how responsibility, accountability, and stewardship are carried over time. Taken together, they invite a closer examination of how we define governance, and what level of commitment the role truly requires.

Effective board service requires a comprehensive commitment of skills, presence, ownership, learning, financial stewardship, and networks. It calls board members not only to offer insight, but to steward an organization through complexity and uncertainty — together, and over time. Efforts to expand board service by lowering expectations of the role, rather than reducing barriers to meaningful participation, risk reshaping governance in ways that are harmful to nonprofits. This distinction matters, because making governance more accessible is not the same as making it less demanding.

Meaningful governance is also not about asking people to give until they are depleted. In fact, strong boards are built on clarity and shared responsibility. When expectations are set well, commitment is distributed, trust deepens, and no single individual is asked to carry what belongs to the whole. Board members sense one another’s investment and operate with confidence that they are not alone in the work.

All-in governance shows up in both visible and behind-the-scenes ways. It looks like picking up the phone when the executive director has a quick question, continuing governance learning beyond onboarding, staying informed about policy changes that affect the organization and its community, and stepping into conversations that may challenge comfort or perspective. This is not a new standard — it has long defined effective board service. What has changed is the context.

The most meaningful leadership experiences ask us to show up fully and take responsibility for something bigger than ourselves. The invitation is simple: consider the kind of service you want to offer. Nonprofits deserve all-in governance. And leaders deserve all-in experiences.