Boards will need to be more resourceful and their membership more diverse to accurately

 reflect the population they represent. Board members will have to be team players, with

 the ability to work effectively in a group. Board members will need to make intense

 commitments to their board responsibilities. This commitment may result in board

 members cycling in and out appropriately, depending on their available time to be fully

 engaged as they serve on the board. Commitments may be shorter but more concentrated

 (Tweeten, 2002).

 A study by Bright (2001) on the commitment of board members suggested that

 individuals believe that commitment among board members is essential to the effective

 functioning of boards. When board members served primarily because they had an

 emotional attachment to the organization, the board experienced higher performance,

 though passions and personal experiences individuals bring to the cause often obscure

 objective thinking and may thwart the success of the organization. Research has

 suggested that ideal board members are personally affected by the problems) the

 organization focuses on. It has also shown that board members who care, but have some

 distance from the issue are best because they are able to make difficult decisions for the

 good of the organization as a whole, based on facts, not emotions (Bright, 2001).

 Whether volunteering on an organizational board or for the organization in

general, it is important that the group has common goals. Hersey et al. (1996) state

"research has consistently shown that group productivity is highest in those groups in

which techniques are used that simultaneously further the attainment of group goals and

bring fulfillment of the needs of individual group members" (p. 363).